China launches 3rd and final space station component

China has launched the third and final module to complete its permanent space station, realizing a more than decade-long endeavor to maintain a constant crewed presence in orbit.

Mengtian was blasted into space at 3:39 p.m. (0739 GMT) Monday from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the southern island province of Hainan aboard a Long March-5B Y4 carrier rocket, a member of China’s most powerful family of launch vehicles.

A large crowd of amateur photographers, space enthusiasts and assorted lookers-on watched the lift-off from an adjoining beach.

Many waved Chinese flags and wore T-shirts emblazoned with the characters for China, reflecting the deep national pride invested in the space program and the technological progress it represents.

Mengtian will join Wentian as the second laboratory module for the station, connecting to the Tianhe core module where the crew lives and works.

Tiangong is currently populated by a crew of two male and one female astronauts. The Mengtian launch is uncrewed.