China on Monday launched the last of the three modules that will comprise its space station, set to be the second permanently inhabited outpost in low-earth orbit after the NASA-led International Space Station.
The uncrewed Mengtian, or “Dreaming of the Heavens,” module was launched atop China’s most powerful rocket, the Long March 5B, at 3:37 p.m. (0737 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan
In April 2021, China began constructing its space station with the launch of the Tianhe module, the main living quarters for astronauts. In July this year, he launched Wentian, or “Quest for the Heavens”, a laboratory module where scientific experiments will be carried out.
The 23-ton Mengtian, also a laboratory module, is expected to dock with an axial port at one end of Tianhe later Monday.
But the space station won’t take on its final T-shape – with Tianhe as its core flanked by the two lab modules – until Mengtian is repositioned, in orbit, on one of Tianhe’s radial ports on the side.
The completion of the Chinese space station, designed for a lifespan of at least 10 years, will be a milestone in China’s ambitions in low-earth orbit, with NASA’s aging ISS potentially ceasing operation by the end of the decade.