Structure and Assembly
Tiangong-3 is a 'third generation' or modular space station project. Other examples of modular station projects include the Soviet/Russian Mir, the International Space Station (ISS) and the planned Russian OPSEK. The 'monolithic' first-generation space stations, such as the Soviet Salyut program and NASA's Skylab stations, were not designed for resupply, possessing only one docking port. Second-generation station projects, such as Tiangong-2, feature a second docking port, allowing for resupply and multiple crewed missions. Modular stations allow new modules to be added or removed from the existing structure over time, saving considerable costs and allowing greater flexibility.
Additional modules will dock to the axial port of Tiangong-3's core module. Using a mechanical arm, similar in function to the Lyappa arm on the Mir space station, modules will then be moved to the radial ports of the docking node.
Read more about this topic: Tiangong 3
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