The Long March-7 carrier rocket used for China's upcoming Tianzhou-10 cargo craft mission has been updated with a fault-diagnosis system that will enable it to overcome any potential in-flight obstacles during launch, said an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The combination of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and a Long March-7 carrier rocket was vertically transferred to a launch site in the southern island province of Hainan on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The cargo spacecraft will be launched at a proper time in the coming days, the CMSA said.
The Long March-7 has successfully sent into orbit all previous Tianzhou cargo ships.
Wang Xiaoling, a senior CASC engineer who participated in every one of these missions, highlighted a new update of the rocket's intelligence.
"In addition to its cargo delivery mission, the rocket is equipped with a fault-diagnosis system, which ensures that if an engine anomaly or any manageable fault is detected during flight, the system can autonomously re-plan the trajectory to ensure mission success to the greatest extent possible," Wang said.
The cargo ship carries over 220 items of supplies weighing nearly 6.3 tons, including 700 kilograms of propellants, to support the Shenzhou-23 and Shenzhou-24 astronaut crews' on-orbit life and work.
Currently, the facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site are in good condition, and comprehensive functionality checks and joint tests are scheduled to proceed as planned ahead of the launch, the CMSA added.
China upgrades Long March-7 carrier rocket with fault-diagnosis system for Tianzhou-10 mission
