Tiangong Space Station

About This Satellite

Tianhe is the core module around which China's Tiangong space station was assembled. It provides station-wide control and management as well as facilities for extended human stays, experiments, and technology demonstrations. This is a crewed infrastructure mission, not an Earth-imaging satellite with a single camera payload.

A control centre and a home in orbit

The module was built by the China Academy of Space Technology. Its original mission included demonstrating regenerative life support, resupply, flexible solar arrays, and a space manipulator. These systems support a laboratory that must accommodate people and visiting spacecraft, rather than merely point an instrument at a target.

The catalog name describes the founding module

CSS (TIANHE-1) is the catalog label associated with the station core. Interpret a module mass in the details table as a module value, not the mass of the entire assembled station with docked vehicles. Likewise, the launch date belongs to this record, not to every subsequent addition.

Mission reference: China Manned Space: Core Module Tianhe. Editorial review: 2026-09-07.

From launch to the first crew

Tianhe reached orbit on April 29, 2021. Before astronauts moved in, platform checks tested rendezvous and docking functions, facilities for astronaut stays, and the mechanical arm. That sequence matters: reaching orbit was only the beginning of proving that the module could support a crewed mission.

Reference: China Manned Space: Tianhe completes in-orbit tests.

A human milestone, not a TLE update

On June 17, 2021, Shenzhou-12 astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo entered Tianhe. An orbital element set cannot establish who is aboard, whether a docking has succeeded, or which experiments are running. Those are mission events that require separate reports; the moving marker below only represents a predicted trajectory.

Reference: China Manned Space: Shenzhou-12 crew enters Tianhe.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 387 km at perigee to 390 km at apogee, a difference of 3 km. The orbital period is about 92.3 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00023 indicates a nearly circular path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.00 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.

Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.

Ground track is not sensor coverage

An inclination of 41.47 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 41.5 degrees north and south. This is a prograde orbit, moving in the same general direction as Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.

Accuracy and missing information

The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.

Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 48274 · GCAT: S48274 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.

Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)

Satellite Details