China wants to build their Tiangong space station after successfully launching a space laboratory since 2011. Steps are taken by China to build a space station independently because they are banned from the International Space Station (ISS). Yesterday the Wentian space lab module successfully docked with the Tianhe model after it was launched last Sunday.
Wentian and Tianhe are two of the three modules needed to form the Tiangong space station. Mengtian's third module will be launched in August. The Wentian module will be the biological and science laboratory of China's space program.
At 17.9 meters long, 4.2 meters wide and weighing 20 tons, Wentian is the heaviest object China has ever launched into space. Three taikonauts in Tianhe entered the model and found it arrived safely. The next phase is to rotate the Wentian module by 90 degrees to do lateral connections to form a cross-shaped station.
This phase is the most challenging because it will be the first time that China has assembled a module in space with the help of robotic hands. When completed by the end of 2022, it will only be 20% the size of the ISS with space for only three astronauts at a time. Like the ISS, China plans to offer tours to tourists.