Tiangong-2 (Chinese: 天宫二号; pinyin: Tiāngōng èrhào; lit. 'Celestial Palace 2') was a Chinese space laboratory and part of the Project 921-2space station program. Tiangong-2 was launched on 15 September 2016.[7] It was deorbited as planned on 19 July 2019.[8]
Tiangong-2 was neither designed nor planned to be a permanent orbital station; rather, it was intended as a testbed for key technologies used in the Tiangong station (Chinese large modular space station) of which the first module launched on 29 April 2021[9] and the remaining modules of which launched in 2022.[10]
The China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and its successor Tiangong-3 in 2008, indicating that at least two crewed spaceships would be launched to dock with Tiangong-2.[2]
Tiangong-2 was originally expected to be launched by the China National Space Agency (CNSA) by 2015 [11] to replace the prototype module Tiangong-1, which was launched in September 2011.[12] In March 2011, Chinese officials stated that Tiangong-2 was scheduled to be launched by 2015.[11][13] An uncrewed cargo spacecraft will dock with the station,[11] allowing for resupply.[14]
In September 2014, its launch was postponed to September 2016.[15] Plans for visits in October 2016 by the crewed mission Shenzhou 11 and the uncrewed resupply craft Tianzhou were made public.[16] The station was successfully launched from Jiuquan aboard a Long March 2F rocket on 15 September 2016.[17]Shenzhou 11 (Only Expedition) successfully docked with Tiangong-2 on 19 October 2016.[18]
Aboard the Shenzhou 11, launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, were Commander Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong who formed the inaugural crew for the space laboratory.[19] It was China's first crewed mission for more than three years.
During the 30 days the two astronauts were aboard Tiangong-2, they conducted a number of scientific and technical experiments on the physiological effects of weightlessness, tests on human-machine collaboration on in-orbit maintenance technology and released an accompanying satellite successfully. Accompanying photography and near-distance fly-by observation were also carried out. They collected abundant data and made some achievements in programs of gamma-ray burst polarimeter, space cold atomic clock and preparation of new materials.[20]
Shenzhou 11 separated from the orbiting Tiangong-2 space laboratory on 17 November 2016, reentry module landed successfully at the expected site in central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at about 13:59 Beijing Time.[20]
On 22 April 2017, the cargo vessel Tianzhou-1 successfully docked with Tiangong-2 marking the first successful docking and refuelling with the orbiting space laboratory.[21] It subsequently performed a second docking and refueling on 15 June 2017. On 12 September 2017, Tianzhou-1 performed the third and final docking and refuelling with Tiangong-2, with what is termed a fast docking which took 6.5 hours, rather than 2 days, to complete.[22]
In June 2018, Tiangong-2 performed orbital maneuvers lowering the orbit to 292 × 297 kilometers, likely in preparation for deorbiting. It then returned to its usual orbit.[23][24]
In July 2019, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced that it was planning to deorbit Tiangong-2 in the near future, but no specific date was given.[25] The station subsequently made a controlled reentry on 19 July 2019 and burned up over the South Pacific Ocean.[26]
Dimensions
The dimensions of Tiangong-2 were:
Crew size: 2, with 30 days of life support resources.[13] The crew (from Shenzhou 11, October 2016) consists of two astronauts.
^"Tiangong 2". China Space Report. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
^ abcdBranigan, Tania; Sample, Ian (26 April 2011). "China unveils rival to International Space Station". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 April 2011. China often chooses poetic names for its space projects, such as Chang'e – after the moon goddess – for its lunar probes; its rocket series, however, is named Long March, in tribute to communist history. The space station project is currently referred to as Tiangong, or "heavenly palace".
^ abDavid, Leonard (11 March 2011). "China Details Ambitious Space Station Goals". SPACE.com. Retrieved 9 March 2011. China is ready to carry out a multiphase construction program that leads to the large space station around 2020. As a prelude to building that facility, China is set to loft the Tiangong-1 module this year as a platform to help master key rendezvous and docking technologies.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
