WorldBEIJING, AFP -China will launch its second space lab on Thursday, official media said Wednesday, as the Communist country works towards setting up its own space station, among several ambitious goals. The Tiangong-2, or Heavenly Palace-2, will be sent into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, the official news agency Xinhua reported. China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe. It intends to build a Chinese space station, and eventually put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon. China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011 and ended transmissions in March this year, when it had “comprehensively fulfilled its historical mission”, Xinhua quoted Wu as saying.

Source: Sunday Times September 14, 2016 11:48 UTC