China to launch second space lab

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING

China will send its second space lab, Tiangong-2, into space in the third quarter of 2016

Shanghai Daily reported a spokesperson for the country as saying that China, which launched its first lab Tiangong-1 in Sept. 2011, is preparing to dock Tiangong-2 with a cargo ship in the first half of 2017.

The spokesperson said that the launch of the manned Shenzhou-11 spacecraft will also be held in the fourth quarter of this year.

In the first half of next year, a next-generation Long March-7 rocket will put China’s first cargo ship, Tianzhou-1, into space to dock with Tiangong-2 and conduct experiments.

Shanghai Daily reported that China’s multi-billion-dollar space program, a source of surging national pride, aims to put a permanent manned space station into full operation by about 2022.

By 2020, the construction of the country’s first orbiting space station should be completed, the spokesperson added.

The Tiangong-1 is still in good working order, which enables it to remain in active service in orbit, he said.