Tiangong space station to be opened for tourism

"It is not a matter of technology but of demand. And it can be realized within a decade as long as there is such demand", commented during a recent meeting in Beijing the first Chinese astronaut in space Yang Liwei, also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

People without any specific training will also be able to visit the station, explained Liwei.

However, the Tiangong still needs to be completed, so China will launch six missions in 2022 in order to make the space station completely operational.

In addition, the Shenzhou spacecraft could also operate on behalf of the space tourism market. Moreover, as the Shenzhou can only accommodate three astronauts, China has even bigger plans, as the country aims to use a special rocket capable of transporting up to seven people at once into space.

Inspired by Blue Origin, the Chinese commercial space tourism player of CAS (the Chinese Academy of Science) aims to offer space rides as early as 2025.

At the same time, company Space Transportation also planned suborbital flights for its new "rocket with wings" focusing on offering exciting trips in 2030.

"Commercial programs can help lower costs and improve the efficiency of space activities, which will also benefit the traditional players in this area," commented Wu Ji, researcher at the CAS' National Space Science Center. This way, China hopes to be a valuable competitor on the international space tourism market.

 

Source: space.com