China's Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft, which completed its mission serving the country's space station, was deorbited and burned up in Earth's atmosphere over the South Pacific. The spacecraft, launched in May 2023, delivered supplies, propellant, experiments, and other cargo to China's Tiangong space station. China plans to continue launching Tianzhou spacecraft every eight months to keep Tiangong occupied for at least 10 years.
China's upgraded Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft has docked at the Tiangong space station carrying supplies for astronauts, science payloads, and propellant for the space station. The spacecraft features improvements over the previous five spacecraft, including an increased pressurized volume and cargo capacity. Tianzhou-6 is the first mission of the operational phase of Tiangong, and China aims to keep the station permanently occupied for at least a decade. The expansion in capacity of Tianzhou-6 means China will need to launch a Tianzhou mission once every eight months, instead of every six months, as previously.
China is set to launch the Tianzhou-6 mission to resupply the Tiangong Space Station with 7.4 metric tons of supplies, including 70kg of fruits. The capsule allows for 20% more payloads than previous Tianzhou capsules. China also landed its secretive spaceplane after 276 days in orbit and is preparing for the second attempt of its first methane-based rocket, ZhuQue-2, to reach orbit.
China is preparing to launch its Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft to the Tiangong space station in May. The spacecraft will carry supplies for astronauts for the Shenzhou 16 and Shenzhou 17 crewed missions, as well as propellant to maintain the space station's orbit. The cargo capacity of the pressurized segments of Tianzhou has been expanded, allowing China to launch just three supply missions every two years instead of one every six months.
