中国空间站首个实验舱已启程，“问天”刷新几大纪录

7月24日14时22分，搭载问天实验舱的长征五号B遥三运载火箭，在我国文昌航天发射场点火发射。问天实验舱与火箭成功分离并进入预定轨道，发射取得圆满成功。

China successfully launched its space station lab module Wentian, the largest spacecraft ever developed by the country, into orbit on Sunday afternoon. The Long March-5B Y3 rocket, carrying Wentian (which means "quest for the heavens"), blasted off at 2:22 p.m. Beijing Time from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province.

在发射入轨的大约13个小时后，问天实验舱将与天和核心舱在太空进行交会对接。

In the next few hours, the Wentian will rendezvous and dock with the Tianhe core module in orbit, forming the second part of China's three-module space station.

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“太空新家”究竟有多厉害，几项新纪录了解一下：

1. 问天实验舱是中国空间站的首个实验舱，中国空间站总体构型是三个舱段，包括天和核心舱、问天实验舱和梦天实验舱，整体将呈现T字构型。

It is the first lab module launched to the China Space Station, which will soon be followed by Mengtian, together forming a T-shaped three-module structure.

2. 问天实验舱全长17.9米，重量超过23吨，是我国现阶段最大的空间站单体舱段，也是迄今为止发射的最重载荷。

Weighing 23 tons at takeoff with a length of 17.9 meters, the Wentian lab module is the largest and the heaviest spacecraft China has ever launched.

3. 本次任务是中国空间站首次在有人状态下迎接航天器来访，问天实验舱也是国家太空实验室的重要组成部分。

Taikonauts will be welcoming a spacecraft from China's Space Station for the first time, an important milestone for the country's space quest.

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问天实验舱长什么样？

问天实验舱由工作舱、气闸舱、资源舱三舱段组成，工作舱是航天员在轨主要的工作场所，配置有多个实验柜，以及3个睡眠区、1个卫生区和厨房等生活设施，可使空间站支持在轨轮换期间6名航天员的生活。

The Wentian lab module has the same astronaut living facilities as the Tianhe core module, including three sleeping areas, a toilet and a kitchen. It will provide a bigger platform for scientific experiments in space. Together with the core module, they can host as many as six taikonauts in orbit.

问天实验舱还携带了一个七自由度的小机械臂，长度为5米。它既可以单独使用，也可以跟核心舱的大机械臂组合使用，共同完成航天员的出舱、舱外设施照料、巡检等任务。

A small robotic arm half the weight and length of the existing robotic arm on the space station's core module is aboard the Wentian module. It will have similar missions to its predecessor, including assisting astronauts during extravehicular activities and carrying out inspections of extravehicular conditions.

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