Beijing-Sana
China has finished manufacturing a massive and heavy rocket to transport a Chinese space station in the coming months to Earth orbit.
The Space News website, which specializes in space news, quoted the China Space Science and Technology Corporation as saying that the missile has been transported to the Chinese launch station, and competent personnel are currently working on its preparation, assembly and testing.
The missile, weighing about 849 metric tons, will carry the Tianhe Station, weighing 22 metric tons.
According to Chinese sources, the station, which is about 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter, is ready for launch and has been handed over to begin launch tests, while it is planned to directly enter low Earth orbit with a peak of about 370 km.
The station will provide renewable support for life on board, an integrated living space dedicated to three astronauts, as well as propulsion devices and engines to sustain the entire complex's orbit.
China plans to build its space station with 11 launches, which will be conducted in 2021 and 2022.