Tianzhou-4 Space Cargo Successfully Docks With China's Orbital Station

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2022) China's Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft has successfully docked with the Tiangong orbital station, the China Manned Space Agency said on Tuesday.

Tianzhou-4 was put into orbit by the Changcheng-7 launch vehicle, which lifted off at 1.56 a.m. on Tuesday (17:56 GMT on Monday) from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island. After reaching orbit, the spacecraft has made a successful docking with the rear port of the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station at 8.54 a.m. (00:54 GMT).

Tianzhou-4 cargo has delivered fuel, equipment, consumables and other supplies to the orbit for the three-member Shenzhou-14 crew, who will arrive in the Tiangong station in June and spend around six months there.

The construction of China's multi-module Tiangong orbital station kicked off in April 2021, when the Tianhe core module was successfully launched into orbit.

Tiangong is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with the station capable of carrying three astronauts and six people during crew rotation.

The Tiangong station is expected to be supplemented by the Wentian laboratory module and the Mentian research module this year. Furthermore, the autonomous astrophysical module Xuntian will be launched in 2025, which will occasionally dock with the station for maintenance.

To date, the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong station, with a length of 16.6 meters (52.4 feet) and a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters, is the largest spacecraft built in China. It houses the control and management center and the main living space for the crew of about 50 cubic meters, with scientific and technological experiments also be conducted there.