The mission command center convened an on-site meeting to study the quality of the Tiangong-2 mission and make arrangements for quality assurance work after the launch, said Wu. And now, its second space laboratory is ready for lift-off.
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After entering an initial orbit at about 380 kilometers above Earth, the space lab will perform some of its experiments and also test its equipment.
Tiangong II, China’s second space lab, has two cabins with different functions – the experiment cabin will be hermetically sealed and will act as the astronauts’ living quarters, and the resource cabin will contain solar panels, storage batteries, propellant and engines.
China plans to build a larger, 60 MT multi-modular space station in the early 2020s.
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”.
It was in service for four and a half years, two and a half years longer than its designed life, and had docked with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and undertaken a series of tasks, making important contributions to China’s manned space cause, Wu said. The two male Chinese astronauts will stay in the space lab for 30 days.
Just like the International Space Station, the Tiangong-2 is capable of receiving both manned and cargo spacecraft.
The Tiangong space stations are small. The country launched the world’s first quantum satellite in August, aimed at achieving “hack-proof” communications between space and the ground.
Wu said China will share the fruits of its development in its manned space program with all countries, especially developing countries.
According to Wu, Tiangong-2 is China’s first space lab “in the strict sense”. It is created to work two years in the space, Wu said.
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Tiangong-1 was launched in September, 2011 and ended its data service in March this year, when it had “comprehensively fulfilled its historical mission”, Wu said.
