This Tuesday (China’s local time), China unveiled a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, the “Heavenly Palace,” the successor of the ISS. Also, the so-called “Heavenly Palace” Space Station is the most ambitious project of the Chinese aerospace agency, operated by the Chinese Army and China’s government.
China’s “Heavenly Palace” Space Station, which boasts a 17-meter-wide core module, besides the other compartments of the station, wants to replace the International Space Station when it is gone. The ISS, a project jointly operated by the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, and the European Union via ESA, has been in Earth’s orbit since 1998, but it will be ditched in 2024.
However, China wants to keep its doors open to partnerships, and the Chinese government even promised that the upcoming “Heavenly Palace” Space Station would also collaborate with all the countries involved in the ISS project. Therefore, the US, Canada, Russia, Japan, and the EU would team up with China.
“Heavenly Palace” Space Station Presented By China As The Successor Of The ISS
“There is no doubt that China will use its station in a similar way as the ISS partners are using their outpost: research, technology and as a stepping-stone for deep-space exploration,” said Chen Lan, a reporter at GoTaikonauts.com news portal which is a collaborator of the Chinese space program.
“I’m sure over time China will be successful in developing partnerships. Many countries, and increasingly private companies and universities, have space programmes, but cannot afford to build their own space station. The ability to put payloads and experiments on a human spaceflight platform is extremely valuable,” also said Bill Ostrove, a space analyst at the US-based Forecast International Consultancy.
According to Bill Ostrove, on the other hand, despite the significant achievements that EU, China, Japan, and Russia make, the US will remain the most significant power in space exploration.
“Despite a lot of talk of the opposite, the United States remains the most dominant power in space right now. The most likely scenario for the future is that China will emerge as one of the major space powers,” said Ostrove.
Vadim is a passionate writer on various topics but especially on stuff related to health, technology, and science. Therefore, for Great Lakes Ledger, Vadim will cover health and Sci&Tech news.