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China's state-owned national broadcaster CCTV has published a detailed video tour of the Tiangong National Orbital Station. In the video, taikonauts (Chinese cosmonauts) show their kitchen, sleeping quarters, laboratory and plants in a greenhouse.
Chinese Orbital Station "Tiangong" (video)
What is the Tiangong Orbital Station
The concept of building a Chinese manned space station was approved in 2010. In 2013, the name "Tiangong" ("Heavenly Palace") was chosen for this program.
The start of construction of the station was repeatedly postponed.
First, on April 29, 2021, the Tianhe base module was launched into orbit. In 2022, the scientific modules "Wenyang" and "Mentian" were docked to it.
The base module has five docking nodes, so the station can be expanded with additional modules in the future.
Technical parameters of the "Tiangong" station
- mass — 66 t (three modules of 22 t each);
- length of the main module (without transport ships) – 18,1 m;
- width (at the ends of the laboratory modules) – 40 m;
- the maximum diameter of the case of each of the modules is 4,2 m.
The estimated service life of the station is 10 years, with the possibility of extension up to 15 years.
In terms of mass and dimensions, "Tiangun" is less than half of the Soviet orbital station "Mir" (124 tons) and 7 times less than the international ISS (417 tons).
