POSSIBLE LAUNCH OF CHINA’S MENGTIAN SPACE STATION MODULE, Oct 31, 2022, 4:37 am ET?

Update, October 30: China still has not announced the launch date, but Bob Christy (@OrbitalFocus) who closely follows the Chinese space program and calculates orbital parameters tweeted this morning that he anticipates launch tomorrow, October 31, at about 07:37 UTC (4:37 am EDT).  If China confirms the launch time in advance, we will add that information here.

Launch Advisory

Mengtian
CZ 5B
Oct 31, ~07:37 UTC
Wenchang SC

Third and final major module for Chinese Space Station, expected to dock with Tianhe forward-facing port ~13 hrs after lift off

Final tweak of CSS orbit Oct 29, ~15:00 UTC

Launch time still computes as 07:37 UTC pic.twitter.com/MPE1c4IilP

— Orbital Focus (@OrbitalFocus) October 30, 2022

Original Entry: China has said it will launch the third and final module of its Tiangong-3 space station, also called the China Space Station, in October 2022. The module is named Mengtian.

China has not officially announced the date, but it is expected to be October 31.  Depending on the launch time, it could be October 30 EDT.

We will update this entry when we have more information.