The Chinese Space Agency on Saturday sent another spacecraft with supplies for its new space station, which will be independent of the International Space Station.
A ‘Long March 7’ rocket carrying the ‘Tianzhou 5’ (Heavenly Ship) cargo spacecraft lifted off Saturday from the Wenchang spaceport on the southern Chinese island of Hainan and successfully docked with the recently completed ‘Tiangong’ (Sky Palace) two hours later, the space program reported and was picked up by DPA.
The cargo flight is part of preparations for a step forward in China’s space program, which is its first crew change in space.
Three other astronauts — called taikonauts in China — are expected to follow later this month and live with their colleagues Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe on the newly completed space station.
The current crew is scheduled to return to Earth in December. ‘Tianzhou 5’ is the tenth construction and supply mission of the Chinese space station.
Tiangong underpins China’s ambitions to become a space power and catch up with the leading spacefaring nations, the United States and Russia.
