July 24, 2022

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 14:22 Beijing Time on July 24, 2022, the Long March 5B Y3 carrier rocket, carrying the Wentian Laboratory Module, ignited and blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in China, marking a complete success of the launch mission.

▲ The Long March 5B rocket ignites and lifts off.

This marks the 24th flight mission since the initiation and implementation of China's manned space program. The Wentian laboratory module launched is the second cabin section of the Chinese Space Station and also its first scientific experiment module.

Composed of a working cabin, an airlock cabin and a resource cabin, the Wentian laboratory module has a takeoff weight of approximately 23 tons. It is mainly designed to support astronauts' long-term stays, extravehicular activities and space scientific experiments. Meanwhile, it can serve as a backup for the Tianhe core module to manage the space station.

▲ The Long March 5B rocket heads for the firmament.

Subsequently, the Wentian Laboratory Module will conduct rendezvous and docking with the space station assembly in accordance with scheduled procedures. The Shenzhou 14 astronaut crew will then enter the module to carry out operations.

The carrier rocket and the Wentian Laboratory Module for this launch mission were respectively developed under the overall leadership of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and the China Academy of Space Technology, both subsidiaries of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

(Image Source: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation)