A Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province on May 10, sending the Tianzhou 6 robotic cargo ship with 5.8 metric tons of supplies to the space station.
The supplies carried by Tianzhou 6 include enough living necessities for three astronauts for 280 days in the space station.
A Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket, carrying the Tianzhou 6 robotic cargo ship with 5.8 metric tons of supplies, is launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province on May 10. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Generally developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Tianzhou 6 is the first spacecraft launched during the application and development stage of China's space station. It mainly supports supply transport, in-orbit operation and space-based scientific research.
Compared to the previous cargo ships, the improved Tianzhou 6 is able to carry more goods and has the best carrying capacity of its kind in the world.
As for the Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket, it is a new-generation medium-sized carrier rocket with high reliability and security and was developed by CASC's China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology to meet the demand for cargo spcecraft in the country's manned space station program.
Equipped with four boosters, the two-stage rocket is 53.1 meters long and has a launch weight of about 600 tons and a takeoff thrust of 727 tons. Its carrying capacity in low-Earth orbit is about 14 tons.
So far, the Long March-7 rocket has completed six launches of the Tianzhou cargo ships since its maiden flight in 2016.
The launch on May 10 was the 472nd flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
