March 3, 2014

The Next Tiangong (Source: Space Daily)

In 2015, China is expected to launch its next space laboratory. Tiangong 2 will follow on from the Tiangong 1 module, which was launched in 2011 and is still in orbit at the time of writing. Tiangong 1 received two crews of astronauts and carried out China's first space dockings. It is a small, roughly cylindrical module with a crew cabin and a service module featuring solar panels. Although Tiangong 1 is officially designated as a "space laboratory", it is really a small space station.

The launch of Tiangong 2 has been expected for a long time, but space analysts are puzzled by the nature of this spacecraft. Originally, China planned to launch three Tiangong modules, and Tiangong 2 was expected to be a marginally improved version of the Tiangong 1 spacecraft. Later, China seemed to drop plans for three Tiangongs and launch just two. We wondered how this would affect the design of the next module to be launched. A whirlwind of rumours, speculation and conflicting reports circulated. China seemed determined to allow the confusion to flourish.

Recent snippets of information from China have helped to clear up some of the confusion, but have still not given us a totally clear picture of the next Tiangong. China has essentially confirmed plans that a cargo spacecraft will dock with Tiangong 2. This is consistent with the long-term goal of the Tiangong program: To verify the hardware and technology required to build a large space station. (3/3)

Japan Calls For New Launcher Proposals (Source: Space Daily)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is making final preparations towards the development of our new flagship launch vehicle from Japan Fiscal Year (JFY) 2014. The new flagship launch vehicle will be freshly developed with a goal of securing Japan's autonomous launch capability of satellites and other payloads while acquiring international competitiveness in the space transportation field and maintaining and developing technical and industrial bases.

The Committee on the National Space Policy of the Cabinet Office recommended that the private sector be involved to play an important role throughout the new flagship launch vehicle project to make it an internationally competitive launch vehicle. By including a private company, the Committee said that the ability and power of the private sector should be fully leveraged in the development, and, thus, that company shall also be able to provide launch services autonomously. (3/3)

China's Lunar Lander Still Operational (Source: Space Daily)'

While the world awaits the awakening of China's Yutu Moon rover at the end of this long lunar night, let's not forget that Yutu is not the only spacecraft on the Moon. Yutu was delivered to the lunar surface aboard Chang'e-3, a large robot lander. Chang'e-3 is the first Chinese spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon. It follows in the wake of China's first two lunar missions, which orbited the Moon. (3/3)