Tianzhou (spacecraft)

The Tianzhou () is a series of Chinese automated cargo spacecraft developed from China's first prototype space station Tiangong-1 to resupply its modular space station. It was first launched (Tianzhou 1) on the Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang on April 20, 2017 and demonstrated autonomous propellant transfer (space refueling). Tianzhou also removes waste from the Tiangong via its destructive atmospheric reentry.

Design The Tianzhou cargo spacecraft has several notable differences with the Tiangong-1 from which it is derived. It has only three segments of solar panels (against 4 for Tiangong), but has 4 maneuvering engines (against 2 for Tiangong).

The original version of Tianzhou (flown for missions 1 thru 5) had a mass of 13,500 kg and could carry 6,900 kg of cargo. Tianzhou 6 was the first improved version of the spacecraft to be launched into orbit; it has a mass of about 14,000 kg and can transport 7,400 kg of cargo.

Function Based on the Tiangong-1 space station, the Tianzhou functions as the main automated cargo spacecraft for the Tiangong space station. It has pressurized, semi-pressurized and unpressurized cargo capabilities, and is able to transport airtight cargo, large extravehicular payloads and experiment platforms. It was first launched on the new Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang on April 20, 2017.

Name The China Manned Space Engineering Office opened a consultation for the naming of the prospective cargo ship on April 25, 2011. By May 20, it had received more than 50,000 suggestions. On July 8, Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut and deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that they had a short list of ten names. On October 31, 2013, it was revealed that the spacecraft had been named Tianzhou (), combining the Chinese names of the Tiangong () space stations and the Shenzhou () spacecraft. They also stated that they would use the two letter identification TZ.

Missions Tianzhou spacecraft were initially flown to the Tiangong space station every 6 months. From Tianzhou 6 onward, missions have been flown with the new version of Tianzhou with increased cargo capacity, allowing the launch frequency to be reduced to three ships every two years.

Mission Launch (UTC) CarrierRocket LaunchPad Docking (UTC) Deorbit (UTC) Remarks PortDockingUndocking Tianzhou 1 20 April 2017, 11:41Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tiangong-2 forward 21 April 2017, 04:16 22 September 2017, 08:15 22 September 2017, 10:00 Maiden flight of the Tianzhou spacecraft. Only Tianzhou flight to Tiangong-2. Tianzhou 2 29 May 2021, 12:55Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 29 May 2021, 21:01 27 March 2022, 07:59 31 March 2022, 10:40 First Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. Tianzhou 3 20 September 2021, 07:10Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 20 September 2021, 14:08 17 July 2022, 02:59 27 July 2022, 03:31 Tianzhou 4 9 May 2022, 17:56Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 10 May 2022, 00:54 9 November 2022, 06:55 14 November 2022, 23:21 Tianzhou 5 12 November 2022, 02:03Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 12 November 2022, 04:10 11 September 2023, 08:46 12 September 2023, 02:13 Tianzhou 6 10 May 2023, 13:22Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 10 May 2023, 21:16 12 January 2024, 08:02 19 January 2024, 12:37 Tianzhou 7 17 January 2024, 14:27Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 17 January 2024, 17:46 10 November 2024, 08:30 17 November 2024, 13:25 Tianzhou 8 15 November 2024, 15:13 Long March 7Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 15 November 2024, 18:32 8 July 2025, 07:09 8 July 2025, 22:46 Tianzhou 9 14 July 2025, 21:34 Long March 7 Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 15 July 2025, 0:52 6 May 2026, 08:34 6 May 2026, 23:49 Tianzhou 10 11 May 2026, 00:14 Long March 7 Wenchang, LC201 Tianhe aft 11 May 2026, 05:11

Tianzhou (spacecraft)

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