China Successfully Launches Tianzhou-5 Cargo Ship to Tiangong Space Station

By Staff, Agencies

China successfully launched Tianzhou-5 unmanned cargo spacecraft, which is expected to dock with Tiangong space station and conduct a resupply mission, the China Manned Space Agency [CMSA] announced on Saturday.

"The Long March-7 Y6 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-5, was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site at 10:03 p.m. Beijing time [02:03 GMT]. Ten minutes later, unmanned cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-5 successfully separated from the rocket and entered a designated orbit," the message read.

The CMSA noted that the launch was successful as Tianzhou-5 would soon dock with Tiangong space station.

The spacecraft will deliver fuel and other supplies necessary for the upcoming Shenzhou-15 crewed mission, which is expected to start by the end of the year.

The construction of the Chinese space station officially began in April 2021. The basic structure of the T-shaped Tiangong space station consists of the Tianhe core module and two laboratory modules - Wentian and Mengtian - docked to it.

The station can host up to six people at the same time during a crew rotation change. The operational life of the station is 15 years and should end in 2038.

There are currently three crew members of the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft working at the Tiangong orbital station. The spacecraft was launched to the Chinese station in early June and its mission will end in December 2022, with astronauts for the Shenzhou-15 mission replacing them. It will be China's first Tiangong crew handover.