China has launched the last module necessary for the construction of the Tiangong space station. The Long March-5B Y4 rocket carrying the Mengtian laboratory module, that is recorded to have a length of 17.88 meters and a launch weight of 23.3 tons, was launched into space from the Wenchang launch site on Hainan Island in the south of the country at 15:37 local time today.
It is aimed that the combination of the laboratory module and the two modules, 400 kilometers from the earth, will be docked to form a T-shape and take the final shape of China’s space station Tiangong. The spacecraft must perform challenging tasks such as docking and orbital change to complete the construction of China’s first permanent space station.