BEIJING: China has successfully launched Tianzhou-3, a cargo spacecraft carrying supplies to the China Space Station (CSS) on Monday.
The Long March-7 Y4 rocket carrying the cargo spacecraft blasted off at 3:10 pm Beijing Time (BJT) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province. The spacecraft reached the targeted orbit in about 9 minutes and 57 seconds.
Solar power panels on the spacecraft fully expanded at 3:22 pm BJT, marking the success of the launching process. It will dock with the space station later.
Tianzhou-3 is carrying food, water and other supplies, including an additional space suit, for taikonauts that will visit the space station in future.
As one of the most advanced cargo spacecrafts in the world, Tianzhou-3 can carry about 6 tonnes of goods packed in more than 200 bags.
“Just like the last time, Tianzhou-3 is fully loaded,” said Yang Sheng, lead designer of cargo spacecrafts at China Academy of Space Technology. “And the engine, including its fuel, can work together with the space station engine to perform tasks.”
The launch is part of the space missions that aim to piece together the space station. Previously, the ship’s predecessor, Tianzhou-2, and the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft staffed with three taikonauts, were successfully launched. The taikonauts safely returned to Earth on September 17.
According to the plan, China will next carry out the Shenzhou-13 mission, launching another three taikonauts to the space station. They plan to live there for about half a year.
Yang also hinted at the existence of more Tianzhou spacecrafts, saying the company can now “batch produce” spacecrafts, and Tianzhou-4 and Tianzhou-5 were being built this way.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
