Render of the Tiangong-2 space lab (left) docked with a Shenzhou crewed spacecraft. Credit: CMSE

HELSINKI, Finland — China has lowered the orbit of its Tiangong-2 space lab, likely in preparation for deorbiting the orbital facility and thus averting a similar scenario to the uncontrolled re-entry of Tiangong-1 earlier this year.

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Andrew Jones writes about China's space industry, including civilian programs, space science and exploration, policy, and commercial developments for SpaceNews, and writes the China Report newsletter. He has additional bylines in Scientific American,...