China to launch cargo ship into space in 2016

[Waspie_Dwarf]

China expects to launch cargo ship into space around 2016

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to launch a cargo ship into space around 2016 to serve the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, a leading space scientist said Sunday.

The cargo ship, named "Tianzhou" or "Heavenly Vessel" in Chinese, will be delivered by the newly-developed Long March-7 carrier rocket and dock with Tiangong-2 automatically, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

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[Princess Serenity]

Good luck on trying to get something heavy into space.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Good luck on trying to get something heavy into space.

What are you talking about?

The Tianzhou is basically a modification of the Tiangong-1 which is itself a modification of the Shenzhou manned vehicle. China have been lifting objects that heavy into space for decades.

As for the "heavy-lift" rocket they are developing for the Tiangong-3 space station, it is in the same class as the Russian Proton, European Ariane 5 and US Atlas V rockets, so where is the problem?

China are not exactly new to the business of rocket launches, they've been doing it for over 42 years.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Waspie_Dwarf