China poised to launch Tianzhou-2 cargo ship to Tianhe space station module
Update for 1:35 p.m. EDT on May perhaps 19: The prepared May 19 launch of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft has been scrubbed, evidently for specialized explanations. It truly is not crystal clear at the instant when the upcoming start try will be.
China is gearing up to start the to start with cargo mission to its new Tianhe space station module, placing the phase for the initial crewed mission to the orbital lab afterwards this calendar year.
A Prolonged March 7 rocket rolled out to the launch pad on Sunday (Might 16), carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft. A translated assertion from the country’s China Manned Place Engineering Office environment explained the start was targeted for 1 a.m. Beijing Time on Thursday (May 20). That is about 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Wednesday, May perhaps 19.
The mission phone calls for the cargo vessel to dock with China’s Tianhe room station main module to transfer propellant and provides to assist potential human missions, which include the three astronauts expected to launch on a 3-thirty day period Shenzhou-12 mission in June, SpaceNews additional.
Similar: The newest news about China’s room plan
“The launch internet site amenities and devices are in excellent problem, and many purposeful inspections and joint assessments will be carried out before launch as prepared,” the China Aerospace Science and Technologies Company mentioned in a image gallery and push release that Area.com equipment-translated to English.
The photos appeared to demonstrate dozens of unmasked workers collecting near the launch site, waving big crimson and blue flags. Mainland China noted just 25 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the one highest day-to-day amount that state-controlled media disclosed in 6 weeks, according to Reuters. This weekend, the Linked Push also reported China has mainly contained domestic transmission of the pandemic, whose to start with human situation was documented in Hubei province in November 2019.
China faced international condemnation previously this thirty day period soon after a more substantial Extensive March 5B main stage booster crashed back to Earth in close proximity to the Arabian peninsula on May perhaps 8. The mission met its principal goal of placing the Tianhe area station’s very first module into room, but the main stage’s slide again to Earth was 1 of the most significant uncontrolled ones of recent decades.
Just final yr, a diverse Extended March 5B main fell uncontrolled around the Atlantic Ocean close to west Africa, with some items earning it to the floor of the Ivory Coast. No accidents have been reported.
Comply with Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Fb.
Update for 1:35 p.m. EDT on May perhaps 19: The prepared May 19 launch of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft has been scrubbed, evidently for specialized explanations. It truly is not crystal clear at the instant when the upcoming start try will be.
China is gearing up to start the to start with cargo mission to its new Tianhe space station module, placing the phase for the initial crewed mission to the orbital lab afterwards this calendar year.
A Prolonged March 7 rocket rolled out to the launch pad on Sunday (Might 16), carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft. A translated assertion from the country’s China Manned Place Engineering Office environment explained the start was targeted for 1 a.m. Beijing Time on Thursday (May 20). That is about 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Wednesday, May perhaps 19.
The mission phone calls for the cargo vessel to dock with China’s Tianhe room station main module to transfer propellant and provides to assist potential human missions, which include the three astronauts expected to launch on a 3-thirty day period Shenzhou-12 mission in June, SpaceNews additional.
Similar: The newest news about China’s room plan
“The launch internet site amenities and devices are in excellent problem, and many purposeful inspections and joint assessments will be carried out before launch as prepared,” the China Aerospace Science and Technologies Company mentioned in a image gallery and push release that Area.com equipment-translated to English.
The photos appeared to demonstrate dozens of unmasked workers collecting near the launch site, waving big crimson and blue flags. Mainland China noted just 25 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the one highest day-to-day amount that state-controlled media disclosed in 6 weeks, according to Reuters. This weekend, the Linked Push also reported China has mainly contained domestic transmission of the pandemic, whose to start with human situation was documented in Hubei province in November 2019.
China faced international condemnation previously this thirty day period soon after a more substantial Extensive March 5B main stage booster crashed back to Earth in close proximity to the Arabian peninsula on May perhaps 8. The mission met its principal goal of placing the Tianhe area station’s very first module into room, but the main stage’s slide again to Earth was 1 of the most significant uncontrolled ones of recent decades.
Just final yr, a diverse Extended March 5B main fell uncontrolled around the Atlantic Ocean close to west Africa, with some items earning it to the floor of the Ivory Coast. No accidents have been reported.
Comply with Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Fb.