China could be facing space station delay, Tiangong-2 to be deorbited

China’s plan to launch and construct a space station could be hit by a test flight delay of the launcher designed to send the modules into orbit. An online report by People’s Liberation Army Daily, a military newspaper, reports Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), as saying at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday that the Long March 5B will not make its planned test launch in the first half of 2019. “Due to the failure of the launch of the Long March 5 remote launch vehicle, the first flight of the Long March 5B carrier rocket will be postponed. The specific implementation time needs to be clarified after coordination with relevant departments,” Xiqiang said. More

(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 28)