Chinese space station project leaps forward as cargo ship docks with Tianhe module

China has pushed ahead with its international space station project after US congress stopped Nasa from co-operating with China's space agency in 2011

A model of the Chinese space station on display at Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong province. AFP

China's cargo spacecraft, carrying supplies, equipment and propellant, docked with the space station's key module Tianhe on Sunday, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

The Tianzhou-2, or "Heavenly Vessel", autonomously rendezvoused and docked with Tianhe at 5.01 am Beijing time, Xinhua said.

It blasted off via a Long March-7 Y3 rocket at 8.55pm Beijing time on Saturday from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan, the China Manned Space Engineering Office said.

With a designed life of more than one year, Tianzhou-2 carried supplies for future astronauts, including food for Shenzhou-12 crew members who will spend three months on the station from June, as well as two tonnes of propellant.

It is the second of 11 missions needed to complete China's first self-developed space station by 2022 and follows the launch of Tianhe, the first module, in April.

The three-module space station will rival the International Space Station (ISS), which is backed by countries including the US, Russia and Japan.

China was barred from participating in the ISS by the US.

The rocket's launch was postponed this month due to technical reasons, state media said.

The first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 was sent to refuel a space lab – Tiangong-2 – three times in 2017, as a test of the technologies needed to support the construction of the space station.

Both Tiangong-2 and an earlier space lab Tiangong-1 have been deorbited in recent years.

Next year, China will launch the two other core modules – Wentian and Mengtian – using the Long March 5B, its biggest and most powerful space transport vehicle.

That rocket, capable of sending 25 tonnes of payload into low Earth orbit, was a source of worry in May as it re-entered the atmosphere after delivering Tianhe into orbit.

Media reports warned of an uncontrolled re-entry of the rocket's core stage, reviving memories of debris from the flight of the first Long March 5B in May 2020, which damaged buildings when it landed in the Ivory Coast.

Remnants from the rocket finally fell harmlessly in the Indian Ocean, but China drew criticism for not being transparent about the timing of the debris re-entry and predictions of its trajectory.

From June until 2022, four manned spacecraft and four cargo spacecraft will also be launched, by the smaller Long March-7 and 2F rockets, which have a maximum low Earth payload of 14 tonnes and 8.8 tonnes, respectively.

China's space programme - in pictures

A child stands near a giant screen showing the images of the Tianhe space station at an exhibition featuring the development of China's space exploration on the country's Space Day at China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. Reuters

An image taken by an obstacle avoidance camera installed in front of China's Zhurong rover on the surface of Mars, showing a ramp on the lander that has been extended to the surface of the planet. EPA

An image taken by the rear obstacle avoidance camera of China's Zhurong Mars rover showing the landing platform of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe, after the rover drove down the ramp onto the surface of Mars. AFP

An image taken on Mars by Chinese rover Zhurong of China's Tianwen-1 mission. Reuters

In this artist's rendering, China's Zhurong rover is depicted on the surface of Mars. CNSA via AP

A Long March 7 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 spacecraft lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang in southern China's Hainan Province, May 29, 2021. Xinhua via AP

A Long March-7 carrying a Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft is moved to the launch area at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern China's Hainan Province on May 16, 2021. Xinhua via AP

Technicians work at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing May 15, 2021. Xinhua via AP

Zhang Rongqiao, right, the chief designer of China's Mars exploration mission, talks with Wu Weiren, second from left, the chief designer of China's lunar exploration project, at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, May 22, 2021. Xinhua via AP

A partial model of Chinese space station on display at the Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong province. AFP

Visitors to an exhibition on China's space program pose for photos next to a life size model of the Chinese Mars rover Zhurong, named after the Chinese god of fire, at the National Museum in Beijing. AP Photo

Visitors walk inside a model of the core module of the Tianhe space station at an exhibition featuring the development of China's space exploration on the country's Space Day at China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. Reuters

A security guard and worker stand near a depiction of a Chinese lander in a Mars-like environment in Beijing. AP Photo

Visitors pass by an exhibition depicting rovers on Mars in Beijing. AP Photo