China’s second space station module. This true space lab, identical in size and shape to Tiangong 1, was launched on 15 September 2016 aboard a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre and manoeuvred into a 380-km near-circular orbit. Tiangong 2’s main objectives are to verify key technologies such as cargo transportation, on-orbit propellant resupply, and medium-term stay of astronauts, as well as conducting large-scale space science and application experiments. On 19 October 2016, a Shenzhou 11 vehicle transported taikonauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong to Tiangong 2, where they spent a month living and working in orbit. This marked the longest space mission by Chinese astronauts.