China on Thursday launched space lab Tiangong-2 into space, paving the way for a permanent space station the country plans to build around 2022 (XINHUA)

Scientific apparatus carried by Tiangong-2 went operational at around 6:41 p.m. Beijing time, after being on standby mode for nearly seven days since the space lab entered its preset orbit on September 15.

"Most of the scientific payload will be put into operation in the next 30 hours," said Guo Lili, director of the payload control center at the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Nearly 100 ground operators, including staff from the control center, payload developers and subscribers to related applications, are coordinating in the operation.

The payload includes POLAR, a collaboration between Swiss, Polish and Chinese institutions to study gamma ray bursts, and a cold atomic space clock, which scientists say only loses one second in about 30 million years.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2016)