This image made from video footage by China's CCTV shows Tianhe core module's camera footage showing Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft approaching on Sunday

Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft docks with China's space station module

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2021-05-31 00:30:05

This image made from video footage by China's CCTV shows Tianhe core module's camera footage showing Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft approaching on Sunday, May 30, 2021. An automated spacecraft docked with China's new space station Sunday carrying fuel and supplies for its future crew, the Chinese space agency announced. - AP

SHENZHEN, China, May 30 (Reuters): 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" in Chinese, autonomously rendezvoused and docked with Tianhe at 5:01 a.m. Beijing time, Xinhua said on Sunday.

It blasted off via a Long March-7 Y3 rocket at 8:55 p.m. Beijing time on Saturday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan, the China Manned Space Engineering Office said.

With a designed life of more than 1 year, Tianzhou-2 carried supplies for future astronauts including food for the Shenzhou-12 crew which will be launched next month for a three-month stay on the station, as well as two tons of propellant.