China says construction of space station will be completed in 2022

Robert Besser
13 Jan 2022, 09:32 GMT+10

China plans to complete construction of its orbiting space station by the end of 2022, with more rocket launches planned for this year
These include two Shenzhou crewed missions, two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and the station's additional two modules
The U.S. expects about the same number of launches to take place in 2022, after the pace slowed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

BEIJING, China: China plans to complete construction of its orbiting space station by the end of 2022, with more rocket launches planned for this year.

These include two Shenzhou crewed missions, two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and the station's additional two modules, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a recent announcement by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Named Mengtian and Wentian, the science modules will join the Tianhe core module that is currently home to a three-person crew.

The U.S. expects about the same number of launches to take place in 2022, after the pace slowed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's military-run space program was barred from sending astronauts to the International Space Station, mainly because of U.S. objections.

Working largely on its own, China has pushed ahead with its Tiangong space station program, building and then abandoning two experimental stations before embarking on the latest design.

The current six-month mission, named Shenzhou-13 by the crew aboard Tianhe, is China's longest manned mission since it first put a human in space in 2003, becoming only the third country to do so after Russia and the U.S.

The crew has conducted a pair of spacewalks - including the first by a Chinese female astronaut - and carried out tests alongside the station's robotic service arm, which successfully undocked, then re-docked the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft for the first time.

China has also seen success with un-crewed missions, as well as its moon exploration program.

Additionally, China is reportedly developing a highly secretive space plane.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Albuquerque Express.

More Information

30 ℉

Partly Cloudy / Windy in Albuquerque

International

Section

Researchers: Shark attacks increase after 3 years of decline

GAINESVILLE, Florida: Shark attacks soared worldwide in 2021.Research conducted by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the American Elasmobranch ...

African stowaway in wheel section found at Amsterdam airport

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Dutch military police have confirmed that a stowaway, a 22-year-old Kenyan man, was found alive in an aircraft's ...

Viking boats to be protected by UNESCO

PARIS, France: During the course of several thousand years, wooden sailing boats enabled North Europeans to expand their businesses, influence ...

New US visas to attract foreign science, tech students

WASHINGTON D.C.: To ensure that the U.S. economy remains competitive, the Biden administration will allow international students specializing in science, ...

World famous Rio Carnival rescheduled for April

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Brazil and the spread of the Omicron ...

Following blunt comments about Ukraine, German navy chief resigns

BERLIN, Germany: Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach, head of the German Navy, resigned due to comments he made on Ukraine and ...

Business

Section