[FPSPACE] Tiangong -- is it even feasible?

[Chen Lan]

In fact, Tiangong is not a new thing. It's just a new name for the Space Laboratory that was announced even earlier than the SZ-5 flight. It will not be a Salyut-class station capable of long term human presence. It's more like the man-tended station proposed by ESA about 20 years ago. Of course, It will be interesting to see how long a Shenzhou with its crew will stay there.

On the other side, I don't think these TGs will dock together. With only two years of lifespan, it doesn't make sense. China will not go so fast, because it is only the first step in its station plan. Any way, it is feasible to for TG-1, an 8t class mini-station, to accept three vehicles (one or two of which are manned) in two years.

Chen Lan
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: jeoberg at comcast.net 
  To: FPSPACE at friends-partners.org 
  Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 4:06 AM
  Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] Tiangong -- is it even feasible?



  I have a fundamental question: Assuming a mini-lab mass of 8 metric tons,
  on par with Shenzhou, is it even feasible to build a life support system capable 
  of keeping a crew alive for six months, say? There are just so many systems
  that cannot be miniaturized beyond a certain point, and there's just the mass
  of consumables -- quite a high number. How does China intend to accomplish this?
  How would it have been done on the USAF MOL, perhaps the best analogy, or
  the Korolev bureau's 'Soyuz trains' that were designed to fly without Proton-class
  boosters?

  How, for example, considering the small volume, will they manage their trash?
  A jettison-lock? Would the station even include an airlock for EVA? Or would the
  Shenzhou OM serve that purpose AND have the rendezvous and docking mechanisms?


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