---
title: "China’s New Space Station Is Called The “Heavenly Palace”"
description: "## Heavenly Palace"
date: "2018-11-06"
modified: "2018-11-06"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-unveiled-crewed-space-station-tiangong-heavenly-palace"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "international space station"
  - "the digest"
  - "Tiangong"
  - "tiangong-1"
---

# China’s New Space Station Is Called The “Heavenly Palace”

![China just unveiled a life-size replica of its new permanently crewed space station called Tiangong. But it's not quite as big as the ISS.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/china-unveiled-crewed-space-station-tiangong-heavenly-palace.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/partial-model-of-chinese-space-station-is-seen-on-display-news-photo/1057990718" target="\_blank"\>WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images\</a\>\</em\>*

## Heavenly Palace

The first components of the International Space Station (ISS) launched into space more than 20 years ago, and it's been [continuously occupied](<https://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html>) for 18. Right now, it's the only operational space station in orbit — but that's about to change.

China [just unveiled](<https://phys.org/news/2018-11-china-unveils-heavenly-palace-space.html>) a life-size replica of the country's new space station at Airshow China, the largest aerospace exhibition in the country. The new station is called Tiangong, which means "Heavenly Palace" in Chinese.

## American Football

The new ISS competitor's central module is 55 feet (17 meters) long, weighs 60 tons, and can fit three astronauts. That's actually quite a bit smaller than the ISS, which is about [as large as an American football field](<https://www.nasa.gov/content/international-space-station-length-and-width/>) if you count its large solar panels.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/tiangong2.jpg>)
*WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images*

The new space station will allow astronauts to conduct cutting-edge scientific research in the fields of biology and microgravity, according to the [*Associated Press*](<https://phys.org/news/2018-11-china-unveils-heavenly-palace-space.html>).

The new station will technically belong to China, but will open its doors to [all UN countries](<https://www.space.com/40727-china-space-station-united-nations-experiments.html>). Construction is expected to be completed around 2022.

Here's to hoping that China's new space station will fare better than the Tiangong-1 space lab, which [crashed into the Pacific](<https://futurism.com/chinese-space-station-crash>) earlier this year after authorities lost control of it in orbit.

READ MORE: [China unveils new 'Heavenly Palace' space station as ISS days numbered](<https://phys.org/news/2018-11-china-unveils-heavenly-palace-space.html>) \[Phys.org\]

More on Tiangong-1: [The Chinese Space Station Has Crashed in the Pacific. Why Was It So Hard to Track?](<https://futurism.com/chinese-space-station-crash>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)