Tianzhou-1 Cargo Ship Docks with Chinese Space Station
The Tianzhou-1 cargo ship successfully docked with the unoccupied Tiangong-2 space station on Saturday, Chinese media report.
Launched on Tuesday, the cargo vessel will dock twice more with the station to test different rendezvous and docking techniques. One will involve approaching Tiangong-2 from a different direction. Another will shrinking the docking time from two days to six hours.
Tianzhou-1 will later conduct China’s first refueling of a vehicle in orbit.
The success of the mission is a crucial step in China’s plan to launch a permanent space station. The core module is scheduled to launch next year, with additional modules to follow through the completion of construction in 2022.
Tianzhou-1 is carrying a number of scientific experiments during its five-month stay in orbit. The experiments include:
- stem cell research to investigate human reproduction in space;
- how bone cells are affected by microgravity;
- germ cell differentiation research;
- fluid evaporation and condensation; and,
- high-precision electrostatic accelerometer research.
15 responses to “Tianzhou-1 Cargo Ship Docks with Chinese Space Station”
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Cool.
Now what weapons did they bring up there as well?
Chinese space program is just a military operation.
No more so than ours.
Nice video of the soft docking.
NASA is not a program under the DOD, reporting to our general.
Chinese space program is directly part of cpla, same way that ussr initial space program was military.
LOL. That is cute.
In socialist structures, where government controls pretty much all means of production, its natural and efficient for the military to control and operate space programs since they are so parallel with strategic rocket forces. That is why both the USSR and PRC follow that model. The US (and other Western countries) started that way, but only carved out separate civilian agencies because it was a way to differentiate the “free world” and it was strategically advantageous to do so.
But…
Who does the NASA Administrator report to? Could it be the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces? The Space Shuttle flew both civilian and military missions, as do all of our other launch vehicles. The main rational for the mind boggling expense we accept in HSF and planetary science missions is the geopolitical “soft power” benefits the US gains by doing so. And so on and so forth. The distinction between US civilian and military activity is purely notional.
“no more so than ours”, “Who does the NASA Administrator report to? Could it be the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces”. Wow thats a real stretch. Anything to convince yoursefl that the US isnt any better than China or any place else for that matter – seems you are uncomfortable with that. The arrogance is nice too – as if you knew anything. But sure go ahead and lecture us. Let me guess are you a regular on Gawker?
The arrogance here is your assumption that we are any different than any other State that pursues its own interests and behind whatever window dressing we put on, at the end of the day its “National Security” (ie: the military) that calls the shots here just as much as anywhere else.
Russia and China are so military centric because those nations lack a history of a developed bureaucracy outside of military forces. Not to mention the disasters in both countries during and after their revolutions further eroded civic society. In short, those nations are so military centric because they are nations stunted in civic development operating at industrial and technological levels imported from much more developed nations.
As for NASA “Reporting to the ‘Commander in Chief’.”…. You may have noticed that the budget for manned space flight for the past 8 years has been spent in direct opposition to the wishes of said CInC. I’m sure once you reflect a bit more you’ll realize they very much answer to, and react to the wishes and commands from the United States Congress.
…. As a refresher.
US Constitution Article 2
Section 21: The President shall be Commander in Chief of
the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the
several States, when called into the actual Service of the United
States
He’s commander in chief of the ARMED FORCES. He’s a general officer of general officers.
1) He’s not YOUR commander in chief.
2) He’s not MY commander in chief.
3) He’s not NASA’s commander in chief.
Russia and China are so military centric because those nations lack a history of a developed bureaucracy outside of military forces. Not to mention the disasters in both countries during and after their revolutions further eroded civic society. In short, those nations are so military centric because they are nations stunted in civic development operating at industrial and technological levels imported from much more developed nations.
Jingoist much?
As for the rest… you just totally missed the point and are wrong.
Jingoistic? Geezh James, how many political and economic collapses have those societies suffered in the past 100 years? How can I have a high opinion of them given the history of the people who are still alive, let alone the history of those nations? Sorry, I’m going to call a spade a spade and go out on a limb and say that those two countries are hardly the models of humanity they try to paint themselves as.
As for missing your point. I don’t think so, It seems you imply that everything a government does is tied to national security and the powers of the president/executive. In the case of NASA that’s plainly not true. The US Congress is obviously having a lot of effect, and is in fact in near total command of how the vast majority of the manned space budget is spent. SLS, love it or hate it, is totally a Congressional beast furthered by the personalities of Sen Shelby, and ex NASA Admin Mike Griffin. We had similar extra-presidential leadership of NASA under Golden. I think you want a powerful executive. I think you might even look to China and Russia as shining examples of how humanity can be. I’d even take a guess that you consider the idea of a Constitutionally defined and limited government as being silly. Some people respond to the idea of a nation as a person, and I’d guess you’re just a Tory. But even though the US operates will outside the confines of its Constitution, it does not operate the way you say it does, nor hope it does. Your invocation of the STS is a perfect example only being used a small minority of the time for it’s intended DOD purposes.
wtf?!?
No weapons, but this is a functioning fuel depot.
And they can even launch manned spacecraft too!
Fuel depot. I heard those were in.
the Chinese have finally done something that the US has not…and its impressive
I thought that the refueling has not happened yet?