Tianzhou spacecraft launches, heads to space station

Tianzhou 2, the first spacecraft to visit the recently deployed core module of China's Tiangong space station, was launched on Saturday evening and is scheduled to dock with the module soon.

Tianzhou 2, a robotic cargo ship, flew with a Long March 7 carrier rocket that blasted off around 8:50 pm at a coastal launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southernmost island province of Hainan.

After a 10-minute flight atop the 53-meter rocket, the craft entered a low-Earth orbit and soon unfolded its solar panels, entering the operational mode, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency said the cargo ship will rendezvous and dock with the currently unmanned core module in a matter of hours and then conduct autonomous refueling and cargo placement operations.

The core module, named Tianhe, or Harmony of Heavens, was lifted by a Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket at the Wenchang launch center on April 29.

Now traveling in a rendezvous orbit waiting for Tianzhou 2, Tianhe has carried out a series of tests to verify its designs for rendezvous and docking maneuvers, astronaut accommodation as well as experimental equipment, said the manned space agency.

After their in-orbit connection, Tianzhou 2 will inject propellants into Tianhe and transfer necessities for the astronauts who will be stationed there.