China announces plans to launch first cargo spacecraft!

New Delhi: The world of space has witnessed immense advancement, with many countries making pioneering initiatives in their endeavour to find out the secrets of the universe.

Among these countries, China seems to have huge plans for its space program. The country has announced its plans to launch its first cargo spacecraft using a heavy rocket to carry supplies for its experimental space laboratory.

According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the spacecraft arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in south China's Hainan Province from Tianjin today for assembly and testing.

Reportedly, Tianzhou-1, the first cargo spacecraft independently developed by China, consists of a cargo capsule and a propellant capsule and has a take-off weight of about 13 tonnes, up to six tonnes of which is payload.

It can remain in space on its own for as long as three months and is capable of docking with the Tiangong-2 space lab and refuelling it in addition to carrying out experiments and tests.

The Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket is scheduled to arrive at the launch centre in March, the CMSA said.

The launch of Tianzhou-1 will be a crucial step for China in building a space station by 2020, as cargo spacecraft are required to ship necessities to astronauts aboard the station.

China plans to conduct a "record" number of 30 space launch missions this year as part of its efforts to expand its ambitious space programme.

The record-breaking number of space launches will begin with Long March-5 and Long March-7 rockets, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation had said earlier.

Last August, China successfully launched the world's first quantum satellite which boasts of hack-proof ultra high security features to prevent wiretapping and intercepts.

(With PTI inputs)