Week 30, 2022: Wentian Module Launches and Arrives at Tiangong
The Wentian module lifting off from Wenchang SLC (left), and undergoing prelaunch processing (right).
On July 24, 2022 (06:22 UTC) the first expansion module of the Tiangong Space Station, Wentian, has successfully launched aboard a Long March 5B rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan, China. The module then arrived at the station just 13 hours later, where the crew of Shenzhou 14 successfully entering it for the first time on the next day. Preparations are currently underway to move the module from its present position on the forward docking port to one of Tianhe's radial docking ports in the following days
You can download the Tiangong Space Station addon to see the space complex grow in Celestia.
You can also download the Astroweather app to see when real time locations of space stations and when they pass over you.
Source: Spaceflight Now
Newest Addons of the Week
These are the newest and updated add-ons available for download starting in the past two weeks (July 18 - 30, 2022) by category
Asteroids & NEOs
The bolide that caused the 1972 Great Daylight meteor seen here severely burnt after its encounter with Earth's atmosphere
- 13 Egeria by Art Blos and Greg Frieger
- 1947 Sikhote-Alin meteor by Medusa
- 1972 Great Daylight meteor by Medusa
Comets
The cometary fragment only just a few hours before it exploded over Tunguska in Siberia, Russia in 1908-Jun-30
- 1908 Tunguska meteor by Medusa and gradius_fanatic
Updates
Exoplanets
The red dwarf star looms large over the horizon of its planet, Kepler-438 Ab
- AU Microscopii by SevenSpheres
- Epsilon Indi by SevenSpheres
- Gliese 15 by SevenSpheres
- Gliese 725 by SevenSpheres
- HAT-P-11 by adios
- K2-332 by DrJMOS
- Kepler-11 by adios
- Kepler-438 by DrJMOS and 小绿人医_中心
- Kepler-1410 by DrJMOS
- Kepler-1634 by DrJMOS
- Kepler-1638 by DrJMOS
- MOA-2007-BLG-192L by Gurren Lagann
- MOA-2007-BLG-400L by Gurren Lagann
- OGLE-2013-BLG-0341L by SevenSpheres and Gurren Lagann
- Ross 458 by Trolligi
- WASP-107 by Astronauta
Unconfirmed Planets
- 2MASS J11193254-1137466 by Trolligi and Steve Bowers
- 82 Eridani (Unconfirmed Planets) by Astro and fyr02
- KOI-4878 by DrJMOS
- KOI-5737 by DrJMOS
- KOI-7235 by DrJMOS
Updates
Fictional
Darwin IV, the primary setting of the acclaimed 1990 novel (Expedition) and 2005 TV special on Discovery Channel (Alien Planet)
- Celestia Spaceships by Frank Gregorio and Jestr
- Darwin IV by Grey ideas, trappistplanets and SevenSpheres
- Future Earth by Hal Bowman
- Portal 2 cores by cubicApoc
Planets & Moons
The first global maps of Mars taken in B&W by the Mariner probes from 1969 to 1972
- Mars (1969-1972) by DaveBowman2001
Spacecraft
WISE is the observatory that discovered C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE), aka the Great Comet of 2020
- CAPSTONE by DaveBowman2001
- Diwata-2B by DaveBowman2001
- Earth Observing-1 by toutatis
- Göktürk-2 by gironde
- QuikSCAT by gironde
- Syncom I to III by DaveBowman2001
- Syncom IV/Leasat by DaveBowman2001
- TRAAC by toutatis
- TRMM by toutatis and gironde
- WISE by DaveBowman2001
Updates
Stars
A distant eclipsing binary star system known as BM Cassiopeiae
- BM Cassiopeiae by Trolligi
- WR 7a by Trolligi and Gurren Lagann
- WR 72 by Trolligi and Gurren Lagann
Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs)
The surfaces of Pluto and its moon, Charon, rendered in 3D
- Charon (3D model) by Greg Frieger
- Pluto (3D model) by Greg Frieger
Other news: What's new in Celestia 1.5.7