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Curing liver disease and babies in space: How Tianzhou-1 research could affect our lives
CGTN
Published on Apr 20, 2017

Apart from being the deliveryman to China’s space lab in orbit, China’s first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 will carry out several experiments that could affect our future. Li Xuzhi is the chief designer of the space application system of China's manned space missions. He told CGTN that the main scientific research mission to be carried out by Tianzhou-1 is to observe the activities of human bone cells and stem cells in an outer space environment.
 
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Live: China's first space cargo ship launching in hours
CGTN
Scheduled for Apr 20, 2017

Tianzhou-1, China's first cargo spacecraft, will blast off into space in the next few hours, bringing China one step closer to its goal of launching a permanently manned space station by 2022. Ahead of the launch, CGTN Live takes you inside the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in southern Hainan Province for a closer look at this key mission and at China's achievements in space exploration.
 
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Tianzhou-1 – China set to debut cargo resupply to Tiangong-2
April 19, 2017 by Rui C. Barbosa
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China is set to take another significant step on the road towards a permanent presence in space when a Launch March 7 (TZ-1) launches Tianzhou-1 – the first Chinese logistics cargo vehicle. The launch is set to take place at 11:40:45 UTC on Thursday from the LC201 Launch Complex at the Wenchang Space Launch Center.

Tianzhou-1:

A successful mission for the Tianzhou-1 (TZ-1) vehicle will demonstrate China’s capability of cargo transport and refueling of an orbiting space station.

With a launch mass or nearly 13,000 kg, Tianzhou-1 is the heaviest cargo ever to be orbited by a Chinese launch vehicle.

The main objective of Tianzhou-1 mission is to conduct the on-orbit refueling of the Tiangong-2 space station.

During the mission, the new vehicle will make three rendezvous attempts with Tiangong-2. Combined operations with the Tiangong-2 / Tianzhou-1 orbital complex will take place over two months. At the end of this period, Tianzhou-1 will separate from Tiangong-2 and will initiate an autonomous orbital mission for three months to carry out experiments and tests during that period of time.

At the end of the mission, Tianzhou-1 will make an automatic destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

A cargo freighter for the future:

The Tianzhou (‘Heavenly Vessel’) cargo freighter has a payload capacity of 6,500 kg (including 2,000 kg of propellant), It has a length of 10.6 meters and a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters.

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The new vehicle, developed on the basis of the Tiangong-1 space station, will be capable of executing fully automated rendezvous maneuvers and docking with Tiangong-2 and with the future modular Tiangong station.

Like the Russian Progress cargo vehicles, future crews and mission control will be able to override the approaching vehicle.

Transporting diverse cargo and fuel to the orbital outposts, Tianzhou will also be used to discard trash and execute autonomous missions after undocking. At the end of the mission, the vehicle will be discarded via a destructive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

The second Tianzhou cargo vehicle is scheduled for launch in 2019, after the launch of the Tiangong space station core module (the Tianhe-1) using a Long March-5B rocket from Wenchang. The docking of Tianzhou-2 with the Tianhe-1 module will open the door for the launch of the Shenzhou-12 crew mission.

The Long March-7:

The development of the Chang Zheng-7 (CZ-7) (Long March-7 – LM-7) launch vehicle began in May 2010. It was originally designated Chang Zheng-2F/H (CZ-2F/H).

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The new launcher is China’s new-generation medium-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). The initial project was to be a modernized version of the CZ-2F to be used on the unmanned and manned flight missions in China’s “Manned Space Program”.

LM-7 will be mainly used for orbiting the new Tianzhou logistics cargo vehicle for the Tiangong-2 and to the modular Tiangong space station, but in the future, will replace the hypergolic launchers of the LM-2, LM-3 and LM-4 rocket range.

Initial flights of the new launch vehicle will be seen as test launches before achieving an operational capability when it will also be used for crewed launches.

The LM-7 is a two stage launch vehicle equipped with four strap-on boosters. Total length is 53.00 meters, diameter is 3.35 m and a span of 10.05 m, with a gross mass of 597,000 kg. At launch it develops a lift-off thrust of 7,200 kN. The rocket is capable of orbiting 13,500 kg into a 400 km LEO and 5,500 kg into a 700 km SSO.

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Rocket components are transported to the launch site from the industrial city of Tianjin using two dedicated cargo ships, the Yuanwang-21 and the Yuanwang-22. The components are then offloaded at the Qinglan seaport serving the Wenchang Space Launch Centre.

The new rocket is powered by the newly developed YF-100, with the first stage using two engines and strap-on boosters using a single engine each. It includes the YF-115 on the second stage using four engines, using kerosene as fuel and liquid oxygen as oxidizer.

The development of the YF-100 began in 2000 at the Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology. The engine was certified by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) in May 2012.

It is a staged combustion cycle engine producing 1,199.19 kN at sea-level with a Isp of 2,942.0 N.s/kg (vacuum values are: thrust 1,339.48 kN; Isp 3,286.2 N.s/kg). The YF-100 will also be used on the CZ-5 and CZ-6 launch vehicles.

The YF-115 is it also a staged combustion cycle engine. It develops 176.5 kN in a vacuum.

Wenchang, China’s new space launch center:

Wenchang Space Launch Centre is located in the northeast corner of the Hainan Island on the southern coast of China.

The center is equipped with two launch complexes. Launch Complex LC101 is used for the Long March-5 launch vehicle family while Launch Complex LC201 is used for the Long March-7 launch vehicle.

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Both pads are similar and are equipped with a fixed umbilical tower, underground flame deflector trenches and ducts. Similarly to what happens at the other Chinese launch centers, the umbilical towers have swing arms to allow technicians to access and inspect the launch vehicle and payload.

The launch pads are served by two vehicle assembly and integration buildings. Launch Complex LC101 is served by Building 501 while Launch Complex LC201 is served by Building 502. Each building is 99.4 meters tall permitting the assembly and testing of the launch vehicle in a full, vertical stacked position.

This is a new approach to the launch vehicle preparation for flight, because at the other Chinese launch centers the launchers are stacked and tested for flight at the launch platforms.

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After being stacked at the vehicle assembly and integration building at the top of a mobile launch platform, the rocket is rolled to the launch pad.

The journey takes several minutes to cover the 2,800 meters separating the vehicle assembly and integration buildings, and the launch pads.

After arriving at the launch pads, the mobile structure is then placed above the flame trench and the necessary umbilical connections between the fixed structures and the mobile platform are established ahead of the flow to launch.

The new launch complex provides additional versatility that isn’t available at the other three launch sites. Wencheng also allows for an increase in performance for the launch vehicles gained from Earth’s rotational because is closer to the Earth equator. This reduces the amount of propellants required for the satellite’s maneuvers from the transit orbit to GEO.

Also, the launch vehicle can fly from the launch site to the southeast direction into the South Pacific, avoiding the possibility of rocket debris falling into any populated area – which has occurred during numerous Chinese launches.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/04/tianzhou-1-china-debut-cargo-resupply-tiangong-2/

What is the Tianzhou 1 and why does it matter in China’s ambitious space mission?

Spacecraft will act as supply vessel as part of ambitious plans to build a space station orbiting the Earth


PUBLISHED : Thursday, 20 April, 2017, 1:01pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 20 April, 2017, 1:02pm

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Stephen Chen

Tianzhou-1, China’s first space cargo ship, is due to be launched on Thursday evening from a space centre in southern Hainan province.

The craft will be put into orbit by a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket blasting off from Wenchang Space Launch Centre.

China to launch first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 1

The Tianzhou-1 forms part of China’s ambitious plans to build an orbiting space station. Construction of the project is due to begin next year and be completed by about 2020.

On its maiden flight, the cargo craft will dock with the small, orbiting Tiangong-2 space laboratory.

The Tianzhou will ultimately be used to carry supplies to up to six astronauts living on board the space station.

Some will spend up to a year living and working in orbit and they will need constants supplies of basics such as food and water.

China’s 30-year long march to its biggest ever rocket launch

The space station will also need to be refuelled regularly to resist the Earth’s gravitational pull, or to change course to avoid collisions with orbiting space junk and debris.

Tianzhou-1 is an unmanned supply ship. It will dock with the space station automatically in futures missions, unload its cargo and fuel, then leave with waste before plunging into the atmosphere to burn-up.

Dr Yang Yuguang, secretary general of the International Space Transport Association and a senior researcher in the Chinese space industry, said China’s space station will not be able to function over the long term without the support of a large, advanced space freighter.

Is China’s latest space mission a step towards PLA tracking of nuclear submarines?

“This is the ultimate reason why China is building up a cargo fleet,” he was quoted as saying by the People’s Daily.

Tianzhou-1 is just over 10 metres high, about the height of a three-story building and is the single largest spacecraft China has built.
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Its solar wings, when fully extended, match the width of a basketball field. It is larger than the Tiangong space laboratory it will dock with during this month’s mission.

The cargo craft can carry a payload of up 6.5 tonnes, twice that of vessels built by Russia and the United States, according to Chinese scientists.

Japan has developed a craft of a similar size, but it needs a robotic arm to dock with the International Space Station. The European spacy agency developed a freighter that could carry a larger load, but it is no longer in service.

China to develop space rockets to launch from planes

Morris Jones, a space expert based in Australia, said the cargo ship was a great achievement for China.

“Only Europe, Russia and China have developed freighters that can refuel a space station. America has not done this,” he said.

Two cargo ships under development or in service in the US, the Cygnus by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Dragon by SpaceX, have a single-compartment design with no room for fuel.

“Tianzhou is a large spacecraft with more volume than freighters from the USA and Russia. It can thus carry more cargo than some other freighters,” said Jones.

“Different versions are designed to carry different combinations of pressurised cargo, which goes straight to the interior of the space station, and unpressurised cargo, which is unloaded in open space and attached to the exterior of the space station,” he added.

The Chinese space authorities also say Tianzhou-1 is the lightest space cargo ship ever made.

Why China decided to give 49-year-old astronaut record third mission

Bai Mingsheng, chief designer of the craft, told China’s state television: “The carrying capacity of Tianzhou is designed to match the scale of the space station, to meet the principle of the highest carrying capacity with the lowest structural weight.”

A significant part of the weight reduction comes from the widespread use of new alloys and carbon fibres, according to state media reports.

Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space programme, said the first flight of the Tianzhou-1 was a milestone in China’s ambitious space missions.

“The success of Tianzhou means the official completion of the space laboratory phrase. We can start building the space station from now on,” he told mainland media.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/poli...ianzhou-1-and-why-it-matters-chinas-ambitious

China to launch first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 1

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 20 April, 2017, 12:53pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 20 April, 2017, 1:05pm

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China will launch its first cargo spacecraft on Thursday, state media said, taking another step towards its goal of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022.

President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing China’s space programme to strengthen national security and defence.

What is the Tianzhou 1 and why does it matter in China’s ambitious space mission?

The Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft will be launched at 7.41pm (1141 GMT), borne aloft on a Long March-7 Y2 rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in the southern island province of Hainan, the Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.

It is designed to dock with the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, or “Heavenly Palace 2”, where two astronauts spent a month in space last October in China’s longest ever manned space mission.

The mission will provide an “important technological basis” for the construction of China’s space station, Xinhua said.

What the Chinese astronauts did during their month-long space mission on Tiangong-2

The spacecraft can carry 6 tonnes of goods, 2 tonnes of fuel and can fly unmanned for three months, state media have said.

Despite the advances in its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, China still lags the United States and Russia.

Why China decided to give 49-year-old astronaut record third mission

In late 2013, China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the Moon to great national fanfare, but ran into severe technical difficulties.

The US Defence Department has highlighted China’s increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations from using space-based assets in a crisis.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/poli...hina-launch-first-cargo-spacecraft-tianzhou-1
 
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Thursday, April 20, 2017, 20:02
China launches first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1
By Xinhua

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China launches Tianzhou-1 into space on Thursday. (Xinhua photo)

WENCHANG, Hainan - China on Thursday evening launched its first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, into space, a crucial step for the country in building a space station by approximately 2022.

Lifted by a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket, Tianzhou-1 roared into the air from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan province.

In space, the cargo ship will dock with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab, provide fuel and other supplies, and conduct space experiments before falling back to Earth.

China aims to build a permanent space station that is expected to orbit for at least 10 years, and the debut of the cargo ship is important as it acts as a courier to help maintain the space station.

Without a cargo transportation system, the station would run out of power and basic necessities, causing it to return to Earth before the designated time.
 
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1st docking to TG-2 will be on April 22 at around 04:00 UTC, i.e. about 6 hours before Cygnus does.
 
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1st docking to TG-2 will be on April 22 at around 04:00 UTC, i.e. about 6 hours before Cygnus does.

THE HEAVIEST PAYLOAD
The unmanned cargo transport spacecraft launched this time, Tianzhou-1, with weight of 13 tons will be the heaviest payload in China's launch history.


References:
Tiangong-2: 9.5 tons
Shenzhou: 7.8 tons


The successful launch of China's first unmanned cargo transport spacecraft - Cargo Spacecraft Tianzhou-1 on 2017.04.20 - Via @OedoSoldier
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Long March 9 Heavy Carrier Rocket (CZ-9): Approximately to achieve the maiden flight in 2028
长征九号重型运载火箭(CZ-9):2028年左右实现首飞 - China Spaceflight

时间: 2017-03-12分类: 长征九号CZ-9
https://www.chinaspaceflight.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=71

2017.03.06

谭永华透露,在航天六院科研专家们的努力下,长征九号运载火箭的研制已经取得了突破性进展。目前已进行了70%左右的组件试验,用行话说,发生器和涡轮泵联试取得了圆满的成功,为后续工程的研制奠定了坚实的基础,长征九号估计在2028年左右可以上天。

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2017.03.05

谭永华介绍,480吨级发动机是我国设计的全新火箭发动机,性能指标瞄准国际先进水平。其与目前长征五号运载火箭所用的120吨级发动机相比,工作原理相同,但推力跨度很大,为设计、生产、制造、试验带来了新的挑战。480吨级发动机将用作长征九号运载火箭的捆绑助推器和芯一级动力,同时在研的220吨级氢氧发动机将用于芯二级动力。

重型运载火箭:2018年底开展发动机整机试验

  中国的重型运载火箭研制已被纳入“十三五”国家科技创新规划,并获国家正式批复立项。火箭研制工作已取得阶段性成果,比如已完成大直径铝合金整体锻造环框的研制工作。
  全国人大代表、中国航天科技集团科技委副主任谭永华介绍,用于重型运载火箭捆绑助推器和芯一级动力的480吨级发动机推力液氧煤油,取得突破性进展:已完成首次燃气发生器—涡轮泵联动试验,今年将开展第二次联动试验,计划在2018年年底开展发动机整机试验。
  重型运载火箭箭体直径近10米,全箭总长近百米。火箭运载能力是现有火箭运载能力的5倍多,超过美国正在研制的下一代运载火箭(SLS)


2017.03.02

我国重型火箭先期关键技术攻关、方案深化论证工作于2016年6月正式批复立项,主要的攻关内容为“一总三大”:一总即重型火箭的总体技术和方案优化;三大即10米级大直径箭体结构的设计、制造和试验,480吨大推力的液氧煤油发动机,220吨大推力的氢氧发动机。

  目前,两种大推力发动机的攻关进展顺利。谭永华说,480吨级液氧煤油发动机已经完成了首次发生器-涡轮泵联试,试验达到了预期目的,通过试验验证了发动机系统和组件方案的可行性,标志着480吨液氧煤油发动机研制关键技术攻关取得突破性进展。而220吨级高性能氢氧发动机也已完成了多个组件方案详细设计,进行了组件的研制试验工作。


CZ-9火箭为三级半构型,芯级最大直径10 m级,LEO运载能力140 t,LTO运载能力50 t。CZ-9火箭是完成深空探测、载人登月和登火、空间基础设施建设(如空间太阳能电站)等任务的重要支撑[5],将加速航天强国建设步伐。CZ-9火箭采用“通用化、系列化、组合化”发展策略,三个构型的对应结构状态相同,可模块化组合。可捆绑液体助推器,也可以捆绑固体助推器。

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China Daily English Edition 中国日报英文版 2016.03.10

New engines to lift super-heavy rocket

Chinese rocket engine designers have started to develop next-generation engines that will propel the nation's future super-heavy rocket, which is tentatively called Long March 9, according to a senior rocket scientist.

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"Engineers at my academy are researching and developing a 500-ton-thrust liquid oxygen/kerosene engine and a 200-ton-thrust liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine that will be used on the future heavy-lift rocket," Tan Yonghua, president of the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology and a national lawmaker, told China Daily on the sidelines of the annual session of the top legislature.

The engines will together give the Long March 9 a launch weight of 3,000 tons and a maximum payload of 130 tons to the low Earth orbit, which is powerful enough to fulfill a manned mission to the moon, he said.

Success of the country's Mars exploration programs, which have been approved by the government, and other deep-space projects will also depend on the new rocket because existing ones, including the Long March 5, are not powerful enough, according to Tan.

Long March 9 is set to be as technologically advanced as the United States' Space Launch System, which is being designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and it will be pollution-free, the scientist added.

Tan said the new engines will be based on those used on the Long March 5, which will be launched for the first time in the fall, and that their development will take about 10 years.

Liang Xiaohong, former deputy head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and a political adviser, told China Daily that the Long March 9's core body will have a diameter of nearly 10 meters and a height of more than 100 m. The rocket's development is expected to take 15 years, he added.

Liang's academy recently developed a super-large interstage ring that will be used to connect stages of the Long March 9.

In another development, Tan said the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology will soon deliver engines to be installed on the Chang'e 5 probe, the third step of China's unmanned lunar exploration effort to land on the moon and bring back soil in about 2017.

China is even eyeing the possibility of operating a space solar power station between Earth and the moon. Lieutenant General Zhang Yulin, deputy head of the Central Military Commission's Equipment Development Department, told Xinhua News Agency on Monday that China is making a blueprint for the construction of a solar power station.

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https://www.chinaspaceflight.com/rocket/Heavy-Lift-Launch-Vehicle/Heavy-Lift-Launch-Vehicle.html
 
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First cargo spacecraft boosts China's space dream
(Xinhua) 08:14, April 21, 2017

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China's first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 blasts off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan province, April 20, 2017. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua)

WENCHANG, Hainan, April 20 -- China has taken another step toward its goal of putting a space station into orbit around 2022, by sending its first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 into space on Thursday evening.

Atop a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket, Tianzhou-1 rose into the air from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province at 7:41 p.m.

China declared the launch a success after it entered designated orbit minutes later.

The cargo ship will dock with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab where two Chinese astronauts spent 30 days in the country's longest-ever manned space mission, provide fuel and other supplies to the latter, as well as conduct space experiments before falling back to Earth.

If the Tianzhou-1 mission is successful, China will become the third country besides Russia and the United States to master the technique of refueling in space.

China aims to build a permanent space station that is expected to orbit for at least 10 years, and the debut of the cargo ship is important as it acts as a courier to help maintain the space station.

Without a cargo transportation system, the station would run out of power and basic necessities, causing it to return to Earth before the designated time.

"The Tianzhou-1 mission includes the breakthrough of in-orbit refueling and other key technology needed to build a space station, laying a foundation for future space station operations," said Bai Mingsheng, chief designer of the cargo ship.

THREE DOCKINGS

Measuring 10.6 meters long and boasting a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters, the Tianzhou-1 cargo ship has a maximum takeoff weight of 13.5 tonnes, and could carry over 6 tonnes of supplies.

Tianzhou-1 is larger and heavier than Tiangong-2, which is 10.4 meters in length and has a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters, weighing 8.6 tonnes.

Bai said that supplies loaded on the cargo spacecraft are nearly as heavy as the ship's own weight, exceeding the loading capacity of Russian cargo ships in active service.

Tianzhou-1 will dock with Tiangong-2 three times, said Bai. After the first docking, aerospace engineers will test the controlling ability of the cargo spacecraft over the two spacecraft.

The second docking will be conducted from a different direction, which aims to test the ability of the cargo ship to dock with the space station from different directions.

In the last docking, Tianzhou-1 will use fast-docking technology. Previously, it took China about two days to dock, while fast docking will take about six hours, according to Bai.

Refueling is conducted during docking, a process that is much more complicated than refueling vehicles on land.

The refueling procedure will take 29 steps and last for several days each time.

This means the Tianzhou-1 will stay in space for about six months. It will fall into a designated sea area after fulfilling its tasks.

SUPPORTING SPACE STATION

Space cargo ships play a crucial role in the maintenance of a space station.

Cargo ships can send all kinds of supplies to the space station which can be an experiment field for developing technology in space.

Huang Weifen, a deputy chief designer of the Astronaut Center of China, said that supplies carried by Tianzhou-1 include goods that will meet the basic living and working needs of three astronauts for 30 days in space, including drinking water, oxygen bottles and nitrogen bottles.

Also onboard include facilities for microorganism tests, and sensors are installed to obtain data such as mechanics and temperature for the future design of the space suit outside a spacecraft.

"We hope to gather relevant data through this mission and accumulate experience for sending material for the future space station," she said.

VISION OF SPACE POWER

Although China has achieved many giant steps in space exploration, the country's space odyssey is far from over as it eyes building its own space station and far beyond that: landing on Mars.

In 1992, the central authority approved a three-step manned space program.

The first step, to send an astronaut into space and return safely, was fulfilled by Yang Liwei in Shenzhou-5 mission in 2013.

The second step was developing advanced space flight techniques and technologies including extra-vehicular activity and orbital docking.

The final step will be able to operate a permanent manned space station.

Chinese scientists said they plan to launch a core module of the country's first space station around 2018, followed by two experiment modules.

The station in the primary stage will be composed of three modules: core module, experiment module I and experiment module II. Each module will weigh more than 20 tonnes and together the three will be structured in the shape of T. The core module will be in the middle with an experiment module on each side.

During its operation, the space station could be linked to one additional cargo ship and two manned spacecraft at one time, and the maximum weight of the whole assembly could reach up to 90 tonnes.

Based on such design, scientists will keep updating capsules in accordance with scientific research and extend their abilities.

With the International Space Station set to retire in 2024, the Chinese space station will offer a promising alternative, and China will be the only country with a permanent space station.

So far, China has successfully launched 11 Shenzhou series spacecraft, including six manned spacecraft that lifted 11 astronauts into space.

The country strives to realize the third step of its lunar program in 2017: sending Chang'e-5 lunar probe onto the moon which will return with samples.

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