HAIKOU /China/, April 11. /TASS/. The Chang Zheng 7 (CZ-7) rocket, designed to carry the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft to China's space station, was successfully delivered to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center in South China's Hainan province on Monday, China Manned Space Agency said.
"The equipment at the launch center is in good condition and all systems are being checked according to schedule before launch," the organization said in a statement posted on its WeChat social network page.
The cargo aircraft is expected to be sent into orbit in the near future.
The Chinese station is at an altitude of about 400 kilometers and will operate for more than 10 years. It is designed for three people (up to six for short-term crew changes). The mass of the T-shaped complex, which has three docking units and an airlock for getting into space, is 66 tons, the volume of compartments reaches 110 cubic meters. The orbital facility is expected to be operational in 2022 and, as the Chinese authorities promise, will be available for international projects.
The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center is one of China's four space launch pads and is the only place in the country where technical conditions allow the launch of the CZ-7A (Chang Zheng 7-a) - the longest (60.7 meters) rocket of national design. Other new-generation Chinese rockets, which only Hainan is capable of launching, are the commercial CZ-8, as well as the CZ-5 and CZ-5B (Chang Zheng-5 and Chang Zheng-5-b). They are the most massive (870 and 837.5 tons, respectively) of all counterparts developed in the PRC. In addition, the spaceport is a popular attraction, which in 2021 attracted more than 8 million tourists who spent 6 billion yuan (more than $942 million) during their visit.