Tiangong space station
Tiangong (Chinese: 天宫; pinyin: Tiāngōng; lit. 'Sky Palace'), officially the Tiangong space station (Chinese: 天宫空间站; pinyin: Tiāngōng kōngjiānzhàn), is a permanently crewed space station constructed by China and operated by China Manned Space Agency in low Earth orbit between 340 and 450 km (210 and 280 mi) above the surface. It is China's first long-term space station, part of the Tiangong program and the core of the "Third Step" of the China Manned Space Program; it has a pressurised volume of 340 m3 (12,000 cu ft), slightly over one third the size of the International Space Station.
A rendering of the station with the Tianhe at centre of picture, a Tianzhou on its aft port, the Wentian on its starboard port to the left, the Mengtian on its portside port to the right and two Shenzhou spacecraft, sharing its multi-docking hub | |
| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| Crew | Maximum: 6 Currently aboard: 3 (Shenzhou 17) Expedition:6 Commander: Tang Hongbo (PLAAC) |
| Launch | 29 April 2021 (Tianhe) 24 July 2022 (Wentian) 31 October 2022 (Mengtian) ~2025 (Xuntian) |
| Launch pad | Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site LC-1 |
| Mission status | Operational |
| Mass | ~ 100,000 kg |
| Length | ~ 55.6 m |
| Diameter | ~ 39.0 m |
| Pressurised volume | 340 m3 (12,000 cu ft) Habitable: 122 m3 (4,310 cu ft) |
| Periapsis altitude | 386.4 km |
| Apoapsis altitude | 391.8 km |
| Orbital inclination | 41.47° |
| Typical orbit altitude | 389.1 km |
| Orbital speed | 7.67 km/s |
| Orbital period | 92.3 minutes |
| Days in orbit | 1022 days, 5 hours, 30 minutes (15 February 2024) |
| Days occupied | 891 days, 15 hours and 9 minutes (15 February 2024) |
| Statistics as of 31 May 2023 | |
| Configuration | |
Station elements as of October 2023 (exploded view) | |
The construction of the station is based on the experience gained from its precursors, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. The first module, the Tianhe ("Harmony of the Heavens") core module, was launched on 29 April 2021, followed by multiple crewed and uncrewed missions and two more laboratory cabin modules Wentian ("Quest for the Heavens") launched on 24 July 2022 and Mengtian ("Dreaming of the Heavens") launched on 31 October 2022. The space station aims to provide opportunities for space-based experiments and a platform for building capacity for scientific and technological innovation.