Tiangong: China's space station and how to see it
China's Tiangong space station has hosted crews since 2021. How it was built, who lives aboard, how it compares with the ISS, and how to spot it from Korea.
Built in two years
The core module, Tianhe, was launched in April 2021. Two laboratory modules, Wentian and Mengtian, joined it in July and October 2022, giving the station its T shape. It is roughly a fifth of the mass of the ISS, designed for a crew of three, with Shenzhou spacecraft bringing crews and Tianzhou cargo ships bringing supplies.
Life aboard
Crews of three Chinese astronauts (taikonauts) usually stay about six months, with a short overlap during each handover when six people are aboard. They run experiments in biology, materials and physics, and the station has hosted spacewalks and live lessons for schoolchildren.
Seeing it from Korea
Tiangong orbits at roughly 380 to 400 km, tilted 41.5° to the equator, so it passes over Korea regularly. It is smaller than the ISS and so a little fainter, but on a high pass it is still brighter than almost every star. Like the ISS, it is visible in the hours after sunset and before sunrise.