Beijing: China has successfully launched the first lab module of its own space station Tiangong. The launch boosts China’s efforts to complete construction of the station by the end of this year.
The lab module, named Wenxian, was launched from the Wenchang launch pad on a giant Long March-5B Y3 rocket. Wenxian will serve as a backup module in the event of failure of the plant’s main module, Tianhe, as well as a site for the plant’s scientific experiments. The Chinese Space Agency (CMSA) said Wenchian will dock with the Tiangong station within hours of launch.
Upon completion of construction, Tiangong will begin operations as a three-module plant. The main module, Tianhe, was launched in April last year. With the launch of the second module, Ventsian, only the lab module named Mengsian is to be launched. Mengxian will be launched in October. Earlier, China had sent a team of three people to Tiangong for the construction of the station.