9月15日，中国成功发射了第二个空间实验室——天宫二号。相关工作人员称，它将成为中国迄今为止规模最大的空间科研平台。
The space lab was lifted off atop a Long March 2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province at 10:04 pm.
当晚10点04分，搭载天宫二号的长征二号F运载火箭在甘肃省酒泉卫星发射中心发射升空。
Around 20 minutes later, the mission was declared a success.
大约20分钟后，此次发射任务宣布成功。
Tiangong II will undergo preparations in space for
天宫二号将会在太空中进行为期约1个月的准备工作。10月中旬，我国将发射神舟十一号载人飞船，将两名宇航员送入太空。在返回地球之前，这两名宇航员将进入天宫二号内生活30天。
The lab’s predecessor, Tiangong I, was launched in September 2011 and was used mainly to test technology involved in space *docking.
2011年9月，天宫二号的上一代——天宫一号成功发射，主要用于测试包括空间对接在内的一系列技术。
By comparison, the Tiangong II will be used to conduct more than 40 scientific and technological experiments together with the Shenzhou XI. That’s many times more than those carried out by the Tiangong I and the three previous Shenzhou spacecraft, according to Wu Ping, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency. China’s manned space program has entered a “new phase of application and development,” he said.
相比之下，天宫二号将会和神舟十一号一起，开展40多项科技实验。据中国载人航天工程办公室副主任武平介绍，天宫二号和神舟十一号承担的实验任务，要比天宫一号和先前三代神舟火箭多得多。中国的载人航天事业已经进入了一个“应用发展的新阶段”，他说道。
