Tianzhou 2 cargo ship docks with Tianhe core module, becoming first visiting spacecraft to station
Two large space labs will be launched next year to connect with the module. 2022 will also see two manned missions and two robotic cargo flights to continue construction of the space station, which is scheduled to be completed around the end of next year.
China's most adventurous space endeavor, Tiangong will consist of three main components — a core module attached to two space labs — with a combined weight of nearly 70 metric tons. The entire station is set to work for about 15 years, mission planners have said.
Tianzhou 2's predecessor, Tianzhou 1, was China's biggest spacecraft when it entered service and was launched at the Wenchang launch center in April 2017.
It carried out several docking and in-orbit refueling maneuvers with a Chinese space laboratory in a low-Earth orbit from April to September that year, making China the third nation capable of in-orbit refueling, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.
