The switch paves the way for the arrival of a new module, which is set to launch later this month.
China moves the Wentian module of its Tiangong space station to a different docking port, an operation that wrapped up on Sept. 30, 2022.
Now Wentian has been transpositioned, or moved, from the forward port to its planned permanent location at Tianhe’s starboard lateral port. The roughly one-hour operation was completed at 12:44 a.m. EDT on Sept. 30, according to China’s human spaceflight agency. A purpose-made powered mechanical device was used to switch Wentian from the forward port to the starboard port.
astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe worked in coordination with ground crews in preparation for the module move, though it was mainly automated.using a Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and Tianhe's large robotic arm.