China Takes Giant Leap, Puts Space Lab Into Orbit

BEIJING: China on Thursday successfully launched its first unmanned "space laboratory" . The Tiangong-1 , which means " Heavenly Palace" , blasted off from a site in the Gobi Desert around 6.46pm (India time).

The 10.5m-long , cylindrical module was launched two days before its National Day celebrations, making China the third country after the US and Russia to operate a permanent space station, which it expects to be operational by 2020.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao watched as the unmanned "space lab" and the Long March rocket that heaved it skyward from a pad at Jiuquan in northwest Gansu province, lifted off under clear skies.

The Tiangong-1 will orbit on its own for a month after which it will be joined by another spaceship, Shenzhou-8 . Both will then conduct the first space docking. The next two years will see two more spaceships.

The Tiangong-1 will help China establish a manned space test platform capable of long-term unmanned operation in space with temporary human attendance, China's Manned Space Engineering office spokeswoman Wu Ping said.