TheTiangong program (Chinese:天宫空间站工程;pinyin:Tiāngōng kōngjiānzhàn gōngchéng;lit. 'Heavenly Palace Space Station Project')[1][2] isChina's space program to create a modularspace station, comparable toMir. This program is independent and unconnected to any other international space-active countries.[3] The program is part of theChina Manned Space Program that began in 1992. The core module of theTiangong space station, theTianhe ("Harmony of the Heavens") was finally launched on 29 April 2021 marking the start of the Tiangong Space program deployment.
China launched its first space laboratory,Tiangong-1, on 29 September 2011. Following Tiangong-1, a more advanced space laboratory complete with cargo spacecraft, dubbedTiangong-2, was launched on 15 September 2016. The first module of the 12 part new series of Tiangong space station launched on 29 April 2021.
The project culminated with theTiangong space station, which consists of a 22.6-ton core module and cargo transport craft, with two moremajor research modules launched in 2022.[4] It supports three astronauts for long-termhabitation.[5]
After the United States threatened to use nuclear weapons during theKorean War,[6][7]Mao Zedong decided that only a nuclear deterrent of its own would guarantee the security of the newly founded PRC. Thus, Mao announced his decision to develop China's own strategic weapons, including associated missiles. After the launch of mankind's first artificial satellite,Sputnik 1 by theSoviet Union on 4 October 1957, Mao decided to put China on an equal footing with thesuperpowers ("我们也要搞人造卫星"), using Project 581 with the idea of putting a satellite in orbit by 1959 to celebrate the10th anniversary of the PRC's founding. However, it would not be until 24 April 1970 that this goal would becomea reality.
Mao andZhou Enlai began the PRC's crewed space program on 14 July 1967.[8] China's first crewed spacecraft design was namedShuguang-1 (曙光一号) in January 1968.[9] Project 714 was officially adopted in April 1971 with the goal of sending two astronauts into space by 1973 aboard theShuguang spacecraft. The first screening process for astronauts had already ended on 15 March 1971, with 19 astronauts chosen. The program was soon cancelled due to political turmoil.
The next crewed space program was even more ambitious and was proposed in March 1986 as Project 863. This consisted of a crewed spacecraft (Project 863–204) used to ferry astronaut crews to a space station (Project 863–205). Several spaceplane designs were rejected two years later and a simpler space capsule was chosen instead. Although the project did not achieve its goals, it would ultimately become the 1992Project 921, encompassing theShenzhou program, the Tiangong program, and the Chinese space station.
On the50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China's founding, China launched theShenzhou 1 spacecraft on 20 November 1999 and recovered it after a flight of 21 hours. The country became the third country with a successful crewed space program by sendingYang Liwei into space aboardShenzhou 5 on 15 October 2003 for more than 21 hours. It was a major success for Chinese space programs.
In 1999,Project 921-2 was finally given official authorization. Two versions of the station were studied: an 8-metric ton "space laboratory" and 20-metric ton "space station".[citation needed] In 2000, the first model of the planned space station was unveiled atExpo 2000 inHanover,Germany. This was made up of modules derived from the orbital module of theShenzhou spacecraft. Overall length of the station would be around 20 m, with a total mass of under 40 metric tons, with possibility of expansion through addition of further modules.[citation needed]
In 2001, Chinese engineers described a three-step process toward the realization of Project 921. The original target date for the fulfillment of the project was 2010.[citation needed]
Originally, China planned to simplydockShenzhou 8 andShenzhou 9 together to form a simple space laboratory. However, it was decided to abandon that plan and launch a small space laboratory instead. In 2007, plans for an 8-metric ton "space laboratory" being launched in 2010 under the designation ofTiangong-1 were made public. This would be an eight-ton space laboratory module with two docking ports. Subsequent flights (Shenzhou 9 andShenzhou 10) will dock with the laboratory.[10]
On 29 September 2008,Zhang Jianqi (张建启), Vice Director of China crewed space engineering, declared in an interview ofChina Central Television (CCTV), it is Tiangong-1 that will be the 8-ton "target vehicle", and Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9, and Shenzhou 10 will all be spaceships to dock with Tiangong-1 in turn.[11] On 1 October 2008,Shanghai Space Administration, which participated in the development of Shenzhou 8, stated that they succeeded in the simulated experiments for the docking of Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou 8.[12]
In September 2010, the central government formally approved the implementation of China's manned space station project, and plans to build a large-scale, long-term manned national space laboratory around 2020.[13]
On 16 June 2012, Shenzhou 9 was launched fromJiuquan Satellite Launch Center inInner Mongolia, China, carrying a crew of three. The Shenzhou craft successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 laboratory on 18 June 2012, at 06:07UTC, marking China's first crewed spacecraft docking.[14]
On 11 June 2013, China launched Shenzhou 10 with a crew of three headed for the Tiangong-1.[15]
Tiangong-2 space laboratory launched on 15 September 2016.[16][17][18] This was first crewed withShenzhou 11 which launched on 17 October 2016 (16 October UTC) from theJiuquan Satellite Launch Center and docked two days later.[16]
The full60-metric ton space station will support three astronauts for long-termhabitation. Thecore module, theTianhe ("Harmony of the Heavens"), launched on 29 April 2021.[19] TheTianhe module was first crewed with theShenzhou 12 mission which launched and docked on 17 June 2021.[20]
China's efforts to developlow Earth orbit space station capabilities began with a space laboratory phase, initially planned to include three Tiangong test vehicles (later reduced to two).[5]
Tiangong-1, described as a "target vehicle", consisted of a propulsion (resource) module and a pressurized experiment module.[21] It measured 10.4 metres (34 ft) in length, 3.35 metres (11.0 ft) in diameter, and had a launch mass of 8,506 kilograms (18,753 lb). The module provided 15 cubic metres (530 cu ft) of pressurized habitable volume.[5] Launched on 29 September 2011, it supported short-duration visits by crews of up to three.[21][10][11]
The vehicle was designed to validate and testrendezvous anddocking techniques for China's future modular space station and carried several Earth-observation and space environment payloads. Tiangong-1 was visited by three missions: the uncrewedShenzhou 8 in 2011, which completed China's first orbital docking, followed by the crewedShenzhou 9 in 2012 andShenzhou 10 in 2013. These missions demonstrated manual and automated docking, saw a visit from the first and second Chinese women in space, and conducted a series of scientific, medical, and educational activities.[22]
After its two-year design life, Tiangong-1 continued in an extended-application phase that included remote-sensing tasks and routine orbit-maintenance activity.[22] Telemetry with the module ceased in March 2016 after 1,630 days in orbit, leading to its uncontrolled reentry on 2 April 2018.[23]
Early plans for the "space laboratory" phase called for two additional test stations, each about 14.4 metres (47 ft) long, 4.2 metres (14 ft) in diameter, and up to 20,000 kilograms (44,000 lb) in mass.[3] Their planned roles—supporting 20- and 40-day crewed missions—were later consolidated into a single, smaller vehicle.[24]
The resulting Tiangong-2 space laboratory, launched on 15 September 2016, measured 10.4 metres (34 ft) in length and 3.35 metres (11.0 ft) in diameter, had a mass of about 8,600 kilograms (19,000 lb), and provided roughly 14 cubic metres (490 cu ft) of pressurized volume. It hosted a single crewed mission,Shenzhou 11, whose two astronauts lived on board for 30 days from October to November 2016, the longest Chinese crewed spaceflight at the time. During the mission, the crew conducted a series of scientific, technological and medical activities.
Tiangong-2 also enabled China's first cargo resupply and orbital refuelling demonstrations. TheTianzhou 1 cargo ship performed three dockings in 2017 to transfer propellant to Tiangong-2, an essential capability for China's later modular space station. Tianzhou-1 carried no pressurized cargo, but its refueling operations extended Tiangong-2's orbital lifetime. Tiangong-2 was deorbited in a controlled reentry over the South Pacific Ocean on 19 July 2019.[25]
Tiangong-3 was a proposed space laboratory intended to further expand China's on-orbit habitation and experiment capabilities. The project was cancelled, with planners deciding instead to proceed directly to the development of China's large modular space station.[26]
The Tiangong space station is China’s permanently crewed modular outpost in low Earth orbit and the principal goal of the third phase of the Tiangong program.
Tiangong consists of theTianhe core module flanked by twoLaboratory Cabin Modules (LCMs):
The station supports three crew members for long-duration missions, up to six during handovers. Tiangong is designed for a service life of at least 10–15 years, with potential for future expansion.
China's most adventurous space endeavor, the multimodule space station, named Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, will be mainly composed of three components
The Tianhe module will act as the management and control hub of the space station Tiangong, meaning Heavenly Palace
China often chooses poetic names for its space projects, such asChang'e – after the moon goddess – for its lunar probes; its rocket series, however, is named Long March, in tribute to communist history. The space station project is currently referred to as Tiangong, or "heavenly palace".
China is ready to carry out a multiphase construction program that leads to a large space station around 2020. As a prelude to building that facility, China is set to loft the Tiangong-1 module this year as a platform to help master key rendezvous and docking technologies.
最终决定沿用"天宫"作为载人空间站的整体名称，但后面不再加序号 (The final decision was to use "Tiangong" as the overall name of the manned space station, but without the serial number at the end)
"天宫二号"后, 不再开发"天宫三号", 中国将直接进入空间站时代, 空间站预计2022年建成
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