China’s Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft docks with space station ahead of next crewed mission
- Tianzhou 4 was sent into space atop a Long March 7 Y5 rocket from Wenchang Launch Base around 2am
- Shenzhou 14 crewed mission is expected to launch next month for a six-month stay and overlapping for a few days with succeeding crew for a space station first
The spacecraft was launched from Wenchang on the southern island of Hainan just before 2am on Tuesday, docking with the Tianhe core module around seven hours later.
The cargo flight carried supplies for the station’s next three-member crew who are expected to arrive at Tianhe in June for a six-month stay. It also included propellant and equipment for experiments to be conducted by the astronauts, with a total payload of around 6,000kg (13,300 pounds).
Tianzhou 4’s launch is the first of the six space flight missions to be carried out this year to complete the in-orbit construction of the Tiangong station.
The Shenzhou 14 three-member crew is set to launch in June to continue construction of the space station, as well as preparing for the station for the installation of science modules, Wentian and Mengtian, which will be launched in June and October respectively.
The cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 5 will also be sent to the space station before the launch of the three-member Shenzhou 15 mission in November.
