Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft docks with China space station module

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, people watch the Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket carrying Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang in southern China's Hainan Province, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (Zhou Jiayi/Xinhua via AP) In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, people watch the Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket carrying Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang in southern China's Hainan Province, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (Zhou Jiayi/Xinhua via AP)
Share
BEIJING -

A Chinese robotic resupply cargo spacecraft successfully docked with an orbiting space station module on Monday in the fourth of 11 missions needed to finish building China's first permanent space station by the end of next year.

A Long March-7 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-3, or "Heavenly Vessel" in Chinese, blasted off at 3:10 p.m. Beijing time (0710 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan, state media reported.

It successfully docked with the core Tianhe module of the space station at 1408 GMT.

Tianzhou-3 will deliver fuel and supplies for three astronauts due to travel to the Tianhe module in October. Their planned six-month stay would be the fifth mission in the series and the last for this year.

Next year, China will launch two additional core modules for the space station - Wentian and Mengtian - on Long March 5B rockets - China's most powerful space transport vehicles.

China began building the three-module space station in April with the deployment of Tianhe, followed by a three-month crewed mission that ended last week.

The station, on completion, will rival the International Space Station (ISS), which is backed by countries including the United States, Russia and Japan. China was barred from participating in the ISS by the United States.

Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; additional reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Nick Macfie

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.