By Alex Hollings 03.04.2017#Expert Analysis Email Share Tweet

China has announced plans to launch the core module for their own space station next year, with additional modules intended to follow soon thereafter. Once completed, Chinas space station will be smaller than the current International Space Station, but with the ISS slated for retirement in 2024, China may be the only nation with a permanent address in Earths orbit in the very near future.

The core module, named Tianhe-1, will be launched on a new rocket platform designed by the Chinese to carry extremely heavy loads into space. The March-5 heavyweight carrier rocket will also be used to deliver additional modules to the space station, including two laboratories that will dock to the sides of the primary module. The two-stage rocket is said to have a payload capacity of 25 tons for low-Earth orbit, and 14 tons for much higher missions to geostationary transfer orbit. The Chinese space agency intends to have their space station completed by 2022, two years before the International Space Station is expected to conclude its tour of duty.

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Filed Under: Expert Analysis, World News Tagged With: China, Cold War, Headline, NASA, orbital dominance, Orion, space, Space Race, SpaceX

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Alex Hollings Alex Hollings served as an active duty Marine for six and a half years before being medically retired. A college rugby player, Marine Corps football player, and avid shooter, he has competed in multiple mixed martial arts tournaments, raced exotic cars across the country and wrestled alligators in pursuit of a story to tell. His novel, "A Secondhand Hero" is currently seeking publication.

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China to launch space station in 2018and secure orbital dominance by 2024 - SOFREP (press release) (subscription)