China to launch 2 crewed missions to space station this year

BEIJING

China will conduct two crewed missions to its Tiengong Space Station this year.

China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated that it is planned to carry new crew teams to the station with the "Shinjou-18" and "Shinjou-19" missions.

The new crew members were selected and the training process is continuing, the agency noted.

On the other hand, two resupply flights are expected to be made to meet the needs of space travelers.

Personnel are transported to the station by the "Shincou" rockets and supply materials are transported by the "Tiencou" rockets.

China has built its own space station in Earth orbit due to the US ban on cooperation in the field of space exploration and blocking its participation in the International Space Station (ISS) program.

The Tiengong Space Station, which consists of a core module, two laboratory modules and is planned to add a space telescope, was built on the model of Russia's now-defunct Mir Space Station.

The core module "Tienhi", the main part of the station, was launched on April 29, 2021, the first laboratory module "Vintien" was launched on July 24, 2022, and the second laboratory module "Mingtien" was launched on October 31, 2022.

With the addition of laboratory modules to the core module, the "T" shaped main skeleton of the station was completed.

The space telescope called "Shuntien" is also planned to be added to the station as a separate module.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun in Istanbul