Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos, recently expressed his intention to send cosmonauts to the new Chinese space station. If such a collaboration materializes, several technical challenges will have to be met.
A few days ago, China again made an impression by sending its first crew to its new space station. The taikonauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo will spend three months on board as part of this mission dubbed Shenzhou-12 with the aim of familiarizing themselves with the structure.
A few months ago, the Chinese authorities had also communicated on the idea that foreign astronauts could one day integrate the station to carry out scientific experiments. A stretched pole that the Russians hastened to seize.
During the Global Conference on Space Exploration (GLEX) recently held in St. Petersburg, Russia, Dmitry Rogozin, the boss of Roscosmos, indeed said that the Russia was in talks with China about this. The announcement comes just weeks after Russia announced its desire to leave the International Space Station (ISS).
However, getting cosmonauts to the new Chinese station presents some challenges. Indeed, its inclination takes it to 41.5 degrees north and south of the equator, so as to be more easily accessible for launches operated from the Jiuquan base. In contrast, the Russian cosmodromes are located at higher latitudes.
According to journalist Anatoly Zak, Russia even approached China some time ago to suggest raising the orbital inclination of its station, in order to facilitate the integration of cosmonauts on board.
With such an inclination, Russian rockets would have to perform a series of maneuvers aimed at altering the yaw of their initial trajectory during ascent. However, this would require too much additional fuel, which the Soyuz launchers cannot support.
Another option being considered would be to launch the Soyuz capsules from ESA's launch center in Kourou, French Guiana, which is closer to the equator. On the other hand, this would require modifications to the complex allowing the flight of these manned missions.
Finally, it could be possible that Russian cosmonauts directly integrate the Chinese missions. However, such collaboration does not happen overnight. Just as American and European astronauts had to learn Russian to collaborate on the ISS, cosmonauts should probably learn the Chinese language to facilitate operations. In addition, integrating a brand new capsule also requires training efforts.
You understand that such an agreement cannot materialize tomorrow. That said, the Russian and Chinese space agencies have never been closer. A few weeks ago, the two countries signed an agreement providing for the construction of a lunar base, inviting other countries to join them.
