China had recently launched the 23-tonne Wentian laboratory module of its Tiangong space station to the orbit. The new module incorporates a huge pair of “solar wings” that would rotate as the space station orbits our planet. China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released a new video which portrays the solar arrays rotating, like a helicopter as the Tiangong space station orbits the Earth.

HIGHLIGHTS
New module has pair of “solar wings” that rotate as space station orbits our planet
Debris from the huge rocket was utilized to launch the space station 
The US Space Command confirmed the re-entry of the debris from the rocket

Apart from offering extra navigation, propulsion and orientation would control as a backup to the Tianhe Core Module. Well, the Wentian laboratory’s primary aim was to serve as a controlled environment for researchers to conduct science experiments in freefall or zero gravity; though there were experiments that might not be conducted on Earth for over a couple of minutes. It had successfully docked with the main Tianhe module within 13 hours of its launch on July 24.

The launch was controversial because the debris from the huge rocket was utilized to launch the space station. It was known as the Long March 5B, which was controlled for an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The US Space Command had confirmed that debris from the rocket that re-entered over the Indian Ocean and 12.45 PM EDT (10.15 PM IST) on July 30.

As per the reports, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has mentioned that “All spacefaring nations ought to follow established best practices and do their part in order to share this sort of information in advance to permit reliable predictions of potential dust impact risk. Well, doing so was vital to the responsible use of space and to confirm the safety of individuals here on Earth,” about the Chinese space mission.

Wentian’s solar arrays were near to every 30-metres-long. They had a combined wingspan of over 55 metres by offering every solar panel an area of around 110 sq. metres. As in comparison, each of the solar arrays on the much larger International Space Station (ISS) has around 73 metres of wingspan. ISS’s solar array would cover a combined area of around 2,400 sq. metres.

Also Read: The Second Space Station Module got launched by China