Nuked China successfully launched its second module, called wentian, to the Tiangong space station early Sunday morning. wentian took off aboard a long march 5B rocket from the wenchang space launch site in Hainan, China at 2:22am et (2:22pm local), docking at the space station about 13 hours later at 3:13pm et (3:13am local).
The wentian module contains equipment that allows the Chinese astronauts to perform scientific experiments during their time on the station. The additional module will also provide three extra spaces to sleep, as well as another airlock that crewmembers can use to conduct spacewalks.
In June, China sent the three-person shenzhou 14 crew to Tiangong to prepare for wentian’s arrival. mengtian, the station’s third and final lab module, is set to launch on a long march 5B in October.
Long March 5B rocket delivers its first stage into low-Earth orbit. No way to redirect or control its movement when it comes crashing down to earth.
