HAIKOU /China/, May 8. /TASS/. The Wenchang Space Launch Center on the northeast coast of Hainan province has prepared the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft for launch. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said the vehicle is on the launch pad awaiting its flight to China's space station.

According to the corporation's statement, the CZ-7 launch vehicle, which will be used to carry Tianzhou-6 into orbit in the coming days, is also ready to be launched. According to CASC, the equipment is in good condition, all that's left is a small prelaunch check prior to the mission.

Tianzhou-6 reaches 10.6 meters in length and weighs 13.5 tons. The ship can carry 7.4 tons of payload including fuel, equipment and astronauts' personal belongings.

The Chinese space station is at an altitude of about 400 km and is expected to serve for more than 10 years. It is designed for three people (up to six for short-term crew rotation). The mass of the T-shaped complex, which has three docking units and an airlock to enter space, is 66 tons, the volume of compartments reaches 110 cubic meters. In 2022 the space station became operational and available for international projects.

Space launch site in southern China

Hainan plays an important role in China's space development. The Wenchang Space Launch Center is one of four in China, the only place in the country where technical conditions allow the launch of the CZ-7A, the longest (60.7 meters) rocket of national design. The country's southernmost province is the only one in China also capable of launching new-generation launchers such as the commercial CZ-8, as well as the CZ-5 and CZ-5B. They have the greatest mass (870 and 837.5 tons, respectively) among all domestic analogues.

Five Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, the core module of the Chinese Tianhe orbital station and its laboratory modules Wentian and Mengtian, the Tianwen-1 Mars probe, and the Chang'e 5 unmanned lunar exploration vehicle were launched from the Hainan launch site. In addition, Wenchang enabled China to send many satellites into orbit.