Wentian space lab goes into orbit
Engineering marvel
Pang Zhihao, an observer of manned spaceflights, said the Wentian program is one of the most challenging and sophisticated space programs China has embarked on.
"You can imagine just how difficult it must have been to design, manufacture and deploy such a massive, advanced space lab," he said.
"Now that it has been successfully launched, new challenges are emerging in terms of its flight control, trajectory maneuvers and docking. Both Wentian and Tianhe are big and heavy while there are astronauts inside the Tianhe. We have no prior experience of connecting two spacecraft of this size."
Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, called the space lab a "marvel of modern engineering and technology". He said that once scientific equipment inside Wentian begins to operate, the equipment will become valuable assets for scientists around the world by making many new science ideas possible and fostering international cooperation.
Mission planners said the Tiangong station's second lab, Mengtian, will be lifted by a Long March 5B from Wenchang in October.
After it is connected with the Tiangong, the station will form a T-shaped structure and astronauts will have as much as 110 cubic meters of usable space.
After the labs, the Tianzhou 5 cargo craft and the Shenzhou XV crew are scheduled to arrive at the massive orbiting outpost around the end of the year.
Upon its completion, the Tiangong will be manned regularly by groups of three astronauts in periods usually lasting six months. During handovers to a new three-astronaut group, the station will accommodate up to six astronauts.
In the long run, the orbiting outpost will be capable of docking with multiple crewed and cargo ships at the same time and will also be able to link with foreign spacecraft if they have a Chinese-standard docking hatch.
Currently, Tiangong is manned by the Shenzhou XIV mission crew, who entered the station late on June 5, several hours after their spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.
The third group of Tiangong occupants, Chen and his teammates are scheduled to stay in the station for six months to monitor the assembly of the colossal station in space.
The flight of the three astronauts has inaugurated a 10-year period in which, barring unforeseen circumstances, Chinese astronauts will be in space every day.
