China launched cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-5 on Nov 12, 2022 morning to deliver supplies for the Tiangong space station. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING/WENCHANG, Hainan – China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-5, delivering supplies for the Tiangong space station, successfully completed its status setting and docked with the combination of the country's space station on Saturday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

At 12:10 pm (Beijing Time), Tianzhou-5 conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docking at the rear docking port of the space station's core module Tianhe, the CMSA said.

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This is the first time that Chinese astronauts witness the arrival of a cargo craft in the country's space station.

The construction of the Tiangong space station is expected to be completed this year

This mission achieved fast automated rendezvous and docking within about two hours. It is of great significance for improving the level of China's space rendezvous and docking, and for enhancing the emergency supply capacity for the space station.

The Long March-7 Y6 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-5, blasted off at 10:03 am from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

After around 10 minutes, Tianzhou-5 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels soon unfolded and began working. The CMSA declared the launch a complete success.

The cargo craft carries around 5 tonnes of goods and materials and 1.4 tonnes of propellant for the space station complex, including essential supplies for the three astronauts on the upcoming Shenzhou-15 mission for their six-month orbital stay, said Pan Weizhen, a designer of the cargo craft system from the China Academy of Space Technology.

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center shows the inside view of the core module Tianhe after China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-5 conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the combination of the space station Tiangong, Nov 12, 2022. (SUN FENGXIAO / XINHUA)

It also carries test projects including a science popularization satellite, space hydrogen and oxygen fuel cell system, and broad-energy-spectrum high-energy particle detection equipment.

The construction of the Tiangong space station is expected to be completed this year.

China launched the space lab module Mengtian on Oct 31, taking the construction of the country's space station into the final stage.

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With the core module Tianhe and lab modules Wentian and Mengtian, the space station has formed a three-module T-shape structure. Such a structure is the planned layout at the space station's completion.

This simulated image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Nov 12, 2022 shows China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-5 having conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the combination of the space station Tiangong. (SUN FENGXIAO / XINHUA)

The country plans to launch the Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship later this year. The Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crew members will conduct the first in-orbit crew rotation in China's space history.

Saturday's launch is the 26th mission of China's manned space programs and the 449th mission of the Long March rocket series.