"We must soberly recognize that China's space-station technology is still in its initial stage, compared to those of the U.S. and Russia," said a commentary from the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
"But the launch of Tiangong-1 is the beginning of China's efforts to narrow the gap."
China-watchers agree.
"The test reflects China's technological advances, funded by its rapid economic growth and facilitated by the military's ballistic missile program," says Taylor Fravel, associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The unmanned space-lab is an 8-ton module named Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace." That's what the Chinese called outer space in ancient times.
Tiangong-1 is designed to stay in space for two years and is expected to dock with an unmanned spacecraft in November.
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