天宫二号
The Innovation Academy for Microsatellites previously operated small satellites near Shenzhou-7 in 2008 and Tiangong-2 in 2016 to image both spacecraft while they were crewed.
The Tianzhou spacecraft design weighs 14,000 kilograms and is derived from China’s Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space stations.
The Long March 2F/T 'T' variant uses a 4.2-meter-wide fairing that was previously used for Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space stations and modified to carry a spaceplane.
The current Tiangong Space Station is Tiangong-3, following China’s first two space stations, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2.
InterSpace Explore founder Fu Shiming previously worked at the China Academy of Space Technology and was a member of the Tiangong-2 space lab project.
China launched the Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft in 2017 to dock with the Tiangong-2 space lab.
China deorbited Tiangong-2 in a controlled manner in 2019 after it hosted crew and refueling verification tests.
The Long March 7 second mission in 2017 sent Tianzhou-1 to dock with the Tiangong-2 space lab and tested technologies for fuel transfer in microgravity.
Tianzhou-1 was launched in April 2017 to test rendezvous and docking maneuvers and to verify automated refueling in microgravity with the Tiangong-2 space lab.
Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong spent most of the 33-day Shenzhou-11 mission aboard Tiangong-2.
The standard Long March 7's most recent mission before the 7A test was a 2017 flight to test the Tianzhou refueling spacecraft with the Tiangong-2 space lab.
The Long March 7 second launch in 2017 sent the Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft into low Earth orbit to test docking and refueling with the Tiangong-2 space lab.
China planned in September 2018 to deliberately deorbit Tiangong-2 in 2019.
Tiangong-2 hosted astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong for the 33-day Shenzhou-11 mission in late 2016.
Tiangong-2 reentered over the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area at 9:06 a.m. Eastern using its own propulsion.
Tiangong-2 performed an engine burn at 10 a.m. on 2019-07-18 to lower the spacecraft’s perigee prior to reentry.
Tiangong-2 was launched in September 2016 to test advanced life support, refueling, and resupply capabilities for an inhabited space station in low Earth orbit.
Tiangong-2 was a more advanced version of the Tiangong-1 space lab, which launched in 2011.
With the end of Tiangong-2, China entered a period without a spacecraft capable of hosting human spaceflight missions for the first time since 2011.
Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 were designed as steppingstones for developing and verifying technologies for larger 20-metric-ton modules for the planned Chinese Space Station.