China's Shenzhou-22 spaceship successfully docked with the space station combination on Tuesday after just over three hours of space flight, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The spaceship, atop the Long March-2F Y22 carrier rocket, blasted off at 12:11 Beijing Time (0411 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
About 10 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The CMSA declared the launch mission a complete success.
At 15:50 Beijing time (0750 GMT), it successfully docked with the front port of the Tiangong space station's Tianhe core module.
Flying without a crew aboard, the craft carried a cargo of space food, medical supplies, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as devices for repairing the cracked window on the Shenzhou-20 spaceship.
It will later serve as the return vessel for the three Shenzhou-21 astronauts currently in orbit.
Tuesday's launch followed the postponed return of the Shenzhou-20 crew aboard the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft on Nov. 14. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was struck by space debris, delaying its return originally scheduled to take place on Nov 5, according to CMSA.
The Shenzhou-21 crew members are in good condition and are carrying out their tasks as planned, the CMSA said, adding that the damaged Shenzhou-20 spaceship will remain in orbit to continue relevant experiments.
China's Shenzhou-22 spaceship docks with space station combination
The price of aluminum, a key industrial metal used in automotive manufacturing, construction and packaging, has been climbing as production cuts in the Gulf region, logistical constraints and Iranian attacks on two regional producers over the weekend tightened supply.
On March 31, the benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month price for aluminum rose to 3,535 U.S. dollars per metric ton, a year-on-year increase of around 40 percent.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that they launched missile and drone strikes on aluminum plants in Bahrain and the UAE that are linked to the U.S. military and aerospace industries, in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iranian steel factories.
Emirates Global Aluminium issued a statement saying that its Al Taweela site in the Khalifa Economic Zone in Abu Dhabi was severely damaged after Iranian strikes, with some employees injured.
Aluminum Bahrain confirmed in a statement on Sunday that some of its facilities were struck by Iranian attacks, resulting in injuries to two employees.
The two aluminum plants have a combined annual output of 3.2 million tons, more than half of the approximately 6 million tons of aluminum produced every year by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.
The region is a key source of aluminum supply, accounting for about 9 percent of global production.
Goldman Sachs on Tuesday raised its LME aluminum price forecast from 3,200 U.S. dollars to 3,450 U.S. dollars per ton for the second quarter of 2026 after the attacks on the facilities.
Goldman Sachs also predicted a global primary aluminum market supply deficit of 570,000 tons in 2026, a sharp turnaround from its previous forecast of a 550,000-ton surplus.
Analysts point out that the aluminum market is currently facing multiple shocks, with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, aluminum production facilities in the Gulf damaged or even shut down, and production in other parts of the world currently limited.
The impact will also spread to downstream enterprises in the coming months, with higher-cost aluminum alloys, primarily used in the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries, facing the most constrained supply, analysts said.
The Gulf region has long been a significant source of these high-end products, particularly for the European market, and also supplies manufacturers in the United States.
Aluminum prices climb as effects of Middle East tensions spread through global economy
