Tak więc setny chiński start w tej dekadzie powiódł się.
Na Tiangong-2 zostanie wykonanych sporo eksperymentów. Francuzi też mają w nich udział, a także Szwajcarzy i Polacy.
Nowa era w obecności Chińczyków w kosmosie została tym startem zainaugurowana.
Tiangong 2 will host more than 40 experiments, including a space cold atomic clock that can keep time within one second for 30 million years, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Such an advance will improve the accuracy of satellite-based mobile navigation.
A small microsatellite named Banxing 2 stowed aboard Thursday’s launch will fly near Tiangong 2 in orbit and collect images of the space lab.
Other science payloads on the Tiangong 2 mission include a joint investigation led by French and Chinese scientists to study the cardiovascular health of the Shenzhou 11 astronauts in microgravity. Another experiment developed by researchers in China, Switzerland and Poland will detect gamma ray bursts, mysterious powerful explosions in the distant universe, and gather data to help discover their origin.
Hardware on the Tiangong 2 space lab will also conduct research in quantum communications. The mission carries climate monitoring instruments to track air pollution and improve weather forecasting.
“With the launching and operation of Tiangong 2, we now have the first space lab, and have now the conditions to carry out large-scale experiments in space … Therefore, I’m confident in saying we are entering a new phase of Chinese manned spaceflight.”
http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/09/14/china-readies-launch-of-space-station-pathfinder-mission/