China's Space Program News Thread

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by78

General
A next-generation crewed capsule on display at Zhuhai. This one was launched on an unmanned mission in May of last year.

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taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
Comparison of Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3. The green star points to a hinge like device at 0 degree. All direction is clockwise.
Tianzhou-2:
  1. There is a big round plate on top of a cylindrical structure right next to the green marker.
  2. Further next is the attaching port for robotic arm.
tianzhou2.jpg

Tianzhou-3:
  1. The plate is gone.
  2. In the place of robotic arm attachment port, it is a cuboid structure.
tianzhou3.jpg

Regarding the attachment port, I suspect that it is a modification. Tianzhou-2's port is at an angle in between Tianzhou-2 and the node module (节点舱). It is difficult to maneuver the robotic arm's attaching head to reach the port. So Tianzhou-3 tilts the port to radial direction.
 

by78

General
More details on that "service spacecraft" concept by the 8th academy of CASC. I'm not sure how far along this project is. It's basically a refueler for satellites. It performs a soft capture of a satellite and then tops up its propellant tanks.


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davidau

Senior Member
Registered Member
More details on that "service spacecraft" concept by the 8th academy of CASC. I'm not sure how far along this project is. It's basically a refueler for satellites. It performs a soft capture of a satellite and then tops up its propellant tanks.


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Smart move which makes the various satellites last longer and without the tremendous costs to loft another replacement.
 
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