Full coverage: China Tiangong-2 Space Lab Launch

China successfully launched its space lab Tiangong-2 on Thursday. The lab has since entered an in-orbit test track in good condition.

Tiangong-2 finished two orbit maneuvers Friday at a distance of 380 kilometers above the earth. This is a record-breaking distance for Tiangong-2. It is a great achievement, but the lab’s mission has just begun.

The space lab will ascend to an altitude of 393 kilometers above the earth later. It will wait there to dock the Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft, scheduled for launch in October. The two vessels will dock at a speed of 20 centimeters per second, a considerable reduction from their normal speed of 7.8 kilometers. After docking, they will fly in space as one.

China will then start the third stage in its manned space program: building its space station. Docking is expected to become a regular core technology.