The Long March 7 carrier rocket lifted off at 8:14 am on May 11 from a launch service tower at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, located in China’s southernmost Hainan Province, carrying the Tianzhou 10 cargo spaceship and placing it into its preset orbit.
The Long March 7 rocket, carrying the Tianzhou 10 cargo spaceship, blasts off at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China’s Hainan Province on May 11, 2026. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Since 2017, China has completed 10 Tianzhou cargo missions.
The Tianzhou 10 — designed by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) — will remain docked with the Tiangong space station for a whole year.
The cargo spaceship delivers supplies and devices to the space station, refuels it and disposes of the waste it produces. The spaceship carried 700 kilograms of propellant and about 6.2 metric tons of various materials, including the necessities for the daily work and life of the crew of Shenzhou-23 and Shenzhou-24 spacecraft, as well as various devices for space station operations.
The transfer of the rocket-spaceship assembly to the launch site takes place prior to liftoff. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Long March 7 rocket itself was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, also a CASC subsidiary, to launch cargo spacecraft.
The rocket is highly reliable and safe and is fueled by eco-friendly propellant. It’s 53.1 meters long, with a liftoff weight of about 600 tons. The diameter of its fairing is 4.2 meters and its payload to the low-Earth orbit is about 14 tons.
This was the 641st launch of the Long March series of rockets.
(Executive editor: Zuo Shihan)
