Photo by Gary Todd on Flickr.com
China has launched its second lab module into orbit, which will be a component of the space station it is constructing in Earth orbit.
The “Mingtien” module was launched using the “Long March 5B” carrier rocket from the Vinchang Spacecraft Launch Center on Hainan Island, according to a statement published by the Human Space Program Agency (CMSA).
Following the launch, the module is anticipated to go to low-Earth orbit, 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, where the space station is situated, and dock with it.
The “Tienhi” core module will get the “Mingtien” module, which is Chinese for “dreaming the sky.”
The module, created by the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology, is 17.9 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter. It weighs 23 tons.
