Tiangong-2 returns to Earth in flaming glory

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July 22, 2019

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Tiangong-2 returns to Earth in flaming glory

Source: Xinhua | 00:05 UTC+8 July 22, 2019 |

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After orbiting the Earth 16,209 times, it burned itself into ashes, flaming out in a dazzling display as its last gift to humanity.

China’s space lab Tiangong-2 reentered the Earth’s atmosphere under control on Friday night, with a small amount of its debris falling into the predetermined safe sea area in the South Pacific, the China Manned Space Agency said.

Tiangong-2’s controlled reentry into the atmosphere marks the successful completion of all the tasks in the space lab phase in China’s manned space program, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the program.

“It’s hard to say goodbye to Tiangong-2 but considering reliability and safety-related factors, we have to drive it out of orbit,” said Zhu Zongpeng, chief designer of Tiangong-2 from the China Academy of Space Technology.

“To let Tiangong-2 ‘retire’ by choice is to ensure the absolute safety of its departure,” Zhu said.

“As the first to enter Tiangong-2, I’m happy that the space lab has successfully completed its tasks, though I’m also missing it since it was our home in space,” said astronaut Jing Haipeng, who spent his 50th birthday on Tiangong-2 on October 24, 2016.

“My memory of the 30 days on Tiangong-2 with Chen Dong is still fresh. We conducted many scientific experiments such as raising silkworms and growing plants in space,” Jing said.

“China is stepping up efforts to prepare for the construction of the space station. We are confident that a space station belonging to the Chinese people is coming soon,” he added.

“The 30 days on Tiangong-2 were the happiest and most unforgettable experience in my life, and the most precious and valuable time to cherish,” said astronaut Chen Dong.

“Tiangong-2 was the place to realize my space dream,” said Chen, adding that “China’s space station, a more powerful, advanced and comfortable home for astronauts, is awaiting us.”

The space lab is the prelude to the construction of China’s space station, aiming to test the key technologies needed for the permanent space station, Zhou said.

Tiangong-2, an improved version of Tiangong-1, is considered China’s first space lab. Launched on September 15, 2016, the space lab has worked in orbit over 1,000 days, much longer than its two-year designed lifespan.

Comprising an experiment module and a resource module, the space lab has a total length of 10.4 meters, a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters and a takeoff weight of 8.6 tons.

After its solar panels are unfolded, its wingspan was 18.4 meters.

Key breakthroughs

Tiangong-2 docked with both the Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship and Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft.

China made breakthroughs in a series of key technologies through the Tiangong-2 mission, such as medium-term space residence of astronauts and in-orbit propellant refueling, accumulating important experience for building and operating China’s future space station.

More than 60 space science experiments and technological tests have been carried out on the space lab.

For instance, the first-ever cold atom clock working in space was tested on Tiangong-2.

The clock was so accurate that it would only lose one second every 30 million years.

A device named POLAR installed atop Tiangong-2, which was jointly developed by Chinese and European scientists, has detected 55 gamma-ray bursts, the strongest explosions in the universe.

China also tested a microsatellite, which was launched from Tiangong-2 and took high-resolution pictures of the connected space lab and Shenzhou-11.

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Tiangong-2 returns to Earth in flaming glory

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