After launching the Tianhe module into space, Beijing plans to launch the Tianzhou-2 cargo ship to it using the Changzheng-7 carrier rocket.
China on Thursday launched the base module of the national space station into orbit with the help of the heavy launch vehicle Changzheng-5.
“The basic module was named Tianhe. The launch was carried out from the Wenchang Cosmodrome in the southern province of Hainan at 11:23 local time (06:23 Moscow time). After about eight minutes (about 490 seconds) of flight, the module entered the specified orbit”, – the message says.
After launching the Tianhe base module into space, China plans to launch the Tianzhou-2 cargo ship to it using the Changzheng-7 carrier rocket. After it, the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft with three taykunauts (as astronauts are called in China) on board will be launched into space using the Changzheng-2-ef rocket. Its docking with the Tianhe base module will make the station habitable.
In total, the installation of all the stations of the station will take about a year and involves at least 11 launches. These include the delivery of a base module and two laboratory modules into orbit, as well as the launch of four cargo ships and four manned expeditions with taikunauts.