China begins building its own space station with launch of control module

China launched the first module of a planned space station on Wednesday. The Chinese space agency hopes to complete the sophisticated research lab in 2022, securing its status as a space superpower with long-duration orbital expeditions by three-person crews.

While smaller than the sprawling International Space Station, built by the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and Canada, the Chinese Space Station, or CSS, will focus on the same objectives, including microgravity research, Earth observation and technology development.