By Zhao Ping
A few days ago, China succeeded in launching the Long March-7 Y7 rocket, carrying the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft, and docking at the Chinese space station Tiangong; the first mission of its kind after the Chinese space station started operations and development, which represents another step forward for China’s aerospace industry.
The Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft carried 258 pieces of cargo with a total weight of about 5.8 tons, including consumables and food for six astronauts in orbit, about 700 kilograms of additional fuel, and a number of experimental loads, which will provide better material support and better support of in-orbit operations and space science experiments for the Chinese space station.
The Tianzhou-6 differs from the previous cargo spacecraft series, as it is an improved cargo spacecraft; its load volume has been expanded by 20%, increasing its payload capacity from 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons, making it one of the most powerful space cargo ships.
In 2017, the first Chinese cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, was launched, and after 6 years of development, the cost of its launch was reduced, the proportion and types of domestic components were greatly increased, 100% of the main components became locally made, and the autonomous controllability was greatly enhanced, proving that the Chinese space industry has developed greatly.
Looking back at 2022, China carried out 64 space launch missions; setting a new record; in addition to completing the Chinese space station fully, not to mention that China discovered a new mineral, Chang’e Stone, which was the first to be taken from the lunar surface, and it seems that China has become highly capable in space science and exploration.
Within a few years, China has excelled greatly in space science and has achieved unprecedented scientific breakthroughs, it has become remarkably active in space missions, indicating that China has an ambitious plan to develop space explorations to enrich specialized scientific forums.
In my opinion, China’s success in these projects allows an opportunity for humans to discover more about the world in which we live.