An automated cargo rocket carrying supplies for China’s new space station has blasted off from an island in the South China Sea. The Tianzhou-2 carried fuel and supplies for the Tianhe space station, state media reported earlier. The Chinese space agency says 11 launches are planned through to the end of next year to deliver two more modules for the 70-tonne space station, supplies and its three-member crew. The Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, is the third and largest orbital station launched by China’s increasingly ambitious space programme. Beijing does not participate in the International Space Station, largely due to US objections.

Source: Irish Independent May 29, 2021 14:37 UTC