China has refocused itself on finishing its orbiting space station by the end of 2022. The Chinese space agency is planning more than 40 launches this year which nearly balances them out with the United States space efforts.
The launches will include two Shenzhou crewed missions, two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, and the station’s additional two modules, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The report was cited from an announcement made by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). China has gained a lot of traction in space exploration. They landed a rover on Mars and the far side of the moon, conducted a crewed space walk, and much more.
The two science modules, named Mengtian, and Wentian will attach to the Tianhe core module that is currently occupied by a three-person crew. The launch schedule demonstrates how quickly China has ramped its efforts to take a leading role in space exploration. The U.S. is expecting around the same number of launches this year as well.
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