China launches cargo spacecraft to carry supplies to its space station

Beijing: China successfully launched an unmanned cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-3 on Monday to deliver supplies for its under-construction space station Tiangong, which is scheduled to be completed by next year.

The Long March-7 Y4 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-3, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.

Tianzhou-3, which carried supplies for the upcoming six-month manned mission called Shenzhou-13, later successfully docked with the space station, the CMSA said.

The Tianzhou series are cargo spacecraft carrying material supplies to the space station which is to be ready by next year.

On September 18, the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft separated from the rear docking port of Tianhe and docked with its front docking port.

The CMSA said that the combination of Tianhe and Tianzhou-2 is in good



condition, waiting for docking with the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft and the next manned mission Shenzhou-13 spaceship, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

On September 17, three Chinese astronauts who spent 90 days, the country's longest crewed mission, returned to Earth. The three spent three months building the station.

They spent 90 days at the Tianhe module on China's space station, some 380 kilometres above Earth.

Billed as the most prestigious and strategically important space project for China after the country's recent Mars and previous Moon missions, the low orbit space station would be the country's eye from the sky, providing a round the clock bird's-eye view for its astronauts on the rest of the world.

China previously sent the space station's Tianhe core cabin module on April 29, and a cargo spacecraft with supplies on May 29.