The flight aims to prepare a historic step for the Chinese manned space program: the first crew change in space.
Three more astronauts are expected to follow by the end of the month and live with colleagues Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe on the recently completed Tiangong (Paradise Palace) space station. The current crew is scheduled to return to Earth later in December. Starting with the “Shenzhou 15” (Magic Ship), the new crew will stay on the space station for about six months.
“Palace of Heaven” will remain for about 10 years
Just fifteen minutes after launch, Deng Hongqin, director of the space center, reported that “Tianzhou 5” had reached its orbit as planned. All systems worked normally. The start was “successful”. The 13-ton cargo ship will carry six tons of supplies and materials to the space station.
The flight took place just 12 days after the launch of the last module Mengtian (Heaven’s Dream), which successfully connected to the current T-shaped space station. Building and resupplying the space station is the twelfth mission. China wants to operate the “Palace of Heaven” for about ten years.
The only space station in space soon
If the International Space Station ceases operations as planned in the next few years, China will be the only country to operate a permanent outpost in space. With the “Palace of Heaven”, China is catching up with the major spaceship nations of the USA and Russia.
For its ambitious goals, the People’s Republic has invested billions of dollars in the military-run space program. China is successfully using a rover on Mars. The country took a rock from the moon and became the first to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
Planned landing at the asteroid and moon research station
In addition to the space station, China has other ambitious goals in space. According to experts, a reusable spaceship could be used by 2025. Rock samples from the polar regions of the moon will be brought to earth in the next five years. Plans for a research station on the Moon are also being worked out with Russia.
One of the plans is to land on a near-Earth asteroid. China also wants to bring samples to Earth from Mars, which could happen in 2028. The mission to explore Jupiter could arrive in 2029. With «Beidou», China has also set up its own navigation satellite system.
The space station’s plans include a space telescope called “Xuntian”, which is said to resemble the US Hubble telescope. It must dock with the “Palace of Heaven” regularly for refueling and maintenance. It could be ready to launch in 2024. (SDA)