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BEIJING (Reuters) – Three Chinese astronauts left a space station module aboard a spacecraft bound for Earth on Thursday, completing the third of more than 10 missions needed to complete China’s first space station by the end next year.
The astronauts left the Tianhe module on the Shenzhou-12 probe after spending 90 days in space, a record for China, according to official media.
Construction on the space station began in April with the launch of Tianhe, a cylinder-shaped module slightly larger than a city bus.
The module will ultimately be the living quarters of the completed station.
Four of the 11 missions required to complete the construction of the station will be crewed.
The next crewed mission will last six months.
Before that, China will send another automated cargo spacecraft – the Tianzhou-3 – to Tianhe, carrying the necessary supplies for the next crew.
The Tianzhou-3 spacecraft will be launched in the near future, state media reported recently.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Liangping Gao; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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