Concept
Tianhe (), officially the Tianhe core module (), is the first module to launch of the Tiangong space station. It was launched into orbit on 29 April 2021, as the first launch of the final phase of Tiangong program, part of the China Manned Space Program (Project 921). Tianhe follows the earlier projects Salyut, Skylab, Mir, International Space Station, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space stations. It is the first module of a third-generation Chinese modular space station. Other examples of modular station projects include the Soviet/Russian Mir and the International Space Station. Operations will be controlled from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center. In 2018, a fullscale mockup of Tianhe was publicly presented at China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai. In October 2020, China selected 18 new astronauts ahead of the space station construction to participate in the country's space station project. The core module provides life support and living quarters for three crew members, and provides guidance, navigation, and orientation control for the station. The module also provides the station's power, propulsion, and life support systems. The module consists of three sections: the habitable living quarter, the non-habitable service section, and a docking hub. Overall, the living quarters has a volume of 50 cubic meters of habitable space for three people, compared to only 15 m3 for Tiangong-1. The living quarters will include a kitchen and toilet, fire control equipment, air processing and control equipment, computers, scientific apparatus, and ground communications equipment. The station has a bigger robotic arm, so it can move subsequent modules or resupply vehicles to different ports of the core module as a backup. Also, this ′′Chinarm′′ had modern mobility, can be elongated and features 7 axes of motion to crawl. According to the latest reports, its ability is similar to Canadarm 2. Electrical power is provided by two steerable solar power arrays, which use photovoltaic cells to produce electricity.
Alcherio Martinoli, Bahar Haghighat
