China completes 1st test on propulsion system for space experiment module

Chinese researchers have successfully completed the first test of the propulsion system for the experiment module of the country's planned space station.

An artist rendering of the completed Chinese Space Station, including docked Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft. [File photo: China Manned Space Agency]

The test consisted of eight procedures that covered all working conditions of an in-orbit experiment module. It also simulated possible errors the module may encounter in space, according to a research institute affiliated with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The test proved that the design of the propulsion system was scientific and its parameters setting was correct, according to the institute.

Two experiment modules of China's planned space station will be sent into space in 2021 and 2022, according to Yang Liwei, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and the country's first astronaut.

China is accelerating its timetable for a space station, with the core capsule expected to be launched in 2020, said Yang.