Tianzhou (spacecraft)
Chinese automated cargo spacecraft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tianzhou (Chinese: 天舟; pinyin: Tiān Zhōu; lit. 'Heavenly Ship') 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[3] and demonstrated autonomous propellant transfer (space refueling).[4][5]
Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft prior to launch | |
| Manufacturer | China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | China |
| Operator | China Manned Space Agency |
| Applications | Tiangong space station resupply |
| Specifications | |
| Spacecraft type | Automated cargo spacecraft |
| Launch mass | Original: 13,500 kg (29,800 lb) Improved: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb) |
| Payload capacity | Original: 6,900 kg (15,200 lb) Improved: 7,400 kg (16,300 lb) |
| Dimensions | 10.6 × 3.35 m (34.8 × 11.0 ft) |
| Volume | 40 m3 (1,400 ft3)[1] |
| Production | |
| Status | Active |
| Built | 10 |
| Launched | 10 |
| Operational | 1 |
| Maiden launch | Tianzhou 1 |
| Last launch | Tianzhou 10 |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | Tiangong-1 |
| Powered by | 4 × 490 N main engines, 32 attitude control engines (25, 120, 150 N thrust)[2] |
The first version of Tianzhou has a mass of 13,500 kg and can carry 6,900 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.[6]
Tianzhou also removes waste from the Tiangong via its destructive atmospheric reentry.[7]
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.[4][8]
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12]
| Mission | Launch (UTC) | Carrier Rocket |
Launch Pad |
Docking (UTC) | Deorbit (UTC) | Remarks | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port | Docking | Undocking | |||||||
| Tianzhou 1 | 20 April 2017, 11:41 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | 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. | [13] |
| Tianzhou 2 | 29 May 2021, 12:55 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft[a] | 29 May 2021, 21:01 | 27 March 2022, 07:59 | 31 March 2022, 10:40 | First Tianzhou flight to the Tiangong space station. | [14][15][16][17] |
| Tianzhou 3 | 20 September 2021, 07:10 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft[b] | 20 September 2021, 14:08 | 17 July 2022, 02:59 | 27 July 2022, 03:31 | [18][19][20] | |
| Tianzhou 4 | 9 May 2022, 17:56 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 10 May 2022, 00:54 | 9 November 2022, 06:55 | 14 November 2022, 23:21 | [21] | |
| Tianzhou 5 | 12 November 2022, 02:03 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 12 November 2022, 04:10 | 11 September 2023, 08:46 | 12 September 2023, 02:13 | [22] | |
| Tianzhou 6 | 10 May 2023, 13:22 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 10 May 2023, 21:16 | 12 January 2024, 08:02 | 19 January 2024, 12:37 | [23] | |
| Tianzhou 7 | 17 January 2024, 14:27 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 17 January 2024, 17:46 | 10 November 2024, 08:30 | 17 November 2024, 13:25 | [24] | |
| Tianzhou 8 | 15 November 2024, 15:13 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 15 November 2024, 18:32 | 8 July 2025, 07:09 | 8 July 2025, 22:46 | [25] | |
| Tianzhou 9 | 14 July 2025, 21:34 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 15 July 2025, 0:52 | 6 May 2026, 08:34 | 6 May 2026, 23:49 | [26] | |
| Tianzhou 10 | 11 May 2026, 00:14 | Long March 7 | Wenchang, LC‑201 | Tianhe aft | 11 May 2026, 05:11 | TBA | TBA | [27] | |
See also
- Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
- Progress spacecraft – an expendable cargo vehicle currently in use by the Russian Federal Space Agency
- Automated Transfer Vehicle – a retired expendable cargo vehicle used by the ESA
- Cygnus spacecraft – an expendable cargo vehicle developed by Northrop Grumman under American CRS program, currently in use.
- H-II Transfer Vehicle – an expendable cargo vehicle currently in use by JAXA
- Dream Chaser Cargo System - a cargo variant of the reusable SNC's spaceplane with Shooting Star module.
- Dragon cargo spacecraft - a reusable cargo vehicle developed by SpaceX, under American CRS program, currently in use.
