tiangong-1

Tiangong-1 (Chinese: 天宫一号; pinyin: Tiāngōng yīhào; literally "Heavenly Palace 1") is a Chinese space laboratory module,^[7] an experimental testbed to demonstrate the rendezvous and docking capabilities needed to support a space station complex.

• Launched unmanned aboard a Long March 2F/G rocket^[1] on 29 September 2011,^[9] it is part of the Tiangong program, which aims to place a larger, modular station into orbit by 2020.^[8]
• Tiangong-1 will be deorbited in 2013,^[10] and replaced over the following decade by the larger Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 modules.

Tiangong-1 is expected to be visited by three Shenzhou missions during its two-year operational lifetime. The first of these, the unmanned Shenzhou 8, successfully docked with the module in November 2011,^[11][12] while the manned Shenzhou 9 and 10 missions are expected to launch in 2012.