China manages to add a laboratory module to an orbiting space station

A rocket carrying China’s second module for the Tiangong space station will blast off from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China. (Credit: AFP)

China is preparing to complete the structure in the coming months, so it has added a laboratory to its space station in permanent orbit.

The Bienchan Laboratory Module was launched on Sunday from the Wenchang Space Station, a tropical island in Hainan province, and is watched by a large crowd of amateur photographers and space enthusiasts.

According to the China Manned Space Agency, after a 13-hour flight, it managed to collide with the main living module Tiangong of the Tiangong Space Station.

Wentian is designed for science and biology experiments, and the 23-ton laboratory module is heavier than any other single-module spacecraft currently in space, the state-run Global Times reports.

This is followed by the second experimental module, Mengtian, which will be available in October.

The three astronauts are currently living in the main module on a six-month mission, overseeing arrival and docking procedures in Vientiane.

This photo, released by the Xinhua News Agency, was taken from the screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Monday, July 25, 2022, from left to right by Chinese astronauts Kai Shuze, Chen Dong and Liu Yang. institute module. China added a laboratory to a space station in permanent orbit on Monday. This will complete the structure in the coming months. (Guo Zhongzheng/Xinhua via AP) — Chinese astronauts, from left: Cai Xuzhe, Chen Dong, Liu Yang waving from inside the Ventian Institute module. (Credit: AP)

China’s most powerful Long March 5B-Y3 rocket has been loaded with modules in its third launch since the Chinese space station entered the construction phase.

Before that, there was a Tianzhou-class unmanned spacecraft and a Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft.

Chinese astronaut Chen Dong has opened the hatch of the Vientiane Institute module. (Credit: AP)

China’s space program is run by the PLA, the military arm of the ruling Communist Party, and it largely continues the Tiangong program without support from other countries.

The United States has excluded China from the International Space Station due to its military ties.

China’s space program put the first astronauts into orbit in 2003, becoming the third independent country after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

China’s military space program was banned from the International Space Station, mainly due to opposition from the United States.

China worked mostly independently, advancing the Tiangong Space Station program, building and abandoning two experiment stations, and then launching the latest version, Tianhe.