China Successfully Tested Propulsion System of Space Station’s Lab Capsules

Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion(SISP) under the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology (AAPT) successfully tested the propulsion system of China’s planned space station lab capsules.

All the engines and system components worked well for the 2 hours of the 8 test procedures, verifying the feasibility of the design plan for the propulsion system.

Engineers designed 36 engines for the lab capsules. Each engine is designed to work for at least 15 years. According to the mission’s requirement, engineers successfully reduced the weight of one set of engines from 16 kg to 10 kg and passed the tests.

According to China’s Manned Space Program, the core module of the space station will be launched in 2020 and the lab capsules will be launched in 2022.(SUO Xuan)