The current six-month mission Shenzhou-13 by the crew aboard Tianhe is China’s longest since it first put a human in space in 2003, becoming only the third country to do so after Russia and the U.S. 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 iteration. Supply chains for crucial items such as computer chips were disrupted and liquid oxygen used as rocket fuel had to be diverted to hospitals to save patients.Īmong the most anticipated is the launch expected around March of the Space Launch System - a 332-foot-tall rocket slated for future lunar missions.Ĭhina’s military-run space program was barred from the International Space Station, mainly due to U.S. expects around the same number of launches this year, after the pace slowed in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The launch schedule shows how China’s traditionally cautious program is increasing the cadence of its missions as it seeks to take a leading role in space exploration. Named Mengtian and Wentian, the science modules will join the Tianhe core module that is currently home to a three-person crew.
Launches would include those of two Shenzhou crewed missions, two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and the station’s additional two modules, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday, citing a recent announcement by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation known as CASC. BEIJING - China has recommitted itself to completing its orbiting space station by the end of the year and says it is planning more than 40 launches for 2022, putting it roughly level with the United States.
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