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China's Tiangong-1 Lifts Off
Credit: CCTV
China launches the Tiangong-1 space lab module Sept. 29, 2011 atop a Chinese Long March 2F rocket from the Gobi desert.
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Tiangong 1 Space Lab Gets Rocket
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office
Chinese engineers assemble the Long March 2F T1 rocket that will launch the Tiangong 1 space laboratory into orbit in 2011.
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China's Tiangong 1 Space Lab
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office
This artist's illustration from a China space agency video shows the Tiangong 1 space laboratory, a prototype module for the country's planned space station.
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Liftoff of China's Tiangong-1
Credit: CCTV
China's Tiangong-1 space lab module, the precursor for a manned space station, launched on Sept. 29, 2011.
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Tiangong-1 Launch Rocket View
Credit: CCTV
The view from China's Long March 2F rocket as it launches the Tiangong-1 module Sept. 29, 2011.
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China's Tiangong Mission Control
Credit: CCTV
A view of China's Mission Control Center during the launch of Tiangong-1 Sept. 29, 2011
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Long March 2F Rocket
Credit: CCTV
A view of the Long March 2F rocket engines during China's Tiangong-1 liftoff Sept. 29, 2011.
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Tiangong Spacecraft Separation
Credit: CCTV
Spacecraft separation for China's Tiangong-1 module from its Long March 2F rocket
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Tiangong 1 Space Lab Orbital Diagram
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office
China's planned orbit for the Tiangong 1 space lab after launch a 350-kilometer path around Earth.
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Tiangong-1 Spacecraft
Credit: CCTV
An illustration of China's Tiangong-1 spacecraft just after its launch on Sept. 29, 2011, as seen from Chinese Mission Control.
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China's Tiangong 1 at the Launch Site
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering
China's Tiangong 1 spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket is pictured at the launch site after being transferred from a facility at the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center.
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Display Model of Tiangong I Module
Credit: Gregory Kulacki/People's Daily Online
Display model of Tiangong I module at an exhibition hall at the China Academy of Space Technology, complete with access door for public viewing. A Long March 2F carrier rocket for Tiangong I arrived at China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on July 23. Personnel and facilities from all subsystems and payloads are gathering at the launch center for the mission of the space laboratory, which are reportedly going well.
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China's Tiangong 1 Docking Concept
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office
A Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft closes in on the country's Tiangong 1 space lab in this still from a mission profile video.
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Tiangong 1 Cutaway: Moving Between Spacecraft
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office
This still from a China space agency video shows a cutaway of a Shenzhou spacecraft docked at the country's Tiangong 1 space lab, showing how astronauts will move between the two Chinese spacecraft.
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China's Fiery End for Tiangong 1
Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office
China plans to dispose of the Tiangong 1 space laboratory by commanding it to burn up in Earth's atmosphere at the end of a two-year mission.
