BEIJING (Sputnik) — According to the China Central Television broadcaster, the spacecraft is expected to dock with China's second space laboratory Tiangong-2, which was launched aboard a carrier rocket on September 15 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gobi Desert.
According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Tiangong-2 has begun conducting in-orbit tests on September 23. The two astronauts, whose names have not been disclosed yet, will move to the laboratory after the docking and work there for 30 days. According to The China Daily, this space mission will be the longest ever conducted by Chinese astronauts.
In April 2017, China plans to sent a space cargo ship Tianzhou-1 to deliver supplies to the space laboratory.