China Launches Tianzhou-2 Space Truck to Its Orbital Station
China has successfully launched the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft to the orbital station under construction, TASS reports.
The launch was carried out using the Changzheng-7 launch vehicle at 15:55 Moscow time from the Wenchang cosmodrome in Hainan province. At the moment, the spacecraft has already reached low-earth orbit, and the launch was considered successful.
The truck will have to dock to the main module of the national space station, which was launched into orbit on April 29. The upcoming docking will be a key event in the construction of the station.
The Chinese space station will be designed for three astronauts. When changing the crew, six people will be able to stay on it for a short time. The station will be T-shaped. It will be equipped with three docking stations and a spacewalk. The station is scheduled to start operating in 2022, and its service life will be 10 years.
Earlier it was reported that the launch of the Tianzhou-2 truck was postponed for technical reasons.
