The Chinese National Space Administration has just selected a new group of taikonauts destined to join the country's next space station. This should be operational from 2022.
The ISS is currently the only operational station in orbit, but a Chinese station called "Tiangong" (Heavenly Palace) is soon to succeed it. We know that it will weigh nearly 100 tons, that it will have three modules and that it should also evolve between 340 and 450 km of altitude for at least fifteen years. On board, taikonauts will conduct various scientific experiments. They will also prepare for future long flights.
We also know that the central module (17 meters long) of the Chinese station will be launched in early 2021. The firing will be done with a Long March 5B rocket, from the base of Wenchang launch. In total, the Chinese National Space Administration plans eleven launches to complete the construction of its station a little later, in 2022.
In the meantime, the Space Administration has just selected a third group of 18 taikonauts – 17 men and one woman. Seven of them, who have so far been in the Chinese Air Force, have been recruited as pilots. Seven others – technicians in aeronautics, astronautics and other related fields – were recruited as spaceflight engineers. Finally, the last four were selected as payload specialists.
All these taikonauts were trained to perform simulated spacewalks (in the pool) and to handle robotic tools. All will join the future station aboard a dedicated capsule capable of carrying up to six people (or three taikonauts and 500 kilos of payload). Finally, note that if this new station will indeed be Chinese, it will also be accessible to any other member country of the UN.
China has made tremendous progress in the space field in recent years. And of course, it's not to everyone's taste.
A few days ago, a United States Republican Congressional Task Force even released a detailed strategic plan to try to counter the growing global threat from the Chinese Communist Party. (CCP). This is a reminder that China, if it succeeds in launching its first space station module in 2022, will have progressed as much in less than 20 years in the space field as the United States in 40 years.
“The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is also talking about plans to establish a human base on the Moon,” can we read. Also “the United States should be concerned about technological innovations and possible CCP space leadership in the years to come” .
