In 2022, China hopes to break a new national launch record achieved last year while also completing its three-module space station and six related missions.

In the following months, the China National Space Administration plans to launch two new space station modules, Wentian and Mengtian, on separate Long March 5B rockets.

The modules will dock with the Tianhe core module, which was launched in April 2021, by the end of the year to complete the T-shaped Tiangong space station.

Both missions' preparations are going smoothly. The final assembly and testing of the third Long March 5B rocket has been finished, and it will launch Wentian in the middle of the year. According to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the fourth Long March 5B Y4 is completing final assembly and will launch Mengtian in the second half of 2022. (CALT).

The two modules, each weighing more than 44,100 pounds (20,000 kilograms), were built to house science experiments. Wentian will also install a second, smaller robotic arm to the space station, as well as new airlock facilities for extravehicular activities, or spacewalks.

After the additional modules dock with Tianhe, a giant robotic arm on the Tianhe will grab and transfer them into place.

After the T-shaped structure is formed, we will fully test the functions and performances of the space station as a whole. We estimate that the space station will enter the operation phase at the end of the year,” Bai Linhou, space station system deputy chief designer at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), told CCTV.

To strengthen the space station's reliability and redundancy, Wentian, or experiment module I, will act as a backup to the Tianhe core module.

As part of a total of six space station flights scheduled for 2022, China will launch two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and two Shenzhou crewed missions.

According to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which owns CAST and CALT, China plans to launch 140 spacecraft on more than 50 missions in 2022. In 2021, CASC fired 48 Long March rockets.

Other noteworthy missions include a second Long March 8 launch from Wenchang, this time without side boosters, and the first Long March 6A launch. China's commercial and private launch companies will also participate to the quick launch rate.

China's first crew rotation is expected in late 2022, when two crewed spacecraft will be in orbit at the same time. Late this year, Shenzhou 15 will launch and dock with Tianhe, joining the crew of Shenzhou 14. China will have six astronauts in space at the same time as a result of this.