CHINA-SPACE: TIANZHOU-4 POISED FOR LAUNCH TO CHINA'S SPACE STATION ON MAY 10
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The South China Morning Post (May 9) reported that the Tianzhou 4, which will be launched
on May 10), will dock with China's space station’s Tianhe core module to supply enough fuel
to maintain its orbital altitude. It will also deliver fresh provisions for the station’s next threeastronaut crew who are expected to arrive at Tianhe in June. It said the launch is the first of six
planned this year and will also carry supplies for materials science, space medicine and
microgravity experiments. The cargo spaceship will remain docked with Tianhe core module
until around the end of the year when the Shenzhou 14 crew return to Earth. It quoted Hao
Chun, Director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, saying “2022 is a decisive year
for the construction of the space station,” and “This year also marks the 30th anniversary for
China’s Manned Space Programme. The completion of the space station and the national space
laboratory is an important goal of the three-step strategy of China’s Manned Space Programme.”
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