ZHUHAI – China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanentlycrewed space station, which would replace the international community sorbiting laboratory and symbolises the country s major ambitions beyondEarth.
The 17-metre (55-foot) core module was a star attraction at the biennialAirshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, the country s mainaerospace industry exhibition.
Outside, China s J-10 fighter jet and J-20 stealth fighter wowed spectatorsas they zoomed across Zhuhai s sky. Back inside, the country displayed itsfleet of drones and other military hardware.
Crowds gathered around the cylindrical space station module representingthe living and working quarters of the Tiangong — or “Heavenly Palace” –which will also have two other modules for scientific experiments and willbe equipped with solar panels.
Three astronauts will be permanently stationed in the 60-tonne orbitinglab, which will enable the crew to conduct biological and microgravityresearch.
Assembly is expected to be completed around 2022 and the station would havea lifespan of around 10 years.
The International Space Station — a collaboration between the UnitedStates, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan — has been in operation since1998 but is due to be retired in 2024.
China will then have the only space station in orbit, though it will bemuch smaller than the ISS which weighs 400 tonnes and is as large as afootball pitch. – APP/AFP