China successfully launched an unmanned cargo spacecraft to its space station on Monday. It was broadcast live on Chinese state television.
The Long Mars-7 Y5 launcher took off from Wenchang Spaceport on Hainan Island at 7:56 PM Belgian time. The Tianzhou-4 missile emerged in the mountain range of the 53-meter-high two-stage missile with four thrusters.
It was launched into the planned runway about ten minutes after take-off, to continue autonomously. The 11-meter-long unmanned cargo is scheduled to transport all kinds of cargo to the space station being built by Beijing.
The coupling should take place at an altitude of about 350 km about 6.5 hours after starting.
The Tiangong space station has been uninhabited since mid-April, and a new crew of three will depart in June.
Tianzhou 4 is the fourth mission out of 11 to expand the complex. This consists of those modules of which only the basic unit Tianhe, in April 2021, was launched into space. The previous shipment, Tianzhou-3, is still attached to the unit.
It is the third operational flight of such a spacecraft.
Unlimited free access to Showbytes? And that can!
Sign in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
