x

Science

China Adds science Laboratory to Its Orbiting Space Station

BEIJING — China added a laboratory to its permanent orbiting space station Monday as it moves toward completing the structure in coming months.

The Wentian laboratory was launched from the Wenchang space base on the tropical island province of Hainan on Sunday with a large crowd of amateur photographers and space enthusiasts watching.

After 13 hours of flight, it successfully docked with the Tianhe living area of the Tiangong space station at 3:13 a.m. Monday (1913 GMT), according to the China Manned Space Agency.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an image taken off the screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center shows Chinese astronaut Chen Dong operate equipment inside the Wentian lab module on Monday, July 25, 2022. (Guo Zhongzheng/Xinhua via AP)

Photos distributed by Xinhua News Agency later showed the three astronauts inside the expanded space station.

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

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an image taken off the screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center shows Chinese astronaut Chen Dong opening the hatch door of the Wentian lab module on Monday, July 25, 2022. (Guo Zhongzheng/Xinhua via AP)

Three astronauts who started their six-month mission aboard the space station last month oversaw the Wentian’s arrival and docking.

A second laboratory segment, the Mengtian, is due to be launched in October and will complete the space station.

A Long March 5B-Y3 rocket, China’s most powerful, carried the laboratory module in the third such launch since the Chinese space station entered its construction phase. It was preceded by the Tianzhou-class cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-14 crewed spacecraft.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Long March 5B Y3 carrier rocket, carrying Wentian lab module blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang in southern China’s Hainan Province Sunday, July 24, 2022. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)

China’s space program is run by the ruling Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, and has largely proceeded with the Tiangong program without other nations’ assistance. The U.S. excluded China from the International Space Station because of its military ties.

China launched its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, making it only the third country to do so on its own after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. Its space program has landed robot rovers on the moon and placed one on Mars last year. China has also returned lunar samples and officials have discussed a possible crewed mission to the moon.

 

RELATED

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Nations weather agency is reporting that glaciers shrank more than ever from 2011 and 2020 and the Antarctic ice sheet lost 75 percent more compared to the previous ten years, as it released its latest stark report about the fallout on the planet from climate change.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.

Video

Lebanon’s Christians Feel the Heat of Climate Change in Its Sacred Forest and Valley (Vid)

BCHARRE, Lebanon (AP) — Majestic cedar trees towered over dozens of Lebanese Christians gathered outside a small mid-19th century chapel hidden in a mountain forest to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, the miracle where Jesus Christ, on a mountaintop, shined with light before his disciples.

MILAN (AP) — The father of a young woman whose murder galvanized Italian outrage against violence targeting women implored men during her funeral Tuesday in the northern city of Padua to be “agents of change” to a culture that often “undervalues the lives of women.

NEW YORK (AP) — Before she's ready to talk about her memoir, Barbra Streisand needs to pull herself away from current events.

The holidays are approaching and nearly 90% of millennials and Gen Xers will soon head to the kitchen to participate in one of America’s most popular traditions: baking.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.