China Space Program Takes Off: Space Station Module To Launch In 2011

BEIJING — China has finished the first module of a planned space station and is testing its electronics and other systems before launching it into orbit next year.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported on the module's schedule Tuesday. It also said changes were being made on a two-stage Long March 2F rocket that will carry the 8.5 ton Tiangong 1 module into a set orbit.

The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft will dock with it in the second half of 2011, with the Shenzhou 9 and 10 to follow in 2012, Xinhua said.

That spacecraft is part of China's manned space program, but no dates were given on when the space station would be finished or manned.

China also plans to launch a second lunar probe in October and an unmanned moon landing in 2012. A possible manned lunar mission has also been proposed for 2017.

China launched its first manned flight in 2003, joining Russia and the United States as the only countries to launch humans into orbit.

However, habitual secrecy and military links have inhibited cooperation with other nations' space programs – including on the actively manned International Space Station.

Comments

[DAE]

01:36 AM on 08/19/2010

The Chinese will be establishing their colony on the moon while our privatized space program will be launching space hotels for the recipients of the next round of tax cuts for the fabulously rich.

[inthedesert]

10:33 PM on 08/17/2010

Yeah..but in an hour they'll have to launch another one.

[jsarets]

12:47 PM on 08/17/2010

It's a cute little space station, like a mini Salyut (less than half the size of the Soviet Union's first space station). It only has one docking port, so a Shenzhou crew spacecraft can dock to it, but it can't receive unmanned cargo spacecraft or expand to a multi-module space station.

The literature claims that Tiangong 1 will carry of crew of three, but that seems exceedingly tight given that Salyut also carried three in a module over twice as big. I hope they're not going to be crammed in that tiny station for more than a month!