Space station prototypes shipped to launch center

Two major prototypes in China's manned space station program have been transported to the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province for prelaunch preparations, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency said in a statement on Monday that the arrival of the prototypes of the Chinese space station's core module and the country's new-generation manned spacecraft at the launch center meant that the construction project of the space station will soon begin.

The prototypes were carried by ships from Tianjin, home to the spacecraft's manufacturing complexes, and spent about a week being transported to Hainan, it added.

The core module's prototype will take part in ground drills for the Long March 5B carrier rocket at the Wenchang center while the new manned spaceship's prototype will be launched by the rocket's debut flight from the center, the agency said, without elaborating on detailed schedules.

The first Long March 5B－a variant of the country's biggest and mightiest rocket, the Long March 5－h(huán)as been made and is receiving ground tests. It will be ferried from Tianjin to Hainan in February, it said.

According to the agency, the space station's core module will be 16.6 meters long with a diameter of 4.2 m and will have a liftoff weight of 22.5 metric tons.

As the biggest spacecraft China has ever built, it will be able to accommodate three astronauts and will be central to the space station's operations as mission crew will live there and control the entire station from inside it. The module will also be capable of hosting scientific experiments.

The new-generation manned spaceship will have a total length of 8.8 meters and a liftoff weight of 21.6 tons. It will be tasked with serving the construction and operation of the future space station as well as the country's manned lunar missions, the agency noted.

According to previously published plans, the nation will start putting together its first manned space station around 2020.