China unveils its new space station "Heavenly Palace" while the ISS counted its days

Zhuhai, China (AFP) – China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanent-crew space station, which would replace the world's orbiting laboratory and symbolize the country's main ambitions beyond the Earth.

The base module of 17 meters (55 feet) was a featured attraction of the Airshow China biennial show, held in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai City, the country's leading aerospace industry show.

Outside, the Chinese J-10 fighter plane and the J-20 stealth fighter seduced the spectators as they zapped into the Zhuhai sky. Back home, the country introduced its fleet of drones and other military equipment.

Crowds gathered around the cylindrical module of the space station representing the residential and working quarters of the Tiangong – or "Heavenly Palace" – which will also feature two other scientific experiment modules and will be equipped with panels solar.

Three astronauts will be permanently stationed in the 60-tonne orbit laboratory, which will allow the crew to conduct research in biology and microgravity.

The assembly should be completed around 2022 and the life of the station should be about 10 years.

The International Space Station – a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan – has been operational since 1998 but is expected to retire in 2024.

China will then have the only space station in orbit, although it will be much smaller than the ISS, which weighs 400 tons and is about the size of a football field.

– Billions spent –

The country announced in May that the laboratory would be open to "all countries" to conduct scientific experiments.

"There is no doubt that China will use its station in the same way that the ISS partners use their outpost: research, technology and as a springboard for deep space exploration. said Chen Lan, an analyst at GoTaikonauts.com. a website specialized in the Chinese space program.

Research institutes, universities and public and private companies have been invited to propose projects. According to the official media, some 40 projects from 27 countries and regions have been received.

The European Space Agency sent astronauts to China for training to work inside the Chinese space station once it is launched.

"I am confident that over time, China will develop its partnerships successfully," said Bill Ostrove, space analyst at US-based forecast International Consulting.

"Many countries, and more and more private companies and universities, have put in place space programs, but can not afford to build their own space station", a- he declared.

"The ability to place payloads and experiments on a spaceflight platform is extremely useful."

Beijing is injecting billions of dollars into its military space program, with the aim of sending humans to the moon in the near future.

Citing China as a threat, US President Donald Trump has launched the project of creating a new "space force" to give his country dominance over its rivals in space.

– Diversified space market –

But the Chinese space program has encountered some problems.

A space lab dubbed Tiangong-1 has disintegrated after plunging back to Earth in early April, two years after its cessation of operation.

The Chinese authorities denied that the laboratory – which had been placed in orbit in September 2011 as a test site for the permanent station – was out of control.

A second laboratory, the Tiangong-2, was launched in orbit in 2016.

"Despite much discussion on the contrary, the United States remains the most dominant power in space at the moment," Ostrove said.

"The most likely scenario for the future is that China will become one of the major space powers," he said.

But Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and India will continue to play "major roles" in space exploration, while private companies become more and more important in the sector , added Ostrove.

"The space market is becoming more and more diversified," he said, "so it will be difficult for one or two countries or companies to dominate the market in the same way as the US and the EU. Soviet during the Cold War ".