Wentian (Quest For The Heavens) is one of two lab modules that will be sent into space this year, and will become the central working area for astronauts in orbit upon the completion of China's space station. Equipped with experiment cabinets and an installation platform for extravehicular payloads, astronauts will be able to research space science, materials, medicine and exploration.

Using the same astronaut living facilities as the Tianhe core module- including three sleeping areas, a toilet and a kitchen, Wentian is capable of supporting six astronauts living in space during the rotations of two spacecraft crews.

A small mechanical arm is installed on the Wentian lab module. It can be used alone or work with the larger robotic arm on the Tianhe core module to assist astronauts in extravehicular activities.

An airlock cabin in the Wentian lab module will serve as the main exit-entry point for extravehicular activities once the construction is completed. The node cabin in Tianhe will then serve as a backup.

To ensure the reliability of the space station, Wentian will act as a backup for the management and control of the space station complex if there is an issue with the core module.

Courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Image Credit: CMSA

The LM-5 launch vehicle is a heavy, cryogenic liquid launch vehicle newly developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Following the design principal of generalization, serialization and modularization, the LM-5 uses non-toxic and non-polluting propellants such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and kerosene, etc. The modularized design can reduce launch costs and improve reliability, possessing strong adaptability and competitiveness in the market.

The payload capability of LM-5 is 25 tons for low Earth orbit (LEO), and 14 tons for Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), capable of launching different kinds of spacecraft, such as LEO, GTO and sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) satellites, space station and lunar probe, etc.

Credit: China National Space Administration

Wenchang is a former suborbital test site located in Wenchang, Hainan, China.

It is China's southernmost launch site. Located on an island, rocket stages are delivered via ship.

Construction of the orbital launch pads was approved on September 27th, 2007, and the launch site was completed in October 2014 with the first orbital launch taking place on June 25th, 2016.

The site has two active launch pads, with a third planned. LC-1 is used to launch the Chang Zheng 5 rocket while LC-2 is used for the Chang Zheng 7 and 8 rocket families.

Operations at Wenchang are managed by the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

Image: CMSA