By IANS,
Beijing : China will launch its first space laboratory module Thursday, a step which will pave the way for its own space station, China Daily reported.
The unmanned — Tiangong-1 — will blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert in northwest China.
It will be launched between 9.16 p.m. and 9.31 p.m., said a spokesman.
Final preparations are being made for the launch of Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace. The propellant will be injected into the Long March II-F T1 rocket carrier Wednesday.
Shenzhou VIII spaceship, also unmanned, will be launched in early November to rendezvous and dock with Tiangong-1, the report added.