By 
November 9th, 2022
Credit: China Central Television/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China is set to launch the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan.
The uncrewed supply ship will deliver multiple tons of provisions for China’s space station, now home to a three-person crew.
To prepare for Tianzhou-5’s upcoming docking to the station, the Tianzhou-4 supply ship has backed off from the orbital complex and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The discarded ship departed from the rear docking port of the Tianhe Core Module.
Departure of Tianzhou-4 supply ship. Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China launched the Tianzhou-4 on May 10, 2022.
Controlled re-entry
“After the Tianzhou-4 separated from the orbiting station combination, we will independently monitor and control the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft. Some related experiments will be carried out in the next step,” Wang Saijin, deputy chief engineer of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, told China Central Television (CCTV).
Adds Zou Xuemei, chief engineer of cargo spacecraft mission of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center: “The separation and evacuation of Tianzhou-4 were smooth in general. Then it will fly independently before finally leaving the orbit under control.”
Current occupants of China’s station – the Shenzhou-14 crew. Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)
On the pad
On November 9, 2022, the Long March-7 Y6 topped by the Tianzhou-5 was vertically moved to the launching area. Tianzhou-5 is the fourth cargo mission to the China Space Station, scheduled to autonomously dock to the Tianhe Core Module, the first and main component of the China Space Station.
Launch of the new cargo ship is reportedly Friday, November 11th at 9 PM Eastern Time.
CCTV Video News Agency/Inside Outer Space screengrab
If all continues to go as planned, China is to see a fully-equipped and staffed station by year’s end.
“In the past two years, we have successfully completed the launch of the Tianhe core module, the Wentian lab module, the Mengtian lab module and three Tianzhou cargo spaceships with a 100 percent success rate,” said Mao Wanbiao, deputy director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
Go to these new videos focused on the upcoming liftoff of the Tianzhou-5 supply ship and space station operations at:
Posted in Space News
