A space journey of 6 years and 185 days ended on April 2, 00:15 GMT for China’s space lab “Tiangong-1”. The 18,753 lb and 34.1 ft long space station (in comparison, the International Space Station (ISS) measures an incredible 924,740 lb and 239 ft in length) began its mission in late 2011.
“Tiangong” translates to “Heavenly Palace” or “Celestial Palace”, a fitting name regarding its size, since the space station was rather small. It consisted of only two tubular modules, one for its solar panels and engines, and one for a pair of astronauts to live in and carry out experiments.
Two large wings encased in solar panels generated the necessary electricity for the procedures on board, which delivered remarkable improvements for China’s future space programs. Among these were two crewed missions, including China’s first female astronauts Liu Yang and Wang Yaping. Its main focus, however, was to serve as a test platform for perfecting docking procedures and other operations.
“In terms of space exploration and research there is much we don’t even know about our own solar system,” said senior Jaejun Shin, “There are so many unanswered questions, but I think everyone should be excited for the future, especially because of the rapid development in technology, creating room for bigger and more drastic leaps in the field.”
This improvement and development is seeked also by the Chinese, who are planning to send
“Tiangong-1’s ” successor, a more permanent space lab, into space in the coming decade. Permanent being the big clue, since “Tiangong-1’s “ last crew departed in 2013 and contact with the spacelab was cut in 2016.
Feared to cause harm, “Tiangong-1” almost completely burned up in an uncontrolled reentry on April 2, 00:15 GMT, marking the beginning of China’s improved space travel. “I hope this not only marks a beginning of an improvement of China’s space programs,” senior Adarsh Manosh remarked, “but also an even closer worldwide contribution and cooperation in this field of science.”
