The map shows the position of Tiangong 1 at the time and also its ground track. Tiangong 1 moves west to east, or left to right on the map. The yellow segment of track shows when Tiangong was in sunlight.

Also shown are the two Tianlian 1 data relay satellites in geosynchronous orbit. They provide wide area tracking coverage for both Tiangong and Shenzhou. They also provided the high quality video shown by CCTV when the crew entered the laboratory.