The unmanned vehicle was delivering cargo to the Tienkung space station.
China’s Tiencou-7 cargo spacecraft entered the Earth’s atmosphere on November 17, where it was destroyed as planned, Space.com reported. The spacecraft ended its mission after servicing the Tienkung space station, and the remaining debris fell into the ocean.
The Tiencsou-7 cargo spacecraft was launched on January 17 with a Long March-7 rocket from the Wencang Space Center. In the first phase of its mission, it successfully reached the Tienkung space station, where it delivered fuel, experimental equipment and supplies for the astronauts. After delivering its cargo, it detached from the station on November 10, loaded with space station waste.
The Chinese Space Agency (CMSA) guided the device back into the atmosphere in a controlled manner. It was diverted from Earth’s orbit with its engine, where most of it burned up upon reaching the atmosphere. The remaining pieces likely landed in the South Pacific, an area known as the “spacecraft graveyard,” which is regularly used for the safe disposal of spacecraft.
Before being destroyed for good, Tiencsou-7 completed one last mission: it launched a minisatellite called Baji-08. The satellite is equipped with a medium-resolution Earth observation camera that will be used to observe our planet.
The mission and controlled destruction of Tiencou-7 is an important milestone in China’s space exploration, which continues to dynamically develop and expand its space program.
Source: www.pcwplus.hu
