Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Tianzhou-5 cargo craft departs for controlled re-entry.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China’s resupply ship – the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft – decoupled from the orbiting Tiangong space station and has re-entered the atmosphere in a controlled manner early Tuesday, September 12, Beijing Time.

According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), most of the spacecraft’s components burned up during the re-entry, and a small amount of its debris fell into the predetermined remote waters of the South Pacific.

Tianzhou-5 was lofted on November 12, 2022 from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.

Tianzhou-5 cargo craft is guided in a controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

The cargo ship carried into Earth orbit propellants, materials for scientific experiments and supplies for crews onboard the orbiting facility.

In-orbit testing

According to the state-run Xinhua news group, the in-orbit test of space hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells was an experiment onboard the Tianzhou-5. It provided data and theoretical support for China’s future manned lunar explorations.

Other key payloads include space high-energy particle detection equipment, which completed an extravehicular mission.

At present, three batches of application projects have been carried by unpiloted Tianzhou supply ships into space. The CMSA said future crewed space missions will continue to open its cargo craft payloads to the public.

Now onboard China’s space station, the Shenzhou-16 crew.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Independent flight

Prior to its demise, the cargo craft had separated from the space station combination on May 5, then re-docked with the space station after a 33-day independent flight, and continued to carry out space technology experiments before its ocean ditching.

The craft was undocked from the front port of China’s Tianhe core module – one of several modules that constitute the Chinese space station.

For a newly released video, go to:

https://youtu.be/ydD2xmTCQw4?si=yVDf-fEJnlfz-ETZ