Tianzhou 2 cargo ship docks with Tianhe core module, becoming first visiting spacecraft to station
A Tianzhou cargo spaceship consists of two parts — a cargo cabin and a propulsion section. It is 10.6 meters long and has a diameter of 3.35 meters. With a liftoff weight of 13.5 metric tons, the craft is able to transport up to 6.9 metric tons of supplies to the space station, according to Bai Mingsheng, Tianzhou's chief designer at the China Academy of Space Technology.
With a designed life of more than 1 year, Tianzhou 2, the country's second cargo spaceship, is carrying 6.8 tons of supplies including 2 tons of propellants, more than 160 packages of living and experiment materials and two 100-kilogram extravehicular suits for astronauts to perform activities outside the core module.
During its linkup with Tianhe, the cargo ship will also hold scientific experiments and technology demonstration operations, according to Bai.
The designer said that when Tianzhou 2 departs from Tianhe, it will carry wastes from the module and burn up during the atmospheric reentry.
Hao from the manned space agency said the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship will be launched in September to dock with Tianhe. The next month, another three-astronaut team will fly to the core module on Shenzhou XIII to stay there for six months.
