THE country’s cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2, carrying supplies, equipment and propellant, successfully docked with the space station core module Tianhe yesterday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

At 5:01 a.m., Tianzhou-2 and Tianhe completed computer-orchestrated rendezvous and docking. The whole process took approximately eight hours, the CMSA said.

The Long March-7 Y3 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-2, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan at 8:55 p.m. Saturday.

Combined with Tianhe, Tianzhou-2 will replenish Tianhe’s propellant. Tests on space application project equipment will also be carried out as planned.

China launched its space station core module Tianhe on April 29. The country plans to complete the verification of key technologies and the in-orbit construction of the space station through multiple launches within two years.

The launch of the cargo craft was the first time that the space station cargo transportation system, composed of the Tianzhou spacecraft and Long March-7 rockets, was put into use.

Measuring 10.6 meters in length and with a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters, the Tianzhou-2 cargo ship has a maximum takeoff weight of 13.5 tons and carries 6.8 tons of goods and materials.

More than 160 large and small packages, including supplies for astronauts and space-science equipment, and two tons of propellant have been loaded into the cargo freighter, according to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

Lei Jianyu, a designer of Tianzhou-2 at the CAST, said that only two types of cargo spaceships currently in service globally have a maximum carrying capacity of more than 5 tons. “China’s Tianzhou is one of them, and is at the world-leading level.”

The Tianzhou-2 cargo freighter is composed of cargo and propulsion compartments. Supplies are loaded inside the pressurized cargo section, and propellant in the propulsion section.

The propellant used for the Tianzhou-2’s flight and the propellant for refueling the Tianhe core module can be flexibly distributed according to demand.

(Xinhua)