News

 

At 11:23 on April 29, 2021, the Long March 5B Y-2 launch vehicle carrying the Tianhe Core Module of the China Space Station was ignited and lifted off at the Wenchang Space Launch Site. About 494 seconds later, the Tianhe Core Module and the rocket successfully separated , Entering the scheduled orbit, at 12:36, the two wings of the solar panels were deployed smoothly and working normally, and the launch mission was a complete success. The success of this launch mission marked the full launch of the orbital assembly and construction of the Chinese Space Station, laying a solid foundation for subsequent key technology verification and the smooth implementation of the space station assembly and construction.

 

The Tianhe Core Module is the first section of the China Space Station to launch into orbit. It is mainly used for unified control and management of the space station. It has long-term autonomous flight capabilities and can support astronauts to stay for a long time to carry out space medicine, space science experiments and technical tryouts. With a take-off mass of 22.5 tons, it is currently the largest and most complex spacecraft independently developed by China.

 

In the future, the Tianhe Core Module will welcome visits from the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou manned spacecraft. After the key technology verification of the space station is fully completed, it will rendezvous and dock with the Wentian Experiment Module and the Mengtian Experiment Module to complete the on-orbit assembly and construction of the three-cabin combination.