China’s Tiangong-2 Space Lab Falls to Earth Over South Pacific

China's Tiangong 2 space lab is launched on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, in China's Gansu province, on September 15, 2016. The space lab fell to Earth on July 19, 2019. 9-/AFP/Getty Images)

China carried out a controlled de-orbiting of its Tiangong-2 space lab on July 19 that splashed into the South Pacific after about 1,000 days in space.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) claimed the 19,000 lb Tiangong-2 (Heavenly Palace 2) had exceeded its original mission life, and ground control adjusted its course in space to execute a stable de-orbit maneuver and targeted South Pacific Ocean splash landing.