China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-9, modified with emergency launch capabilities, sent a record volume of supplies to the country's space station on Tuesday.
The cargo spacecraft was launched in the early morning to deliver equipment and supplies for the Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Long March-7 Y10 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-9, blasted off at 05:34 (Beijing Time) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, the agency said.
Tianzhou-9, the fourth cargo spacecraft in the application and development phase of China's space station, was loaded with about 6.5 tonnes of essential supplies, including consumables, propellants, and equipment for application experiments and tests, support the in-orbit life and working of China's Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 astronauts.
It was the biggest cargo payload delivered to Tiangong in the application and development phase.
"[Tianzhou-9] has a huge payload volume, the largest compared with the previous cargo spacecraft [since Tianzhou-6]. The cargo packages have completely filled the storage cabin," said Li Zhiyong, a member of the Tianzhou spacecraft development team with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
With Tianzhou-9, a cargo craft emergency response system is established to ensure the long-term, stable operation of China's space station.
"Tianzhou-9 is the first cargo spacecraft capable of emergency launch, able to be launched to the space station within three months if required. This is the significance of an emergency response spacecraft," Li said.
Following Tianzhou-7 and Tianzhou-8, Tianzhou-9 also conducted a three-hour fast rendezvous and docking with the space station combination.
"The rendezvous and docking duration has been shortened from the initial two days to 6.5 hours, and to the current three hours, which has now become a fixed procedure that that we frequently use. The three-hour approach helps us reduce fuel consumption and takes relatively less time, plus we have a lot of autonomous control to ensure the reliability of the rendezvous and docking," he said.
Tianzhou-9 is also equipped with a relay terminal that autonomously connects with China's Tianlian relay satellite network, establishing a communication link between the spacecraft and ground control at all times.
Tianzhou-9 cargo ship delivers record load with emergency launch capabilities
