BEIJING: Chinese authorities on Tuesday said that Beijing was planning to launch its first cargo spacecraft in April, taking a step towards its goal of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022.
Last month, state media had reported that President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing China’s space programme.
“It was needed to enhance national security and defence,” Xi said in a media briefing.
The Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft will be carried into space by a Long March-7 Y2 rocket launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in south China’s island province of Hainan, said a media report, citing the China Manned Space Agency.
The Tianzhou-1 is designed to dock with the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, or “Heavenly Palace 2”, which China used to carry out its longest ever manned space mission last October, sending two astronauts into space for a month aboard the laboratory.
The spacecraft can carry 6 tonnes of goods, 2 tonnes of fuel and can fly unmanned for three months, the report added.
The U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China’s increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations using space-based assets in a crisis.
