Lifeboat Foundation

Tiangong translates literally to ‘Heavenly Palace’ and is China’s first space station program which, in its early stages, is not unlike the early Salyut space stations and the American Skylab – launched with equipment and supplies for a finite mission duration already on board and not serviced by cargo resupply vehicles.

China’s first Heavenly Palace arrived in orbit in late September 2011 after a flawless launch atop a Long March 2F rocket. Orbiting Earth over 300 Kilometers in altitude, Tiangong was first visited two months after launch when the uncrewed Shenzhou-8 spacecraft completed China’s first automatic docking in space.