China’s first space station module, called Tiangong-1, lifted off at 9:16 p.m. local time Sept. 29 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March-2FT1 rocket, the state-run Xinhua news service reported.
Tiangong-1 will test space docking with the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft later this year as China endeavors to become the third country to operate a permanent space station around 2020.
Chinese President Hu Jintao applauded as he watched the launch from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.
READ IT AT: [Xinhua]
