Tianzhou
Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft prior to launch
Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft prior to launch
ManufacturerCASC
Country of origin China
OperatorCMSA
ApplicationsTiangong Space Station resupply
Specifications
Spacecraft typeAutomated cargo spacecraft
Launch mass13,500 kg (29,800 lb) (basic);
14,000 kg (31,000 lb) (improved)
Payload capacity6,900 kg (15,200 lb) (basic);
7,400 kg (16,300 lb) (improved)
Dimensions10.6 m × 3.35 m (34.8 ft × 11.0 ft)
Volume40 m3 (1,400 cu ft)[1]
Production
StatusActive
On order1
Built8
Launched7
Operational1
Maiden launchTianzhou 1
Last launchTianzhou 7
Related spacecraft
Derived fromTiangong-1

The Tianzhou (Chinese: 天舟; pinyin: Tiān Zhōu; lit. 'Heavenly Ship') is a 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[2] and demonstrated autonomous propellant transfer (space refueling).[3][4]

The first version of Tianzhou has a mass of 13,500 kg and can carry 6,500 kg of cargo. Tianzhou-6 is 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.[5]

Rendering of Tianzhou spacecraft.

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.[3][6]

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.[7] 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.[8] On October 31, 2013, it was revealed that the spacecraft had been named Tianzhou (Chinese: 天舟; pinyin: Tiān Zhōu; lit. 'Heavenly Boat'), combining the Chinese names of the Tiangong (Chinese: 天宫; pinyin: Tiān Gōng) space stations and the Shenzhou (Chinese: 神舟; pinyin: Shén Zhōu) spacecraft. They also stated that they would use the two letter identification TZ.[9]

Missions

No. Spacecraft S/N Launch (UTC) Carrier
Rocket 		Launch
Pad 		Docking (UTC) Deorbit (UTC) Remarks
Station/
Port 		Docking Undocking
1 Tianzhou 1 — 11:41, April 20, 2017 (UTC) (2017-04-20T11:41Z) Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tiangong-2 Forward 04:16, April 21, 2017 (UTC) (2017-04-21T04:16Z)[10] 08:15, September 22, 2017 (UTC) (2017-09-22T08:15Z) 10:00, September 22, 2017 (UTC) (2017-09-22T10:00Z) Maiden flight of the Tianzhou spacecraft. First Tianzhou flight to Tiangong-2. [10]
2 Tianzhou 2 — 12:55, May 29, 2021 (UTC) (2021-05-29T12:55Z)[11][12] Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tianhe Aft[a][11] 21:01, May 29, 2021 (UTC) (2021-05-29T21:01Z)[11][12] 07:59, March 27, 2022 (UTC) (2022-03-27T07:59Z) 10:40, March 31, 2022 (UTC) (2022-03-31T10:40Z) First Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. [13][14]
3 Tianzhou 3 — 07:10, September 20, 2021 (UTC) (2021-09-20T07:10Z)[15] Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tianhe Aft[b] 14:08, September 20, 2021 (UTC) (2021-09-20T14:08Z)[16] 02:59, July 17, 2022 (UTC) (2022-07-17T02:59Z) 03:31, July 27, 2022 (UTC) (2022-07-27T03:31Z) Second Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. [17]
4 Tianzhou 4 — 17:56, May 9, 2022 (UTC) (2022-05-09T17:56Z) Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tianhe Aft 00:54, May 10, 2022 (UTC) (2022-05-10T00:54Z) 06:55, November 9, 2022 (UTC) (2022-11-09T06:55Z) 23:21, November 14, 2022 (UTC) (2022-11-14T23:21Z) Third Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. [18]
5 Tianzhou 5 — 02:03, November 12, 2022 (UTC) (2022-11-12T02:03Z) Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tianhe Aft 04:10, November 12, 2022 (UTC) (2022-11-12T04:10Z) 08:46, September 11, 2023 (UTC) (2023-09-11T08:46Z) 02:13, September 12, 2023 (UTC) (2023-09-12T02:13Z) Fourth Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. [19]
6 Tianzhou 6 — 13:22, May 10, 2023 (UTC) (2023-05-10T13:22Z) Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tianhe Aft 21:16, May 10, 2023 (UTC) (2023-05-10T21:16Z) 08:02, January 12, 2024 (UTC) (2024-01-12T08:02Z) 12:37, January 19, 2024 (UTC) (2024-01-19T12:37Z) Fifth Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. [20]
7 Tianzhou 7 — 14:27, January 17, 2024 (UTC) (2024-01-17T14:27Z) Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 Tianhe Aft 17:46, January 17, 2024 (UTC) (2024-01-17T17:46Z) TBA TBA Sixth Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. [21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Initially docked to aft port, moved to forward port on 18 Sep 2021, and then again to portside port on 6 Jan 2022
  2. ^ Initially docked to aft port, moved to forward port on 20 Apr 2022
  1. ^ "天舟货运飞船到底长啥样 40立方米的货物舱共有208个货格" (in Simplified Chinese). 新華網. 2021-05-31. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  2. ^ Barbosa, Rui C. (25 June 2016). "China successfully debuts Long March 7 rocket". NASASpaceflight.com.
  3. ^ a b Ping, Wu (June 2016). "China Manned Space Programme: Its Achievements and Future Developments" (PDF). China Manned Space Agency. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  4. ^ Clark, Stephen (17 September 2017). "Chinese space station freighter concludes refueling demo mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  5. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 May 2023). "Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft reaches China's Tiangong space station". spacenews.com. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  6. ^ Barbosa, Rui C. (19 April 2017). "Tianzhou-1 – China launches and docks debut cargo resupply". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  7. ^ "中国货运飞船征名超5万个" [Chinese cargo ship over 50,000 new name] (in Chinese (China)). China Network Television. 2011-05-20. Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  8. ^ "中国货运飞船征名结束 龙舟等10个名字入选" [Chinese cargo ship sign name ends dragon boat 10 names selected] (in Chinese (China)). 163.com. 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  9. ^ "中国载人空间站命名"天宫"货运飞船为"天舟"" [China's manned space station cargo spacecraft to be named Tianzhou] (in Chinese (China)). China News. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  10. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (22 April 2017). "China's Tianzhou 1 cargo carrier docks with space lab in orbit". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Graham, William (29 May 2021). "China launches Tianzhou 2, first cargo mission to new space station". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  12. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (29 May 2021). "Tianzhou-2 docks with China's space station module". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  13. ^ "长征七号遥三火箭 • 天舟二号货运飞船 • LongMarch-7 Y3 • Tianzhou-2". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 21 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  14. ^ Jones, Andrew (13 April 2021). "China preparing Tianzhou-2 cargo mission to follow upcoming space station launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. ^ "China rolls out rocket for Tianzhou 3 cargo mission ahead of Monday launch (Photos)". Space.com. 17 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Tianzhou-3 spacecraft docks with Chinese space station". spacenews.com. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  17. ^ "【2021年9月待定】长征七号 • 天舟三号货运飞船 • LongMarch 7 Y4 • Tianzhou-3". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 21 April 2021. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  18. ^ China Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (March 15, 2022). "According to a travel agency, Long March 7 Y5 will launch Tianzhou 4 on MAY 10" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "【2022年10月待定】长征七号 • 天舟五号货运飞船 • LongMarch 7 Y6 • Tianzhou-5". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 21 April 2021. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  20. ^ "关于招募首颗中国高职科普卫星"金陵号" 暨中国青少年科普卫星（八一08星）工程研制团队的通知" [Notice on Recruiting the Engineering Development Team of the First Chinese Higher Vocational Science Satellite "Jinling" and the Chinese Youth Science Satellite (August 08)] (in Chinese). 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Tianzhou 7". 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

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