Tianzhou 6 (Chinese: 天舟六号) was the sixth mission of the Tianzhou-class uncrewed cargo spacecraft, and the fifth resupply mission to the Tiangong Space Station. Like previous Tianzhou missions, the spacecraft was launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, China on a Long March 7 rocket.[2] This was the first mission of the operation phase of Tiangong.[3] It was launched on 10 May 2023 at 13:22 UTC,[4] and docked to the Tiangong Space Station a few hours later.[5][6]
 A Tianzhou 3D model | |
| Mission type | Tiangong space station resupply |
|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA |
| COSPAR ID | 2023-063A |
| SATCAT no. | 56446 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 253 days, 23 hours and 15 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Tianzhou-6 |
| Spacecraft type | Tianzhou |
| Manufacturer | China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation |
| Launch mass | 13,500 kg (29,800 lb) |
| Payload mass | 7,400 kg (16,300 lb) |
| Dimensions | 10.6 m × 3.35 m (34.8 ft × 11.0 ft) |
| Power | 2 |
| Expedition | |
| Space station | Tiangong space station |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 May 2023, 13:22 UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Long March 7 |
| Launch site | Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, LC-2 |
| Contractor | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 19 January 2024, 12:37 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 41.5° |
| Docking with Tiangong space station | |
| Docking port | Tianhe Aft port |
| Docking date | 10 May 2023, 21:16 UTC |
| Undocking date | 12 January 2024, 08:02 UTC |
| Time docked | 246 days, 10 hours and 46 minutes |
Mission history
On 12 March 2023, CMSA announced that Tianzhou 6 has completed manufacturing, and was delivered to Wenchang.[7][8]
On 13 April 2023, Long March 7 Y7, the launch vehicle for this mission, arrived at Wenchang Space Launch Site. It started to conduct stacking and tests with the already arrived Tianzhou 6.[9]
On 7 May 2023, Long March 7 Y7 and Tianzhou 6 arrived vertically at the launch pad.[10]
On 10 May 2023 at 13:22:51.405 UTC, it was successfully launched from Wenchang.[11] It docked to the aft port of the Tiangong Space Station less than 8 hours later.[6]
Tianzhou 6 was undocked on 12 January 2024 to make way for Tianzhou 7 cargo ship, and deorbited by burning up in the Earth's atmosphere about a week later.
Spacecraft
The cargo capacity of Tianzhou 6 has been increased by 20%, allowing to it carry payloads of up to 7.4 tonnes.[12][13][11] Tianzhou 6 has the largest capacity in the Tianzhou series and is the largest active cargo supply spacecraft in terms of capacity.[14][15][16]
Starting from this mission, the launch frequency of Tianzhou cargo spacecraft will be adjusted from two ships per year to three ships every two years.[17]
Cargo
Tianzhou-6 carried 1750 kg of fuel, of which 700 kg is for resupplying the space station. It delivered more than 7 tons of pressurized cargo, including scientific payloads for researching about lidar and supercritical flow.[18] It also brought 70 kg of fresh fruit for the Shenzhou 15 and 16's crew.[1]
