The Tianzhou 6 robotic cargo ship connected with the Tiangong space station early Thursday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The cargo craft docked with the Tiangong station's rear hatch at 5:16 am and began to fly with the station in a low-Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above Earth.
The Tianzhou 6 robotic cargo ship — the first spacecraft to visit China's Tiangong space station this year — was launched on Wednesday night to transport packages for the next two manned missions.
With Tianzhou 6 atop, the Long March 7-Y7 carrier rocket — the seventh of its kind — blasted off at 9:22 pm from the coastal Wenchang Space Launch Center in the country's southernmost island province of Hainan.
There are 98 packages of science payloads, with a combined weight of 714 kg. These contain new equipment, spare parts and experiment-related materials. The payloads will be used in 29 scientific experiments and technological tests in disciplines such as life sciences, biology and fluid physics in microgravity, as well as combustion and material sciences.
