China plans to open Tiangong space station to tourists
Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut, made a statement about the imminent arrival of people without special training to Tiangong.
“The question is not about the availability of such technologies, but about the availability of demand,” he said. “And if there is such a demand, we will be able to fulfill it within a decade.”
Yang spoke as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Council, an advisory body under the leadership of the People’s Republic of China. In addition, the astronaut added that commercial spacecraft is a trend, and therefore private companies will also be encouraged to participate in the program. This will lead to the development of industry and the removal of barriers for ordinary people to visit space, he said.
At the moment, Tiangong is not fully assembled, to complete the assembly and add two new units to the existing base, it is planned to carry out six launches before the end of 2022.
