China launches Tiangong-2 space lab

China has launched its second space lab, taking one step further in Beijing’s plan to establish a permanent space station.

A Long March 2F rocket blasted off successfully at 10:04 p.m. local time Thursday (10:04 a.m. ET) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert carrying the lab known as Tiangong-2, which translates to “heavenly vessel,” according to state media China Central Television.

The Long March 2F carrier rocket is carried to the launch tower last week.

Once in space, the Tiangong-2 will maneuver itself into orbit roughly 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) above the Earth, CCTV reported.

A spacecraft will ferry a two-man crew to the lab in October – China’s first manned mission since 2013. The astronauts will remain in the lab for a month, where they will be carrying out experiments related to medicine, physics and biology. It’s China’s longest mission yet.

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The Tiangong-2 and its predecessor, Tiangong-1, are prototypes for China’s ultimate goal – a permanent 20-ton space station, which is expected to launch after 2020.

“Tiangong is a precursor test bed of capabilities; building toward the large space station has always been the culminating goal of the Shenzhou program,” said Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor at the US Naval War College specializing in space programs and space security.

Shenzhou-10 was China's fifth manned space mission. The Shenzhou-10 spaceship, propelled by a Long March-2F rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on June 11, 2013.

The crew for this mission included a woman, Wang Yaping, and two male astronauts, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang.

Nie, Zhang and Wang discuss technical issues during training in April 2012, a year before the 15-day mission.

The astronauts had to undergo a series of tests in their pressure suits prior to the mission.

Wang undergoes a cardiovascular endurance test a few weeks before the mission.

Nie undergoes an isokinetic muscle test.

Zhang practices entering the return capsule on May 31, 2013.