Moscow. September 18. INTERFAX-The Chinese cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2 has docked from the rear port of the Tianhe base module of the Tiangong Space Station under construction to the front to make room for the docking of the new cargo ship Tianzhou-3, the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) reported on Saturday.
"At 10:25 on September 18, 2021, Beijing time, the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft undocked from the rear port of the space station and flew around to the front port to complete the rendezvous and docking. The operation took about 4 hours, " the agency said in a statement.
According to the CMSA, the operation was successful and now the station is ready to dock with it the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-3 and the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-13.
Tianzhou-3 is expected to deliver supplies, fuel and equipment to the station for the three-person crew of the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft, which is expected to arrive at the station at the end of October and will stay there for six months.