On September 15, 2016, at 14:04 UTC the “Long March –2F” (“Changzheng-2F”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the northwest of China. The rocket orbited the “Tiangong-2” (天宫二号) space lab. The “Tiangong-2” spacecraft is starting off a two-year mission to conduct a slate of scientific experiments and lay the technological foundation for a Chinese space station set to be assembled in orbit by 2022. If all goes according to plan, two Chinese astronauts will launch aboard the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft in mid-to-late October in pursuit of the Tiangong 2 space lab. Shenzhou 11 will dock with the spacecraft to form a mini-space station, and astronauts will live and work inside the module for 30 days, officials said.

In the period from September 14 till September 15, 2016 six micro satellites were launched from the International Space Station. On September 14, 2016 at 15:25 UTC the “Flock-2e'-13” and the “Flock-2e'-14” were launched. On September 14, 2016 at 23:15 UTC the “Flock-2e'-15” and the “Flock-2e'-16” were launched. On September 15, 2016 at 02:35 UTC the “Flock-2e'-17” and the “Flock-2e'-18” were launched. All the satellites were delivered to the ISS by the “Cygnus OA-6” spacecraft in March 2016.

On September 8, 2016 at 23:05 UTC the “Atlas V” rocket-carrier was launched from Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by United Launch Alliance supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited the “OSIRIS-Rex” (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) space probe. The “OSIRIS-Rex” is a robotic probe to visit Asteroid Bennu and return an unspoiled sample of the primitive body that may hold the seeds of life. It will be a 7-year round trip journey to Bennu and back. The space vehicle will swing by the Earth on September 22, 2017, receiving a gravity-assisted slingshot to bend the flight path to intercept the destination — Asteroid Bennu — in August 2018 for a three-year stay.