China launched the core module of its space station

China has launched the central module of its space station, constructing one of the largest and most sophisticated space facilities in its space program. 

A Long March 5B heavy-lift vehicle, with a height equivalent to an 18-story building and a takeoff weight of 849 tons lifted off at 3.23 UTC from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, South China.

The launch is tasked with carrying the 22.5-ton capsule into low Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above Earth to place the first piece of the country’s space station. 

The multi-module space station, called Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, will be composed of three components, a central module attached to two space labs.

The central capsule, called Tianhe, or Harmony of the Skies, is 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter. The module will be critical to the future operations of the space station. The astronauts will live there and control the entire station from the inside. Besides, it will be used to host scientific experiments.

The entire station will be fully operational by the end of 2022

The space station’s construction marks the beginning of the third stage of China’s operated space program, which the government approved in 1992. The first two stages of the program had been successfully concluded with six human-crewed space flights and two experimental laboratory space missions.

After the module’s launch, astronauts from the Shenzhou XII and XIII missions and two freighters will launch in a few months to prepare the module for docking with other parts of the station.

Next year, the two Tiangong space laboratories, two crewed missions, and two robotic cargo flights will be dispatched to continue constructing the station.

Once the facility is completed, it will be able to dock with multiple crewed and cargo spacecraft at the same time. It will also be able to connect with foreign spacecraft if they have a designated docking hatch.

Three astronauts will operate it in long shifts that will last several months. During transfers between shifts, the station will accommodate up to six astronauts.

The entire Tiangong station is forecast to be completely operational by the end of 2022.