[FPSPACE] China's launch schedule

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi all - 

Thanks for the link, Phil. It supplements Mark Wade's old chart of China's different programs.

As we can see from the early Arianespace warnings, Euroconsult's analysts are way way better than those with the US Department of Commerce. I wonder about those peoples qualifications, and I wonder if Obama will be replacing them.

Re: TG1, SZ8, 9, 10 - TG has one dock. As an SZ has limited supplies (300 kg with 3 man crew), each TG mission will have a freighter which will remain docked and may carry additional instruments. With the naming confusion, this freighter may be TG2 or SZ8. So that accounts for two launches. Core; freight module, plus some orbital raising. I think the freight module may just be an SZ orbital module, but who knows?

TG will be used to develop recycling systems for air and water for later use with the 20 ton station, among other things. 

In addition to the new name "Tiangong", replacing SZ, it used to be that when talking about TG, the Chinese would say "laboratory", now they sometimes say "station", when they used to say "station" for the 20 ton station launched by CZ5.

With the naming confusion, it is still hard to make out if there will be an unmanned test of an SZ on orbit lifetime and docking mechanisms before the manned mission. My guess would be no.

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas





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