Cargo craft Tianzhou-10 lifts off in resupply mission
China launched the cargo craft Tianzhou-10 from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Monday morning to deliver supplies for its orbiting Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The Long March-7 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-10, blasted off at 8:14 am Beijing time from Wenchang, south China's Hainan Province, the agency said. After about 10 minutes, Tianzhou-10 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels soon unfolded, and the agency declared the launch a complete success. The cargo craft will later conduct the rendezvous and docking with the space station combination. Tianzhou-10 is loaded with essential supplies, including one extra-vehicular spacesuit, consumables for the crew's on-orbit stay, propellants, and payloads for scientific experiments. The mission is the fifth cargo resupply flight of China's manned space programme since the space station entered the application and development phase. It is also the 641st mission of the Long March rocket series. (Xinhua) Edited by Raymond Yeung