Final Module For Tiangong Space Station Successfully Launched

China has successfully launched the final module for its permanent orbital space station, reports Agence France-Presse.

The Mengtian (“dreaming of the heavens”) module was launched by a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang space launch site on the southern island of Hainan on Monday morning.

It is the third and final module needed to complete the Tiangong (“palace in the sky”) space station, which Beijing has been developing since 2011. The first module was launched on April 29, 2021, and the second on July 24, 2022.

The module includes modern science equipment, including the world’s first “space-based cold atomic clock system,” reported Xinhua, China’s state news agency.

The Tiangong station, once at full capacity, will be crewed by a rotating team of three astronauts who will conduct scientific experiments and test new technologies. It is expected to operate for around a decade.