China successfully launches 1st space lab module

China's first space laboratory module successfully blasted off Thursday from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest desert area, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The unmanned Tiangong-1 module, carried by Long March-2FT1 rocket, was launched at 9:16 p.m. (1316 GMT). It will test space docking with a spacecraft later this year, paving the way for China to become the third country in the world to operate a permanent space station around 2020, according to Xinhua. At the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Chinese President Hu Jintao applauded the successful launch of Tiangong-1 after witnessing the latest endeavor of China''s manned space program since 1992. Tiangong-1 will orbit the Earth for about one month to await Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft. Once the two vehicles successfully rendezvous, they will conduct the first space docking at a height of 340 kilometers above Earth surface. After two docking tests, Tiangong-1 will await Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 in the next two years. The 8.5-ton Tiangong-1, with a length of 10.4 meters and maximum diameter of 3.35 meters, provides a room of 15 cubic meters for two to three astronauts to live and work. Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China''s manned space program, said that China will turn its future space station into an international platform for space research and application. China has expressed its strong willingness to cooperate with other countries in exploring space. So far China''s Long March rocket series has successfully sent more than 20 satellites into space for the US, Australia, Pakistan and other countries and regions, according to the report.