A Long March 7 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft, with carrying essentials such as food, equipment and fuel, blasted off late on Saturday from the Wenchang launch site on the tropical southern island of Hainan, the Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The docking with the space station’s Tianhe core module was completed at 5.01am Sunday Beijing time, the agency said, citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

China will need to carry out about 10 missions in total to complete assembly of the space station in orbit. The station is expected to become fully operational in 2022. Once completed, it is expected to remain in low Earth orbit for up to 15 years. With the possible retirement of the International Space Station after 2028, Tiangong could become the only human outpost in Earth’s orbit.

The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft carried a range of supplies, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, and will be followed by the launch of another cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-3, and two manned missions, Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, later this year, each carrying three astronauts who will spend several months in orbit. The Shenzhou-12 launch is slated for mid-June.

Earlier this month China landed its Zhurong rover on Mars, becoming only the third nation to successfully land a craft on the red planet.

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