Tiangong 3

Project 921-2 Phase 3 Space Station

A diagram of the completed orbital station, shown with a Shenzhou manned spacecraft and a Tiangong-1-derived cargo vessel docked.
Station statistics
Crew	2-3
Launch	~2020–2022
Mass	82,000 kilograms (181,000 lb)
Length	~20 meters (66 ft)
Diameter	~4.2 meters (14 ft)

Tiangong-3 (Chinese: ; pinyin: Tiāngōng sānhào; literally: "Heavenly Palace 3") will be a Chinese space station module, part of the Tiangong space station program. The China National Space Agency was originally expected to launch Tiangong-3 around 2015, following the launch of the Tiangong-2 laboratory module originally planned for 2013. As of September 2014^[update], it is expected to launch in 2022. Tiangong-3's design will form the basis of Chinese large modular space station, which is expected to launch in the 2020s.

In 2008, the China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3, indicating that several manned spaceships would be launched in the late 2010s to dock with Tiangong-3. The first Tiangong module, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011, and docked with the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft in November 2011, marking China's first orbital docking.

Tiangong-3's 22-metric-ton core module will be around 18.1 metres (59 ft) long and will have a maximum diameter of 4.2 metres (14 ft). It is expected to provide:

Tiangong-3 is a 'third generation' or modular space station project. Other examples of modular station projects include the Soviet/Russian Mir, the International Space Station (ISS) and the planned Russian OPSEK. The 'monolithic' first-generation space stations, such as the Soviet Salyut 1, Salyut 3, Salyut 4 and Salyut 5 and NASA's Skylab stations, were not designed for resupply, possessing only one docking port. Second-generation station projects, such as Soviet Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and Tiangong-2, feature a second docking port, allowing for resupply and multiple crewed missions. Modular stations allow new modules to be added or removed from the existing structure over time, saving considerable costs and allowing greater flexibility.