Chinese Space Station Launches, Booster to Crash to Earth

Tianhe, the core of the Chinese space station, launched into orbit, breaking ground on the Middle Kingdom’s ambitious new home in space. Keep your eyes up — the booster is going to crash.

The launch of the Tianhe core module for the Chinese Space Station used a Long March 5 rocket, like the one shown here lifting the Tianwen-1 spacecraft to Mars. Image credit: CNSA

On April 28, on China’s southern province island Hainan, massive engines ignited beneath a Long March 5B rocket, lifting Tianhe (Heavenly Harmony) into orbit. This core module successfully reached orbit eight minutes later, readying to become the central node for the Chinese Space Station.

During 10 additional missions over the next 18 months, The China National Space Agency (CNSA) will build upon this central core. Flights will include the addition of two additional crew experiment modules, Wentian and Mengtian, in addition to four additional human flights, and four cargo missions. Once complete in 2022, this grand structure will join the ISS as the only two homes for humans in space.

Heads Up!

Just 520 seconds following its picture-perfect launch, fairings of the booster fell away from the rocket, and Tianhe unfurled its solar panels, preparing the first piece of the space station for its decade-long mission. Emblazoned on the side of the craft were the words “China Manned Space.”