Story highlights Space lab precursor to a 20-ton space station

China pressing ahead with ambitious space plans

Hong Kong (CNN) China is set to launch a second space lab into orbit Thursday, a crucial step in Beijing's ambition to have a permanent space presence.

A Long March 2F rocket is expected to blast off at 10.04 p.m. local time (10:04 a.m. ET) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert carrying the lab, known as Tiangong 2 or "Heavenly Palace," state media reported.

The Long March 2F carrier rocket is scheduled to blast off on September 15, 2016.

The new lab is able to host astronauts for much longer than its predecessor, the Tiangong 1, which was launched in 2011. It has two cabins -- one for astronauts and experiments, the other for equipment.

If Thursday's launch is successful, next month the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft holding a two-man crew is expected to launch in mid to late October -- China's first manned mission since 2013.

It will dock with the space lab and the two astronauts will spend 30 days there carrying out experiments -- making it China's longest mission yet.

Read More</s>A Long March 2F rocket blasted off successfully at 10:04 p.m. local time Thursday (10:04 a.m. ET) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert carrying the lab known as Tiangong-2, which translates to "heavenly vessel," according to state media China Central Television.

Once in space, the Tiangong-2 will maneuver itself into orbit roughly 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) above the Earth, CCTV reported.

A spacecraft will ferry a two-man crew to the lab in October -- China's first manned mission since 2013. The astronauts will remain in the lab for a month, where they will be carrying out experiments related to medicine, physics and biology. It's China's longest mission yet.

The Tiangong-2 and its predecessor, Tiangong-1, are prototypes for China's ultimate goal -- a permanent 20-ton space station, which is expected to launch after 2020.

"Tiangong is a precursor test bed of capabilities; building toward the large space station has always been the culminating goal of the Shenzhou program," said Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor at the US Naval War College specializing in space programs and space security. Shenzhou-10 was China's fifth manned space mission. The Shenzhou-10 spaceship, propelled by a Long March-2F rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on June 11, 2013. The crew for this mission included a woman, Wang Yaping, and two male astronauts, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang. Nie, Zhang and Wang discuss technical issues during training in April 2012, a year before the 15-day mission. The astronauts had to undergo a series of tests in their pressure suits prior to the mission. Wang undergoes a cardiovascular endurance test a few weeks before the mission. Zhang practices entering the return capsule on May 31, 2013. Zhang, left, Nie, center, and Wang, right, during a training session in the return capsule. Nie, Zhang and Wang wave to onlookers the day before the start of the mission. 



 The Shenzhou-10 spacecraft is transferred to the launch site at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the day of the launch. Hours before launch, the Shenzhou-10 spaceship arrives at the launch site. After the 15-day mission, the Shenzhou-10's return capsule landed successfully in Inner Mongolia on June 26, 2013. After emerging from the return capsule, the astronauts wave to people on the ground. The Chinese space station is expected to be sent into orbit just as the US-led International Space Station goes out of service -- making China potentially the only country with a permanent space presence. European astronauts are already said to be learning Chinese in anticipation. Since 2011, the US Congress has barred NASA from contact with China's space program because of national security fears. "Chinese politicians certainly have wanted to work with the United States in space, to show they are an accepted part of the international family of space-faring nations, but with their own space station forthcoming and international partners other than the US willing and lining up to work with them, that imperative decreases," Johnson-Freese said. China was late to the space race -- it didn't send its first satellite into space until 1970 -- just after the United States put the first man on the moon. But in the decades since, China has pumped enormous amounts of money and resources into research and training. Future plans include sending a robotic probe to Mars and a potential manned mission to the moon. "If the US does not change its policies very soon and begin to work with China in space, it will lose whatever leverage it might have in shaping Chinese space plans for the future, " Johnson-Freese said.</s>China launched its second space lab Thursday, official media said, as the country works towards setting up its own manned space station by 2022.

The Tiangong-2 blasted off just after 10:00 pm (1400 GMT) "in a cloud of smoke" from the Gobi desert, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

State television CCTV broadcast images of the Long March-2F rocket's engines igniting in tandem before slowly lifting into the air and exiting the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, leaving a long trail of flames in its wake.

The 8.6 tonne Tinagong-2 -- or Heavenly Palace-2 -- will initially orbit at a height of around 380 kilometres (240 miles) above earth, Xinhua cited Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, as saying.

It will then move slightly higher to allow the Shenzhou-11 mission to transport two astronauts to the facility, where they will stay for 30 days.

Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out research projects related to in-orbit equipment repairs, aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, atomic space clocks and solar storm research.

Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program, said Tiangong-2 also aimed to verify technology involved in the construction of the space station.

"It has the basic technological capacity of a space station," Zhou said.

"Once the space lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station," he said, adding this could start in as early as 2017.

In April 2017, China's first space cargo ship Tianzhou-1 will be sent towards the space lab, providing fuel and other supplies.

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe.

It hopes to have a crewed outpost by 2022.

China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011 and ended transmissions in March this year. It is expected to fall back to Earth in the second half of 2017.

Beijing sees its military-run space programme as symbolising the country's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

The nation's first lunar rover was launched in late 2013, and while it was beset by mechanical troubles it far outlived its expected lifespan, finally shutting down only last month.

But for the most part China has so far replicated activities that the US and Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

As well as building a Chinese space station, it intends to eventually put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon.

It announced in April it aims to send a spacecraft "around 2020" to orbit Mars, land and deploy a rover to explore the surface.</s>China has launched its second experimental space station.

The successful launch is a sign of the growing sophistication of the country's military-backed space program, that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years.

The Tiangong 2 was carried into space on Thursday night on a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

Tiangong 2 lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 PM local time (1400 GMT) yesterday from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert. The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month. The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments.

Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain on board for a month.

The station, whose name means 'Heavenly Palace,' is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

China's first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year, after having docked with three visiting spacecraft.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

China could start building its space station starting as early as next year, Xinhua quoted Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the manned spaceflight programme, as saying. 'Once the lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station,' Zhou was quoted as saying. The station would be more economically efficient than the International Space Station and use 'more data', he said. China will launch a 'core module' for the station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with the Tiangong 1.

Its successor, Tiangong 2, lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 PM local time (1400 GMT) yesterday from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert.

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched some time next month.

The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the US to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon.

Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future.

China could start building its space station starting as early as next year, Xinhua quoted Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the manned spaceflight programme, as saying.

'Once the lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station,' Zhou was quoted as saying.

The station would be more economically efficient than the International Space Station and use 'more data', he said.

China will launch a 'core module' for the station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

A source of enormous national pride, China's space program plans a total of 20 missions this year at a time when the US and other countries' programs are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.

The country plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020, attempting to recreate the success of the US Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the US and Russia.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.</s>BEIJING (AP) — China has launched its second space station in a sign of the growing sophistication of its military-backed program that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years.

The Tiangong 2 was carried into space on Thursday night atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain on board for a month. The station, whose name means "Heavenly Palace," is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

The Tiangong 2 module will be used for "testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling," and will house experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies.

China's first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year after having docked with three visiting spacecraft.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the U.S. to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon. Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future.

China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to U.S. concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

A source of enormous national pride, China's space program plans a total of 20 missions this year at a time when the U.S. and other countries' programs are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.

China plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020, attempting to recreate the success of the U.S. Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.</s>China could send astronauts to its space station for more than a year at a time once it goes operational in 2022, a senior project designer told state media.

The country's second space lab, the Tiangong-2 -- or Heavenly Palace-2 -- blasted off Thursday night from the Gobi desert and is expected to operate for at least two years, the latest stage of the Asia's giant's ambitious space programme.

Construction on a space station will start in as early as 2017 and take around three years, before it enters into service in 2022, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Zhu Zongpeng, chief designer of the space lab system.

Astronauts could be stationed in orbit for missions that last for more than one year in the facility, which has an initial designed life of at least 10 years, Zhu said, according to the report.

The longest single stay in space by a human so far is 437 days by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov.

The Chinese space station will weigh over 60 tonnes -- much smaller than the 420-tonne International Space Station -- and consist of a core module attached to two space labs, Xinhua said.

It will normally accommodate three astronauts at a time but has a maximum capacity of six, it added.

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe.

Beijing sees its military-run space programme as symbolising the country's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

The nation's first lunar rover was launched in late 2013, and while it was beset by mechanical troubles it far outlived its expected lifespan, finally shutting down only last month.

The Tiangong-2 will have two astronauts transported to it to conduct research projects related to in-orbit equipment repairs, aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, atomic space clocks and solar storm research during a 30-day stay, Xinhua said.

But for the most part China has so far replicated activities that the US and the former Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

As well as building a space station, it intends to eventually put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon.

It announced in April it aims to send a spacecraft "around 2020" to orbit Mars, land and deploy a rover to explore the surface.</s>China launched its second experimental space laboratory, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. Advancing China’s space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions, Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles. China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis. In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong 1, or “Heavenly Palace”. Its successor, Tiangong 2, lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 pm from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert, in images carried live on state television. The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month. The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments. The smooth launch imparts a high-tech sheen to week-long celebrations of China’s National Day, starting on Oct. 1, as well as this week’s shorter Mid-Autumn Festival holiday that coincides with the full moon. China would start building its space station starting as early as next year, Xinhua quoted Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the manned spaceflight programme, as saying. The station would be more economically efficient than the International Space Station and use “more data”, he said. “Once the lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station,” Zhou was quoted as saying. China will launch a “core module” for the station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia. China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties. The rover and the Chang’e 3 probe that carried it there were the first “soft landing” on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier.</s>BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China launched its second experimental space laboratory on Thursday, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

Advancing China's space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions, Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace".

Its successor, Tiangong 2, lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert, in images carried live on state television.

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month.

The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments.

The smooth launch imparts a high-tech sheen to week-long celebrations of China's National Day, starting Oct. 1, as well as this week's shorter Mid-Autumn Festival holiday that coincides with the full moon.

China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.

The rover and the Chang'e 3 probe that carried it there were the first "soft landing" on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Ralph Boulton)</s>China to launch second space lab module, another manned mission

BEIJING, Sept 14 (Reuters) - China will launch its second experimental space laboratory late on Thursday and another manned space mission next month, the government said, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

Advancing China's space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions, Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace".

China will launch the Tiangong 2 just after 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Thursday, a space programme spokeswoman told a news conference carried live from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert.

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month, mission spokeswoman Wu Ping said on Wednesday.

The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, Wu added.

A smooth launch would impart a high-tech sheen to week-long celebrations of China's National Day, starting Oct. 1, as well as this week's shorter Mid-Autumn Festival holiday that coincides with the full moon.

"Launching Tiangong 2 is a key battle in comprehensively completing the space laboratory stage mission, and will establish a firm foundation for our country's continued space station construction and operation," Wu said.

Work on "quantum key transmission" will eventually be carried out at the laboratory, China's official Xinhua news agency said. The country launched the world's first quantum satellite in August, aimed at achieving "hack-proof" communications between space and the ground.

China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.

The rover and the Chang'e 3 probe that carried it there were the first "soft landing" on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Gao Liangping and Michael Martina; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)</s>China successfully launched space lab the Tiangong-2 Thursday night from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest China. Tiangong-2 will link with Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship, which will be launched later in October. Also piggybacking on the Tiangong-2 launch is a micro satellite that will orbit close to the space lab –its purpose has not been reported. The mission is part of China’s ambitious space program to build a permanent manned space station around year 2022.

With the sound of rolling thunder on the vast Gobi dessert, Tiangong-2 space lab blasted off into space propelled by its Long March 2F carrier rocket, shortly after 10pm on Thursday. In just 585 seconds, Tiangong-2 was placed in an orbit about 393 kilometers above the Earth.

The Shenzhou-11 spaceship will ferry two astronauts to dock with the lab and stay in space for 30 days to conduct a range of scientific experiments covering areas such as fundamental physics, biology, fluid mechanics in micro gravity and aerospace medicine. More than 40 space science and application experiments will be conducted aboard Tiangong-2.

Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out key experiments related to aerospace medicine, space physics and biology as well as on-orbit equipment repairs in areas such as quantum key transmission, space atomic clock and solar storm research.

“The number of experiments carried by Tiangong-2 is the highest so far of all manned space missions,” said Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office. Its payload includes POLAR, a collaboration between Swiss, Polish and Chinese institutions to study gamma ray bursts. The space cold atomic clock, which scientists say only loses one second about every 30 million years, is expected to make future mobile navigation more accurate.

Many experiments are at the very forefront of space science exploration, and one of them is the world’s first in-space cold atomic clock, used to improve time measurements to the equivalent of one second every 30 million years, and will also result in improvements in navigation accuracy.

Lv Congmoin, Deputy director at the technology and engineering center for space utilization, Chinese academy of sciences, says “The synchronization of the navigation system on our mobile phone runs via the internet. But the function of time correction systems all depends on numerous atomic clocks on the ground. If we can maintain the smooth running of the cold atomic clock in space, time synchronization between the earth and space can finally be achieved, thus improving navigation accuracy. ”

The new space lab, designed with two modules, offers a larger payload capacity, better living quarters, and new communication technologies on board.

As a major breakthrough in the “three step strategy” proposed by Chinese scientists toward the goal of building a permanent manned space station, the Tiangong2 is expected to further boost the development of China’s space exploration.

“Tiangong 2 is the first space vehicle in the second phase of the second step of the strategy,” says Chief designer of the Tiangong-2 space lab Zhu Zongpeng. “It’s going to dock with Shenzhou-11 this year, and with a cargo vessel next year. Once it has completed missions of long term space stays, facility maintenance, refueling, and space experiments, it will be the end of the phase. If we cannot carry out the mission well, it’s going to affect the building of the space station directly. So Tiangong-2 has great significance in the process. ”

The manned space engineering office said in March that the orbit of Tiangong-1 will descend gradually over several months until the orbiter eventually burns up in the atmosphere.

Source: The Daily Galaxy via cri.cn and xinhuanet.com
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launches the Tiangong-2 space laboratory from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia.