China yesterday “successfully” launched the second of three modules of its space station under construction into space, a crucial step towards completion of the installation, AFP reported yesterday.
The Wentian spacecraft, which weighs about 20 tons and has no astronauts on board, was boosted at 2:22 pm in Macau by a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang launch center on Hainan Island. A quarter of an hour later, an official from the space agency responsible for manned flights (CMSA) announced the “success” of the launch.
This laboratory module, which is almost 18 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter, must dock with Tianhe, the first module of the station, which has been in orbit since April 2021. The docking operation is a challenge for the crew. , as it requires several successive and high-precision manipulations, namely with a robotic arm.
