Is Tiangong- China’s Space Station- actually capable of outpacing the International Space Station (ISS)?
In April 2021, China launched Tianhe-1, the first and main module of its new orbital space station, Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace” in Chinese.
That’s because, on June 17, China also launched its first crewed mission and the third launch of the total 11 launches for the construction of China’s space station.
The International Space Station (ISS) has housed more than 200 astronauts from 19 different countries, but none from China.
China is not a member of the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns about the secrecy of Chinese programs and strong military connections, which is why it has been a long-standing goal for China to build a station of its own.
This is actually a result of the inability of China to be involved in the International Space Station because of politics — but what it's had the effect of doing, actually, is spurring China on.
Launched in 1998, the International Space Station is now almost 23 years old.
As per the reports, the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to be decommissioned after 2024 to leave place for the Lunar Gateway, a small outpost that will orbit the Moon.
Late in April, China launched the enormous Tianhe core module of their space station into orbit using one of the world’s largest rockets, the Long March 5B.
Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of China’s manned space program, says, “At this current stage, we haven't considered the participation of international astronauts, but their future participation will be guaranteed.
Although Tiangong has been frequently compared to the International Space Station (ISS), people engaged in its construction and development are quick to point out that the two stations aren’t competing in one arena: in size.
Gu Yidong, the chief scientist of the China Manned Space program, says, “We did not intend to compete with the ISS in terms of scale.” Instead, the three-module configuration is “based on China’s needs for scientific experiments” and “what we consider a reasonable size for the sake of cost-effectiveness.”
But, unlike the International Space Station (ISS), the Chinese station will be far smaller and more akin to the previous Soviet Mir space station in terms of both design and size.
So, what are your thoughts on China’s new space station?
Do you think Tiangong will be able to outpace the International Space Station (ISS)?
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