British media reported that the Chinese government said that China will launch a second space laboratory on the evening of the 15th and a manned spacecraft next month. This is part of China’s larger plan to put a permanently manned space station into use around 2022.

According to a Reuters report on September 14, advancing China’s space projects is a priority agenda for Beijing. China insists that its space projects are for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Department of Defense attaches great importance to China’s growing space capabilities and said it is taking actions to prevent opponents from using space-based assets in times of crisis.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts conducted rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong-1 space laboratory after operating in orbit for 15 days.

China will launch Tiangong-2 just after 10 pm on the 15th, space program spokeswoman Wu Ping said at a press conference on the 14th. The Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft carrying two astronauts will be launched in mid-to-late October and will then wait for rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-2. Wu Ping also said that the two astronauts are expected to stay on Tiangong-2 for about a month.

The launch will add a touch of high-tech to China's week-long National Day celebrations starting on October 1 and this week's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the report said.

A senior Chinese official said in April that China will launch the core module of the country's first space station around 2018, which is an important step in the plan to build a manned space station around 2022.

According to an Agence France-Presse report on September 14, Chinese official media stated on the 14th that China will launch its second space laboratory on the 15th. The country is working toward building its own space station, one of its many ambitious goals.

Xinhua News Agency reported that Tiangong-2 will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Base in the Gobi Desert.

The report quoted Wu Ping, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, as saying that engineers have added propellant to the Long March 2F rocket, which will put Tiangong 2 into orbit.

After Tiangong-2 is in place, the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft will then transport two astronauts to dock with it. They will stay there for 30 days.

In the space program, China has invested huge sums of money in order to compete with the United States and Europe. It announced in April that it planned to send a spacecraft into Mars orbit "around 2020" to achieve exploration and landing patrols around Mars in one step.

China views its space program as a symbol of the country's progress and a sign of its rising world status, the report said.