Tianhe core module

The core module provides life support and living quarters for three crew members, and provides guidance, navigation, and orientation control for the station. The module also provides the station's power, propulsion, and life support systems. The module consists of three sections: habitable living quarters, a non-habitable service section, and a docking hub. The living quarters include a kitchen and toilet, fire control equipment, air processing and control equipment, computers, scientific apparatus, and ground communications equipment. The CMM has modern mobility, can be elongated and features 7 axes of motion to crawl. According to the latest reports, its ability is similar to Canadarm 2. Electrical power is provided by two steerable solar power arrays, which use photovoltaic cells to produce electricity. Energy is stored to power the station when it moves into the Earth's shadow. Tianzhou resupply ships replenish fuel for the module's propulsion engines for station-keeping to counter the effects of atmospheric drag. There are 4 ion engines for propulsion. == Structure ==

The forward docking hub allows the core module to be docked with four other visiting spacecraft: two experimental modules, Wentian module and Mengtian module, the cargo Tianzhou spacecraft, and the crewed Shenzhou spacecraft. The Tiangong space station's modular nature allows missions to change over time, and new modules can be added or removed from the existing structure, allowing greater flexibility. It is designed for replenishment of consumables and has a service life of at least 10 years. The length of the module is . It is cylindrical with a maximum diameter of and an on-orbit mass of . == Launch ==

On 14 January 2021, CMSA announced the beginning of the construction phase for China's three-module space station. The core module, Tianhe, passed a flight acceptance review. This core module provides living space and life support for astronauts and houses the outpost's power and propulsion elements. After the core module was put into orbit, the empty first stage of its launch vehicle entered a temporary, uncontrolled failing orbit. Some concerns were raised over possible damage from debris of the uncontrolled re-entry: observations showed the rocket was tumbling, which complicates predictions about an eventual landing area, although the most likely outcome was a maritime impact. Parallels were made with respect to a previous launch in May 2020 which reportedly caused some damage in the Côte d'Ivoire. The rocket re-entered over the Arabian peninsula on 9 May at 02:24 UTC, ==Dockings==

On 1 July 2021, the space station performed a maneuver in response to a possible close encounter with the Starlink-1095 communications satellite. == See also ==