CHINA’S Tianzhou 10 cargo spacecraft, mounted atop a Long March 7 Y11 rocket, was vertically transferred to the launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan Province on Friday, signaling that the mission has entered its final countdown.

According to the China Manned Space Agency, all facilities and equipment at the launch site are functioning normally. Upcoming steps — including pre-launch functional checks and joint tests — will proceed as scheduled. The agency also confirmed that the launch will take place in the coming days at an appropriate time.

The vertical transfer marks the completion of assembly and testing in the technical area. Once the rocket-spacecraft combination arrived at the launch pad, a new round of ground tests began, covering rocket-tower coordination, tank replacement, and airtightness checks — all essential preparations for propellant loading and the final launch.

Sealed inside the rocket’s fairing, Tianzhou 10 will carry nearly 6.3 metric tons of supplies to China’s space station. The cargo is designed primarily to support the in-orbit work and daily life of the Shenzhou XXIII and Shenzhou XXIV astronaut crews.

The payload includes more than 220 items for astronaut systems, the space station itself, cargo spacecraft systems, space applications, as well as pproximately 700 kilograms of propellant.

One of the most critical items on board is a third next-generation extravehicular spacesuit. Two such suits were previously delivered by Tianzhou 9. This new delivery will complete the replacement of spacesuits aboard the space station.

The spacecraft will also carry a brand-new space treadmill, along with six scientific experiment payloads weighing a total of about 280 kilograms. These payloads will support cutting-edge space science experiments in fields such as fluid physics under microgravity and aerospace technology. Notably, this represents the largest number of upward payload projects carried by any Tianzhou mission since the space station’s construction phase began.

A small number of temperature-sensitive items — including fresh vegetables and fruit, refrigerated consumable packages, and biological and cell experiment samples — will be loaded just before launch. Researchers have conducted full rehearsals of sample preparation, loading, and integration to ensure a smooth final installation.(SD-Agencies)