China’s space module is precursor for 2020 space station

21 Sep 2011

1

Beijing: China will launch an unmanned module next week, which will serve as a learning platform for a proposed space station, a spokesman for the space programme said on Tuesday.

Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace 1", will blast off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu province between 27-30 Sept, the spokesman said.

The 8.5-ton module atop a Long March II-F rocket were positioned onto the launch pad on Tuesday.

"Scientists will conduct final tests in the next few days before injecting propellants for the launch," Cui Jijun, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, said.

The programme spokesman said that Tiangong-1 will serve as "a target spacecraft" for rendezvous and docking experiments. It will also work as "a platform to test long-term unmanned and short-term manned operations", he said.

Technical and medical experiments will provide crucial data ahead of the building of the space station, which is scheduled for 2020.

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