Tianzhou 3

Tianzhou 3

A 1:144 scale Tianzhou 1 model
Mission type	Tiangong space station resupply
Operator	CNSA
COSPAR ID	2021-085A
SATCAT no.	49222
Website	http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/
Mission duration	309 days, 20 hours and 21 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Tianzhou-3
Spacecraft type	Tianzhou
Manufacturer	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Launch mass	.
Dry mass	6,640 kg (14,640 lb)
Dimensions	10.6 m × 3.35 m (34.8 ft × 11.0 ft)
Power	watts
Expedition
Space station	Tiangong space station
Start of mission
Launch date	20 September 2021, 07:10:11 UTC
Rocket	Long March 7
Launch site	Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, LC-201
Contractor	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
End of mission
Decay date	27 July 2022, 03:31 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	20 September 2021, 14:08 UTC
Undocking date	19 April 2022, 21:02 UTC
Time docked	211 days, 6 hours and 54 minutes
Docking with Tiangong space station (Relocation)
Docking port	Tianhe Forward port
Docking date	20 April 2022, 01:06 UTC
Undocking date	17 July 2022, 02:59 UTC
Time docked	88 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes
Tiangong program Tianzhou program

Tianzhou 3 (Chinese: 天舟三号) was a mission of the Tianzhou-class uncrewed cargo spacecraft, launched on 20 September 2021, at 07:10:11 UTC. Like previous Tianzhou missions, the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, China on a Long March 7 launch vehicle.

Tianzhou 3 was the second cargo resupply mission to the Tianhe core module (TCM) of the under-construction Tiangong space station, carrying over six tons of supplies. The spacecraft successfully docked at the TCM's aft port seven hours after launch at 14:08 UTC.

On 20 April 2022, Tianzhou 3 successfully relocated itself from Tianhe's aft port to the forward port to make the aft port available for docking by Tianzhou 4. On 17 July it was undocked for deorbiting, making way for the installation of the Wentian module. It reentered the Earth's atmosphere and burned up as planned on 27 July 2022.

Spacecraft

Main article: Tianzhou (spacecraft)

The Tianzhou cargo ship has several notable differences with the Tiangong stations from which it is derived. It has only three segments of solar panels (against 4 for Tiangong), but has 4 maneuvering engines (against 2).