By 
July 3rd, 2023
Depiction of Shenzhou-16 spacecraft approaching docking port.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China intends to alter the country’s space station complex, adopting other new configurations in coming months.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has noted that currently the configuration of the orbiting Tiangong space station consists of the Tianhe core module, the lab modules Wentian and Mengtian, the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft, and cargo spacecraft of Tianzhou-5 and Tianzhou-6.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
In the next few months, the CMSA said, there will be some changes in the configuration of the space station. However, no further details have been disclosed.
Back in late February, in a China Central Television (CCTV) interview, Yang Hong, chief designer of the space station system, said China’s space station will have over 50 different configurations in the future, enabling it to accommodate more spaceships.
New Shenzhou-16 crew onboard with Shenzhou-15 astronauts during handover ceremonies.
Image credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Current status
On June 6, the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft, which separated from the space station on May 5, completed its second rendezvous and docking with the space station after 33 days of independent flight in orbit.
According to CCTV, the return of the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft is intended to provide additional space for the storage of waste generated by the Shenzhou-16 crew in orbit.
Image credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Tianzhou-5 will depart China’s space station once again prior to the arrival of the Shenzhou-17 crewed spacecraft. The cargo ship will then be targeted for a destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Presently onboard the orbiting outpost, the Shenzhou-16 crew consists of Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, China’s first civilian astronaut. Gui is a university professor who specializes in spacecraft dynamics and control technology for aerospace systems.
This trio was sent to the space station on May 30, 2023 to carry out a five-month mission aboard the facility.
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