China Launches Cargo Spacecraft for Independent Space Station Construction

▲China's Mars exploration rover Zhurong [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] China has launched a cargo spacecraft for the construction of its independent space station. This comes one month after launching 'Tianhe,' the core module of the space station, on the 29th of last month.

According to China Central Television (CCTV) on the 29th, at around 8:50 PM, the Long March 7 Yao-3 rocket carrying the Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan.

Tianzhou 2 will dock with Tianhe, the core module of the space station that was launched into orbit last month, to perform automatic refueling and resupply missions.

This spacecraft, measuring 10.6 meters in length and 3.35 meters in diameter, is equipped with living supplies for astronauts, as well as maintenance parts compartments and scientific laboratories.

Its maximum launch weight is 13.5 metric tons (mt), capable of carrying 6.5 tons of supplies.

China had originally planned to launch Tianzhou 2 on the 20th but postponed the launch due to "technical reasons."

China plans to sequentially launch the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft, followed by the Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft and Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft next month, aiming to complete its independent space station by the end of next year.

The Chinese space station measures 37 meters in length and weighs 90 tons, which is about one-third the size of the International Space Station (ISS) jointly operated by the United States, Russia, and others.

However, since the ISS is scheduled to operate only until 2024, it is expected that China's space station will be the only space station in Earth's orbit for the foreseeable future thereafter.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.