China on 29 September 2011 successfully launched its first unmanned space laboratory Tiangong-1 from a site in the Gobi Desert. Tiangong-1 means heavenly palace. This launch makes China the third country after Russia and USA to operate a permanent space station. The space lab launched by China is expected to be operational by 2020.
The Tiangong-1 will orbit on its own for a month after which it will be joined by another spaceship, Shenzhou-8. Both will then carry out the first space docking.
The Tiangong-1 will help China establish a manned space test platform capable of long term unmanned operation in space with temporary human attendance.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation