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Tiangong-2 Space Laboratory
天宫二号空间实验室

A display model of Tiangong-2 docked to the Shenzhou spacecraft.
Station statistics
COSPAR ID	2016-057A
SATCAT no.	41765
Crew	2 (from Shenzhou 11, October 2016)
Launch	15 September 2016, 22:04:09 (UTC+8)
Launch pad	Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1
Mass	8.6 t (9.5 tons)
Length	10.4 m (34 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Periapsis altitude	369.65 km (229.69 mi)
Apoapsis altitude	378.4 km (235.1 mi)
Orbital inclination	42.79°
Orbital speed	7.68 km/s (4.77 mi/s)
Orbital period	92 minutes
Statistics as of 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC References:

Tiangong-2 (Chinese: 天宫二号; pinyin: Tiāngōng èrhào; lit. 'Heavenly Palace 2') is a Chinese space laboratory and part of the Project 921-2 space station program. Tiangong-2 was launched on 15 September 2016, 22:04:09 (UTC+8).

Tiangong-2 is neither designed nor planned to be a permanent orbital station; rather, it is intended as a testbed for key technologies that will be used in China's large modular space station, which is planned for launch in 2023.

History

The China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and its successor Tiangong-3 in 2008, indicating that at least two crewed spaceships would be launched to dock with Tiangong-2.

Tiangong-2 was originally expected to be launched by the China National Space Agency by 2015 to replace the prototype module Tiangong-1, which was launched in September 2011. In March 2011, Chinese officials stated that Tiangong-2 was scheduled to be launched by 2015, following the deorbit of Tiangong-1. An uncrewed cargo spacecraft will dock with the station, allowing for resupply.

In September 2014, its launch was pushed to September 2016. Plans for visits in October 2016 by the crewed mission Shenzhou 11 and the uncrewed resupply craft Tianzhou were made public. The station was successfully launched from Jiuquan aboard a Long March 2F rocket on 15 September 2016.

Dimensions

The dimensions of Tiangong-2 are:

• Crew size: 2, with 30 days of life support resources. The crew (from Shenzhou 11, October 2016) consists of two astronauts.
• Length: 10.4 metres (34 ft).
• Maximum diameter: 4.2 metres (14 ft).
• Mass: 8,600 kilograms (19,000 lb).

See also

• Chinese space program
  • Chinese space station – a multi-module orbital station, planned for launch around 2020
  • Shenzhou program
• Tiangong 3
• International Space Station
• Salyut programme – a Soviet space station with a similar monolithic design

References

1. ^ Branigan, Tania; Sample, Ian (26 April 2011). "China unveils rival to International Space Station". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 April 2011. China often chooses poetic names for its space projects, such as Chang'e – after the moon goddess – for its lunar probes; its rocket series, however, is named Long March, in tribute to communist history. The space station project is currently referred to as Tiangong, or "heavenly palace".
2. huaxia, ed. (16 September 2016). "Tiangong-2 takes China one step closer to space station". Xinhua. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
3. ^ huaxia, ed. (16 September 2016). "Tiangong-2 space lab may exceed 5 years service life: expert". Xinhua. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
4. Hunt, Katie; Bloom, Deborah (15 September 2016). "China launches Tiangong-2 space lab". CNN News. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
5. "Space-Track.Org API Access". space-track.org. 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
6. de Selding, Peter B. (20 June 2016). "China prepares assembly of its space station, invites collaboration through U.N." Space News.
7. "China to launch space station by 2023". BBC. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
8. ^ "China to launch Tiangong-2 and cargo spacecraft in 2015". GB Times. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
9. "Tiangong-1 launch betrays China's earthly ambitions". BBC. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
10. ^ David, Leonard (11 March 2011). "China Details Ambitious Space Station Goals". Space.com. Retrieved 9 March 2011. China is ready to carry out a multiphase construction program that leads to the large space station around 2020. As a prelude to building that facility, China is set to loft the Tiangong-1 module this year as a platform to help master key rendezvous and docking technologies.
11. "China manned spaceflight program" (PDF). The Space Review. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
12. Morris Jones (11 September 2014). "China's Space Station is Still On Track". SpaceDaily.
13. AFP (10 September 2014). "China to launch second space lab in 2016: official". SpaceDaily.
14. "China successfully launches Tiangong-2 space lab". CCTV News. 15 September 2016.

v t e Space stations and settlements
List of space stations List of commercial space stations
Current	International Space Station (ISS) Tiangong space station (TSS)
Past	Russia / Soviet Union Salyut Salyut 1 DOS-2 Salyut 2 Cosmos 557 Salyut 3 Salyut 4 Salyut 5 Salyut 6 Salyut 7 Mir United States OPS 0855 Skylab China Tiangong program Tiangong-1 Tiangong-2 Private Genesis I II
Canceled	Individual projects Aurora Station Bigelow Commercial Space Station Deep Space Habitat Excalibur Almaz Exploration Gateway Platform Galaxy Industrial Space Facility Manned Orbiting Laboratory Nautilus-X OPSEK Orbital Technologies Commercial Space Station Skylab II (FlexCraft) Skylab B Sundancer Tiangong-3 Incorporated into ISS Space Station Freedom USOS Columbus MTFF Columbus (ISS module) Mir-2 ROS
In development	Russia Russian Orbital Service Station Private Axiom Station Haven-1 Orbital Reef Starlab International Lunar Gateway
Proposed	Bharatiya Antariksha Station Japanese Space Station Module (Mitsui) Lunar Orbital Station Voyager Station
Concepts	Bernal sphere Bishop Ring McKendree cylinder O'Neill cylinder Rotating wheel Space settlement Stanford torus Wet workshop
Related	List of films featuring space stations Space stations and habitats in fiction Mission to Mir (1997 documentary) Space Station 3D (2002 documentary) Orphans of Apollo (2008 documentary) Space Tourists (2009 documentary) A Beautiful Planet (2016 documentary)
Notes: † Never inhabited due to launch or on-orbit failure, ‡ Part of the Almaz military program, ° Never inhabited, lacks docking mechanism.

• Use dmy dates from July 2013
• Chinese space station
• Tiangong program
• Spacecraft launched in 2016
• 2016 in China
• Artificial satellites orbiting Earth