China launches 2nd space station 

China is set to add a new compartment to its space station after the launch of the Wentian module early Sunday. Wentian was sent into orbit atop a Long March 5B heavy launch vehicle that lifted off at 2:25 in the morning.




 EDT (0625 GMT or 2:25 p.m. Beijing time) on July 24 from the Wenchang Spaceport on southern Hainan Island. The 58.7-foot (17.9-meter) module will soon correspond to the orbit of Tianhe, China's first space station module, which was launched in April 2021. 

Wentian is expected to rendezvous and dock with a port attached to Tianhe later on Sunday Wentian, which literally means "seeking the sky", is the second of three modules to be launched in China. The third, named Mengtian, is scheduled to launch in October and complete the T-shaped Tiangong space station.

Including the Shenzhou crewed spacecraft and the Tianzhou cargo ship docked at the station, the finished Tiangong will be about 20% larger than the International Space Station (ISS) and weigh about 460 tons.

Three astronauts from the Shenzhou 14 mission are currently aboard Tianhe awaiting the arrival of the new module. According to Chinese state media, the trio will later hold Wentian's first live science lecture in the near future after the tests.

Wentian's primary role is to host a series of experimental cabinets that allow astronauts to conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments in orbit; it also carries a solar array and a new air chamber for spacewalks. In addition, it will have additional quarters for astronauts to allow China to conduct crew transfers, where six crew members will temporarily remain on the Tiangong; the first such move is expected to take place before the current crew departs in December. 

2nd Space Station

Although Wentian will begin its stay at the front docking port in Tianhe, the main module's 10-meter robotic arm will be used to move Wentian to the side port in the coming months. Earlier this year, China tested the necessary maneuvers with Tianzhou 3, a cargo spacecraft that delivered supplies to the space station in support of the first crewed mission. The spaceship had been launched a few days ago to make way for Wentian's arrival. Wentian also has its own 16.4-foot-long (5-meter) robotic arm that can operate independently or attach to its larger sister arm, Tianhe. China began its space station project in 1992, when it approved a plan to develop the ability to launch astronauts into space, test life support aboard small space laboratories, and build new, larger rockets capable of launching modules as large as 48,500 pounds (22,000 kilograms). ) Tianhe and Wentian modules. Earth plans to keep the Tiangong space station permanently for at least ten years, with each crew of three astronauts spending six months on board. China has also said it will allow foreign astronauts and even space tourists to visit the orbital base in the future, while hosting international experiments, the first of which has already been selected. The space station will also support a powerful space research telescope called Xuntian, which China plans to launch around 2024. The Hubble-class observatory will operate in a similar orbit to Tiangong, meaning it will be able to dock with the station for refueling, upgrades, and repairs