BEIJING: In one of the last missions required to complete the orbiting outpost by the end of the year, China launched the second of three modules to its permanent space station on Sunday.
The 23-ton Wentian (“Quest for the Heavens”) laboratory module lifted off at 2:22 p.m. (0622 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan, according to a live feed on state television station CCTV.
Wentian separated from the rocket
About 10 minutes after the launch, the Wentian separated from the rocket to the cheers and applause of space agency personnel watching the launch from a control room on the live feed.
As soon as the launch was over, CCTV declared it “a complete success.”
In April 2021, the Tianhe module, which houses the primary living quarters, was launched by China as part of the project’s first of 11 crewed and uncrewed missions.
Along with the other lab module that has not yet been launched, Mengtian, the 17.9 metres (59 foot) long Wentian lab module will be where astronauts can conduct scientific experiments (“Dreaming of the Heavens”).
When the station is finished, an airlock cabin on Wentian will serve as the primary exit-entry point for extravehicular activities.
The space, which was built to house just three astronauts permanently, will also be used as temporary living quarters for astronauts during crew rotations.
Mengtian, like Wentian, will launch in October and dock with Tianhe to form a T-shaped structure.
President Xi Jinping’s ten years as head of the Communist Party of China will come to an end with the completion of the structure, which makes up about a fifth of the International Space Station (ISS) in terms of mass and is a source of pride for the average Chinese person.
Chen Dong, the leader of the Shenzhou-14 mission, is aboard the space stations along with teammates Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe. When the crew of Shenzhou-15 arrives in December, they are expected to return to Earth.
