China’s cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-3 undocked from the combination of the under-construction space station at 10:59 Beijing time Sunday, after completing all its missions, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Video footage released by the CMSA show that the freighter slowly detaching from the front docking port of the space station core module Tianhe and flying away.
The Tianzhou-3 is in good condition and will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere under ground control at a later time.
The Tianzhou-3, or Heavenly Vessel-3, is the third mission of China’s Tianzhou-class unmanned cargo spacecraft, and the second resupply mission to the in-orbit space station Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace.
The cargo craft, carrying six tons of supplies, lifted off aboard a Long March-7 Y4 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province on September 20, 2021, just three days after the first astronauts to crew the space station returned to Earth.
China plans to complete the construction of its space station by the end of the year.
