China’s Space Station will soon be fully operational

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China’s Space Station will soon be fully operational

After years of efforts, China's space station will soon be fully operational.

Over the past 19 years, from China's first manned space mission Shenzhou V to the latest Shenzhou XV launch, the nation's space endeavors have progressed from a single-astronaut mission to the long-term stay of several astronauts in space. The number of astronauts one spaceship can carry has increased from one to three, and the length of time the astronauts stay in space has increased from just 23 hours to six months.

Three astronauts already aboard the station will hand over the station's three astronauts before returning to Earth after the Shenzhou XV spacecraft docks with the space station. During the weeklong transition period there will be six people living in the space station.

It took eight years to go from Shenzhou V to the Tiangong I space lab and five years from Tiangong I to the more advanced space lab Tiangong II. During this process, the program advanced so quickly that a planned Tiangong III was incorporated into Tiangong II.

The Long March 2 F Y 15 rocket, which carried the Shenzhou XV spacecraft into space, also has 45 technological improvements over its predecessor, which carried Shenzhou XIV, completing the upgrading and optimization of the Long March 2 F rocket series.

After the Tianhe core module of the space station was put into orbit in April last year, it took only a year and a half for the two laboratory modules to be attached, forming a Chinese space station complex that comprises the core module and two lab modules.

With the arrival of the Shenzhou XV spacecraft and its crew, the Chinese space station will open a new chapter for China's space program, as astronauts will conduct a series of scientific experiments in space. More than 40 space science and technology experiments will be conducted by the Shenzhou XV astronauts. With more scientific research equipment to be sent to the space station, it will be equivalent to having a world-class university laboratory in space.

There are a number of space science projects that are planned by China, along with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the European Space Agency, and the relevant payloads will be sent to the Chinese space station next year. China is coordinating with the relevant parties and actively preparing for the training of foreign astronauts, as well as requests from several countries to send astronauts to participate in the space station experiments.

The International Space Station has conducted more than 3,000 experiments during its time in service, and the Chinese space station will be no slouch in this regard. As the only space station after the ISS is retired, it will continue to expand humanity's understanding of space.