credit Flight / caption: Are we looking at the future shape of China's unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft?
This 1:10 scale model of China's manned space engineering programme's Tiangong spacelab docked to a Shenzhou spacecraft was exhibited at the 60th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Daejeon, Korea in October
While talking to Chinese space programme officials in Daejeon Hyperbola was told about the cargo spacecraft that will be developed from the Tiangong spacelab, of which three could fly over the next ten years. China will use them to test technologies for rendezvous and docking, life support and experiment equipment destined for the space station
See the cargo spacecraft design and in-orbit space station assembly pictures and video in the extended portion of this blog post
credit Flight / caption: but how much payload can it carry?
This graphic is of a cargo spacecraft design that China's manned space engineering programme is developing from its Tiangong spacelab. The picture was shown at the IAC in Korea during the 15 October China space programme presentation
The cargo spacecraft image can be seen in this video of that presentation, while this China space programme video that Hyperbola had linked to has been taken down
Youtube has also taken down this CGI video that was reported by a number of websites including China Military power mashup that purports to show the in-orbit construction of the planned 60,000kg (132,000lb) Chinese space station - picture below is a screengrab from this China Military Power mashup story
The same website also appears to have pictures from the Long March 5 launch site to-be in Hainan that is being constructed
on November 17, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply
Definitely just a copy of the Russian "Soyuz" at the right
on November 18, 2009 12:08 PM | Reply
Those who expect new and exciting feats in space by the Chinese are in for a long wait, followed by hefty disillusions.