Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province attracted the world’s attention on October 31. At 3:37 p.m., at the order of young commander Liao Guorui, Mengtian, the second lab module of China’s Tiangong space station, lifted off into space.
The launch put in place the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle for China’s interstellar home.
Mengtian, which literally translates as “dreaming of the Heavens,” docked with the space station’s core module on November 1. On November 3, it completed its in-orbit transposition, which marked the formation of Tiangong’s basic T-shape arrangement, a key step toward the space station’s completion.
Since last year, China has been assembling its very’s transformation into a national space station with three modules—the core module plus the and lab modules, demonstrates a breakthrough in China’s three-decade undertaking to advance its space program.
