China launches lab module Mengtian as space station approaches completion
 updatetime:2022-10-31 17:53:59   Views:0 Source:Xinhua

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The combination of China's space station lab module Mengtian and its carrier rocket Long March-5B Y4 is transported to the launch area at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Tu Haichao/Xinhua)

WENCHANG, Hainan, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday launched the space lab module Mengtian, taking the construction of the country's space station Tiangong into final stage.

The Mengtian module, flying to join the two-module combination already about 400 kilometers above Earth, is the last "building block" that allows Tiangong to form a T-shape structure, the planned layout at the space station's completion.

The new combination is projected to take shape after a succession of elaborately-maneuvered tasks including the docking and the subsequent in-orbit transposition.

The Long March-5B Y4 carrier rocket, carrying Mengtian, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan, according to the China Manned Space Agency.


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