China on Sunday launched a new three-man mission to complete assembly work on its permanent orbiting space station called Tiangong.
The Shenzhou 14 crew will spend six months in orbit to monitor the addition of two laboratory modules that will join the space station’s core module, called Tianhe, Released in April 2021,
It is the seventh of the 11 missions that will go into space to complete the assembly of the station, which is already in its final stages.
China’s rocket was launched towards the country’s space station – Photo: Reproduction / Globonnews
With a length of 16.6 meters and a diameter of 4.2 meters, the Tianhe module serves as a control center and home for the astronauts.
Commander Chen Dong and fellow astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Zhuze will assemble the three-module structure that already links Tianhe with modules called Wentian and Mengtian.
Chinese crew members leaving for space – Photo: Li Gang / Xinhua AP. Through
For decades, China has invested billions in its space program to reach Europeans, Russians and Americans.
The Asian giant sent its first astronaut to space in 2003.
