Tiangong Space Station

[Randy]

Here are a few pictures of China's space station and how they plan to enlarge it.

I haven't mastered docking yet, so maybe someone else would like to give it a try.

The station today.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/images/2011tiangong/attachement/jpg/site1/20110929/00221917dead0fee194911.jpg

Docking

http://www.space.com/images/i/13076/i02/shenzhou-tiangong-china-space-docking-111102c-02.jpg?1320269231

The competed station.

http://interspacenews.com/Portals/3/Articles/images/20110929_china%20space%20station2.jpg

Good Luck!

[flightmaster]

It's so boring, thank god we don't have to worry about cost and practicality!

[ZedNova]

Great! I hope the Chinese are doing this for Science and not just for Political reasons.

[MGUARN]

I like how the space craft remind me of Soyuz.

[satcharna]

That's because they basically are Soyuz, the differences are very slight. Much of the Chinese space technology was bought from Russia.

I'm glad one of the world's superpowers is turning toward space exploration, it's a much nobler cause than most other things superpowers are wont to spend resources on.

[ThePyrateCaptain]

Are all the stations parts made in........china....?

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Ooooo!

Just apply water directly to the buuuuuuurn, ISS!

[MGUARN]

Are all the stations parts made in........china....?

No Thailand if you watched the movie "Armageddon" you know the asteroid the size of Texas going to hit earth movie. aslo Space your sig i do notice the second the I think that means something XD.

[Specialist290]

It's so boring

You say it looks boring. I think it's beautifully symmetrical.

Also, the comparison between Soyuz / Salyut and Shenzhou / Tiangong is even more obvious from the silhouettes in the second image.

[TwoHedWlf]

Are all the stations parts made in........china....?

American components, russian components, chinese components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!

[MGUARN]

American components, russian components, chinese components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!

darn it was Taiwan welp i was some what close.(not really)I love that quote from the Russian astronaut.

[Henri von Braun]

Yep. And BTW, as I live in China, you can walk around and see red banners in the streets saying they have done it !

P.S, flightmaster, is the second line on your sig about SCP-173 ?

[Kerbface]

Yep. And BTW, as I live in China, you can walk around and see red banners in the streets saying they have done it !

They seem really excited about about something many other countries have done. It's good and all, but I can't imagine banners going up in the streets in the US when not terribly revolutionary orbital procedures are completed, but maybe I'm wrong.

[Eric S]

They seem really excited about about something many other countries have done. It's good and all, but I can't imagine banners going up in the streets in the US when not terribly revolutionary orbital procedures are completed, but maybe I'm wrong.

Except for the moon landings, the US was behind the Soviet Union for the entire space race, but the US still celebrated it's successes. The Mercury astronauts were treated like celebrities, doing appearances all over the country.

China is what, the third country to put up a manned space station by themselves? Given where their technology was when the space race was going on, that's an achievement.

[Kerbface]

China is what, the third country to put up a manned space station by themselves? Given where their technology was when the space race was going on, that's an achievement.

Hm... now I think about it I guess that is true, because the ISS, though having modules from a bunch of countries, is not made solely by that country.

[HeadHunter67]

They seem really excited about about something many other countries have done.

If by "many", you mean "two", then perhaps you have a point. Aside from the United States and Russia, no other nation has independently put astronauts or stations into space. Every astronaut of another nation has gotten into space on an American or Russian flight. So it's still a pretty big accomplishment for China.

[SuperWeegee4000]

No Thailand if you watched the movie "Armageddon" you know the asteroid the size of Texas going to hit earth movie. aslo Space your sig i do notice the second the I think that means something XD.

I noticed it too. Anyway, the complete design looks oddly "steampunk," having a core with thin struts connecting the modules.

[Naten]

Wow! Look at Shenzhou! It's totally not a modified Soyuz China stole from the Russian federation! Totally not! -_______________-

[SuperWeegee4000]

Wow! Look at Shenzhou! It's totally not a modified Soyuz China stole from the Russian federation! Totally not! -_______________-

They explained that it was similar in design to the Soyuz, and it was most likely an inspired design.

[Mr Shifty]

Wow! Look at Shenzhou! It's totally not a modified Soyuz China stole from the Russian federation! Totally not! -_______________-

Nothing stolen; Russia transferred technology in a agreement with the Chinese government. And I'm not sure what your point is. It would be utter stupidity for a fledgling space agency to pretend that no one had been to space before and start from scratch. Getting people to space is still a major achievement. The technology has been available for 50 years, but still only three countries have ever done it. And let's not forget that the U.S. at present has zero capability to launch crewed flight.