Tiangong-1, China’s first unmanned space laboratory was successfully launched from a site in the Gobi Desert. The literal meaning of the word Tiangong is heavenly palace.

With this development, China has become the 3^rd country after Russia and USA to operate a permanent space station. This space lab launched by China likely to be operational by 2020. Tiangong-1 will aid China set up a manned space test platform competent of long term unmanned operation in space with impermanent human attendance. After orbiting for a month on its own, Tiangong-1 to be joined by another spaceship, Shenzhou-8 after which both will then carry out the first space docking.