China on Monday launched the space lab module Mengtian, taking the construction of the country's space station Tiangong into final stage.
The Mengtian module, flying to join the two-module combination
already about 400 km above Earth, is the last "building block" that allows Tiangong to form a T-shape structure, the planned layout at the space station's completion.
The new combination is projected to take shape after a succession of elaborately-maneuvered tasks including the docking and the subsequent in-orbit transposition.
The Long March-5B Y4 carrier rocket, carrying Mengtian, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan at 3:37 p.m. (Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
About eight minutes later, Mengtian separated from the rocket and entered its preset orbit. The CMSA declared the launch a complete success.
This is the 25th flight mission since the country's manned space program was approved and initiated in 1992.
The building of Tiangong into a national space laboratory with three modules marks a milestone in China's three-decade effort to advance its manned space program.
