Drew Wilson
April 27th, 2011, 04:45 PM
China unveiled plans for its own space station, to be completed by 2020, along with a cargo ship to ferry supplies to and from orbit.
The space station will be a 60 metric ton, three-module structure, according to Xinhuanet, the state-owned news service. The plans were announced by the China Manned Space Engineering Office at a news conference.
An 18.1-meter-long core module, with a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and weighing 20 to 22 tons, will be launched first. Two experiment modules will then be launched and dock with the core module. Each laboratory module will be 14.4 meters long, with the same maximum diameter and weight of the core module.
The proposed space station is smaller than the International Space Station, which consists of 16 pressurized modules and weighs in at 419 metric tons. The Russian Mir space station weighed 130 metric tons.
More... (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/138702/20110427/china-plans-space-station-by-2020.htm#ixzz1KloaX1tM)
No wonder the US is getting itchy space feet.
The space station will be a 60 metric ton, three-module structure, according to Xinhuanet, the state-owned news service. The plans were announced by the China Manned Space Engineering Office at a news conference.
An 18.1-meter-long core module, with a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and weighing 20 to 22 tons, will be launched first. Two experiment modules will then be launched and dock with the core module. Each laboratory module will be 14.4 meters long, with the same maximum diameter and weight of the core module.
The proposed space station is smaller than the International Space Station, which consists of 16 pressurized modules and weighs in at 419 metric tons. The Russian Mir space station weighed 130 metric tons.
More... (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/138702/20110427/china-plans-space-station-by-2020.htm#ixzz1KloaX1tM)
No wonder the US is getting itchy space feet.