Jul 262011
Photos and art HERE.
It’s a dinky little thing, like an ensmallerized Mir. The Tiangong-1(“Heavenly Palace) “target module” is due to be launched later this year, with experiment modules to dock with it later.
7 Responses to “Chinas First Space Station”
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What the thing appears to be is a Chinese version of the Soviet midget space station that was basically a Soyuz with the orbital and reentry modules removed and a pressurized module containing living space for a crew added in their place: http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/mwade/craft/soyuz7ks.htm The Soviets never built this, going with the larger Almaz/Salyut stations instead.
This is at least the second time the Chinese have based something on a canceled Soviet project.
Their J-8-I “Finback” fighter was based on the canceled MiG Ye-152A “Flipper” fighter prototype, and originally had a nose intake like it did; later a new nose with side intakes resembling that of a MiG-23 or Su-15 was added onto the J-8-II variant, most remembered as the plane that bumped into our Orion recon plane a few years back.
Humans in space is A-OK by me!
I should have noted that the Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft itself seems to owe a lot to the early unbuilt Soyuz A design which had a cylindrical, rather than spherical, orbital module:
http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/mwade/craft/soyuza.htm
I wonder if they’ve ever kicked around the idea of just buying the ISS when the Russians get ready to deorbit it?
“ensmallerized”??? LOLz! I am so using that. 🙂
The Chinese are making a slow plodding course for the Moon.
“Slow and Steady wins the race.”
“Th Tortoise and the Hare” In this case they are a Tortoise?
On and….
http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&load=5745&mpid=86
I prefer the translation Skypalace (Skylab, etc). Tian(sky)gong(palace)