Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China’s next supply ship is ready for liftoff from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.

Loaded with supplies for now orbiting space station taikonauts, China’s Tianzhou-8 cargo craft will be carried by a Long March-7 Y9 rocket. A joint rehearsal for the launch was conducted on Wednesday.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), compared to its predecessors, Tianzhou-6 and Tianzhou-7, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft boasts a larger cargo capacity — an increase of more than 200 more liters of space and more than 100 kilograms of cargo load.

Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Lunar bricks

Alongside astronaut supplies and experimental facilities, CCTV adds that the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft will carry bricks made of varying compositions from lunar soil simulant to the Tiangong space station.

These lunar bricks will undergo outside the station exposure tests to assess their durability in extreme conditions and their potential use in constructing lunar bases, CCTV reporting explains.

To view a video showing pre-launch rollout of the cargo craft, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15MuPaSJju/

Leave a Reply