Tiangong II laboratory to enter test phase after delivery

China's second orbital space laboratory, Tiangong II, which is to accommodate two Chinese astronauts for 30 days, has been delivered to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

It set off from Beijing on Thursday by rail and arrived on Saturday, marking the start of the Tiangong II and Shenzhou XI missions, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The lab will now be assembled and undergo tests.

As part of China's manned space program, a Long March FT2 rocket will carry Tiangong II into orbit in mid-September. The Shenzhou XI spacecraft will carry two male astronauts in mid-October to dock with the lab, with the astronauts returning to Earth a month later.