• China has launched its first unmanned cargo spacecraft on a mission to dock with the space station of the country.
• The Tianzhou 1 blasted off on April 20, 2017 atop a latest-generation Long March 7 rocket from China’s newest spacecraft launch site, Wenchang, on the island province of Hainan.
• It is programmed to conduct scientific experiments after reaching the now crewless Tiangong 2, China’s second space station.
• China launched the Tiangong 2 precursor facility in September and the station’s 20-ton core module will be launched next year.
• The completed 60-ton station is set to come into full service in 2022 and operate for at least a decade.

Source: The Hindu