Tiangong 2 space station launched on 15 September is orbiting about 393 kilometers (244 miles) above the earth. Photo: APBeijing: A pair of Chinese astronauts entered the country’s orbiting space station for a month-long stay early Wednesday, as China’s sixth and longest crewed mission gets underway in earnest. The space station launched 15 September is orbiting about 393 kilometers (244 miles) above the earth. A fully functioning space station is on course to begin full operations six years from now and slated to run for at least a decade. China was excluded from the International Space Station mainly due to US legislation barring such cooperation and concerns over the Chinese space program’s strongly military character.

Source: Mint October 19, 2016 09:00 UTC