China’s Tiangong-2 laboratory reenters atmosphere. (July 19, 2019)

After nearly three years in orbit, China’s second prototype space station module, Tiangong-2, reentered the Earth’s atmosphere earlier this morning, July 19. Officials from the Chinese Manned Space Engineering Office announced on July 13 that the module would be deorbited on the 19th. The office stated in November 2018 that Tiangong-2 would reenter sometime in 2019. Tiangong-2 used its onboard engines late in the evening of July 18 to lower its orbit, preparing for an early-morning reentry today. Cameras on board the laboratory captured rare footage of the vehicle as it began plummeting through the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The video cuts out shortly after the glowing reaches its highest intensity.

Officials stated that the laboratory reentered the atmosphere at 9:06am EDT in an area of the South Pacific Ocean known as the spacecraft graveyard.

This region of the Pacific is often used for spacecraft and satellites to reenter as it provides a safe, unpopulated area for any surviving fragments to fall in.

Tiangong-2′s final orbit, visualized by Harvard’s Jonathan McDowell. The yellow slanted line represents the portion of the station’s orbit where it broke apart in the atmosphere. P/c: Jonathan McDowell The 8.6 ton, 34-foot module was launched on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center September 15, 2016. One month later, the two man Shenzhou-11 crew docked to the station for a 30-day mission, China’s longest crewed flight to date.  One of the experiments launched during the crew’s operations was the Banxing-2 microsatellite, which photographed the joint complex in orbit for the first time.  China perfected the technologies necessary for orbital operations with the uncrewed Tianzhou-1 mission, an automatic cargo freighter. Launching in April, 2017 on a 60-day mission, Tianzhou-1 developed the procedures necessary for automatic docking and propellant transfer. Both Tiangong modules and the Tianzhou-1 mission were technological pathfinders for the procedures China will use on their larger, modular space station, known as Tianhe. China’s first space station prototype, Tiangong-1, famously made an uncontrolled reentry in April, 2018, following more than six years on orbit. Officials intended for that module to be controlled during its descent but ground controllers lost communications with the craft in March, 2016.

Tiangong-2 spent a total of 1,036 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 56 seconds in orbit. For our coverage of Tiangong-2′s mission, click here. Click here for our coverage of Shenzhou-11, and click here for our coverage of the Tianzhou-1 flight.

P/c: Weibo/Andrew Jones

The ‘Heavenly Vessel” arrives at the “Heavenly palace” as Tianzhou-1 docks to Tiangong-2. After two days of orbit-raising maneuvers following launch, China’s Tianzhou-1 cargo freighter arrived at the Tiangong-2 space station Saturday morning, April 22. The two spacecraft docked automatically while flying more than 238 miles above the Indian ocean with contact occurring at 12:16am. With a combined mass of 21 tons, the Tianzhou/TIangong complex is the heaviest orbiting Chinese spacecraft to date.

Tianzhou-1 is also the first Chinese spacecraft to be equipped with an upgraded APAS docking system. An upgraded version of the Shuttle-era docking system has been used by Chinese spacecraft since 2011, and the version on Tianzhou-1 features the capability to transfer propellant and other umbilicals between the two vehicles.

Tianzhou-1 will remain at the space station for several weeks before temporarily flying solo. The spacecraft will perform at least three separate docking maneuvers to demonstrate the feasibility of transferring propellants repeatedly. Below, the interior of the Tianzhou-1 spacecraft as seen on CCTV. Note the experiment racks for the spacecraft’s automated science experiments.