![Tianzhou 6 successfully docks with the Chinese Tiangong Space Station. Credit: China Manned Space](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fvzj0N8aQAEVi9c.jpg)
Tianzhou 6 successfully docks with the Chinese Tiangong Space Station. Credit: China Manned Space
China’s Tiangong space station received a fresh delivery of supplies with the launch and arrival of the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft.
Liftoff occurred atop a Long March 7 rocket at 9:22 a.m. EDT (13:22 UTC) May 10, 2023, from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in China. The autonomous cargo spacecraft docked with the aft port of the Chinese outpost roughly eight hours later.
This was the fifth resupply spacecraft to dock to Tiangong because it was launched in 2021. In keeping with Chinese state media, Tianzhou 6 was upgraded to extend its payload capability by 20% to hold as much as 16,300 kilos (7.4 metric tons) — probably the most for any currently lively cargo vessel servicing space stations.
![Tianzhou 6 launches atop a Long March 7 rocket. Credit: China Manned Space](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tianzhou6Launch-655x384.png)
Tianzhou 6 launches atop a Long March 7 rocket. Credit: China Manned Space
In keeping with the China Academy of Space Technology, the increased capability will allow for fewer Tianzhou cargo ships, each nearly the scale of a college bus, to be launched. As an alternative of two per 12 months, only three every two years will likely be needed to support the three-person Tiangong space station.
For Tianzhou 6 specifically, it has aboard 3,860 kilos (1,750 kilograms) of fuel, 1,540 kilos (700 kilograms) of which will likely be used to refuel the outpost itself.
The remainder of its capability incorporates pressurized cargo and science experiments for the Shenzhou 15 and 16 crew, the latter of which is anticipated to fly to the outpost later this month.
Currently aboard Tiangong are Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu. They launched to the outpost within the Shenzhou 15 in November 2022 and are expected to get replaced later this month by the Shenzhou 16 crew, which has yet to be publicly announced.
![A graphic of the current configuration of the Chinese space station. Tianzhou 6 docked at the outpost's aft port, located on the left side of the image. Credit: China Manned Space](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FvzUoMbaAAAIAXn.jpg)
A graphic of the present configuration of the Chinese space station. Tianzhou 6 docked on the outpost’s aft port, situated on the left side of the image. Credit: China Manned Space
Each three person crew is scheduled for six-month rotations aboard the orbiting laboratory, much like those living on the International Space Station.
Shenzhou 16 will dock with Tiangong’s Earth-facing port. After a temporary handover period, the Shenzhou 15 trio will depart, leaving the forward port available for Tianzhou 5 cargo ship, which recently undocked from the aft port of the station to make way for the brand new cargo ship.
Tianzhou 5 had been on the outpost since mid-November 2022 and has been flying independently since May 5, 2023.
Once Tianzhou 5 redocks with Tiangong, it’ll remain for a currently undisclosed duration before leaving for a final time with trash and other unneeded equipment sure for a destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.