2nd space lab scheduled for launch later this year

China will send its second space lab later this year, and will dock with a cargo ship scheduled to be launched next year, sources from the manned space program said Sunday. China also plans to launch the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts, in the fourth quarter to dock with the space lab Tiangong-2, according to the program's spokesperson. After its first test flight at the Wenchang satellite launch center in South China's Hainan Province, a next-generation Long March-7 rocket will put the country's first cargo ship Tianzhou-1, which literally means "heavenly vessel," into space in the first half of 2017 to dock with Tiangong-2 and conduct experiments. China plans to conduct experiments on key technologies, including cargo transportation, in-orbit propellant resupply, astronauts' medium-term stay, as well as space science and application experiments on a relatively large scale, the spokesperson said. Preparation for the space lab program is steadily progressing, according to the spokesperson. The astronauts chosen for Shenzhou-11 are receiving training, while the Tiangong-2, Shenzhou-11, two Long March-2F carrier rockets to be used to lift them into space, the Long March-7 rocket, and the Tianzhou-1 are either being assembled or undergoing assembly examination. China's multi-billion-dollar space program aims to put a permanent manned space station in space by 2022, with construction on the station to be completed by 2020, the spokesperson added.