Tianzhou 9 embarks on cargo mission to Tiangong

The Tianzhou 9 robotic spaceship was launched on Tuesday morning in Hainan province, marking the first and only cargo mission to China's Tiangong space station this year.

A Long March 7 rocket, carrying the cargo vessel on top, lifted off at 5:34 am from the Wenchang Space Launch Center located along Hainan's southeastern coast, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

After a short flight, the rocket placed Tianzhou 9 in its preset low-Earth orbit, and the solar wings on the robotic vessel unfolded, marking the successful completion of the launch mission. About three hours later, the spacecraft docked with the space station's Tianhe core module, the agency said in a news release.