U.S. media laments: China is planning to expand the Tiangong Space Station, while the U.S. is seemingly preparing to send the International Space Station into the Pacific Ocean!
Today, U.S. publication *Space News* published an article.
China plans to add three new modules to the Tiangong Space Station and equip it with a co-orbiting space telescope.
Meanwhile, the United States is preparing to deorbit the International Space Station into the Pacific Ocean.
China is currently preparing to expand this orbital outpost by adding new modules, citing increasing research demands and more frequent crewed and cargo missions.
As previously reported by U.S. *Space News*, the planned expansion will transform Tiangong into a "double-T" configuration, expanding its operational capacity through the addition of a multipurpose module and two new experimental modules.
Xinhua News Agency, China's state media, reported that the first phase of the expansion will involve launching a new 20-ton multi-purpose module, which will dock with Tiangong’s core module, “Tianhe.”
The additional docking ports on the new module will allow Tiangong to accommodate more spacecraft and offer greater operational flexibility when needed.
The report states: “If missions become more frequent, we might face the risk of docking ports ‘queueing up,’ and lack sufficient emergency buffer space.”
The planned expansion will increase Tiangong’s mass to 180 tons, with a total of 11 docking ports.
However, before the new modules arrive, Tiangong’s first new addition is expected to be the Xuntian space observatory—a space-based astronomical platform roughly the size of a bus, equipped with a primary mirror 2 meters (6.6 feet) in diameter, slightly smaller than Hubble’s main mirror.
Xuntian will share a similar orbit with Tiangong, enabling it to dock with the space station for maintenance, refueling, repairs, and potential upgrades.
In the meantime, NASA is planning to end operations of the International Space Station.
The agency plans to launch, within the next few years, the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), developed by SpaceX, and drag the International Space Station into Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean by late 2030 or early 2031.
While the U.S. weighs various commercial space station proposals to continue hosting astronauts in orbit after the ISS retires, China will possess the largest permanent orbital space station—Tiangong.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869098451026955/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.