China delays supply mission to new space station for technical reasons
China postponed a supply mission to its new space station
Thursday for unspecified technical reasons.
The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft was expected to have been launched
early Thursday morning. China Manned Space
announced the delay on its website but didn't say when the rescheduled launch
may occur.
It would be the first mission to head to the main Tianhe module of
the space station that was launched on April 29. Another 10 launches are
planned to deliver the station's other two modules, various components and
supplies, and a three-person crew.
The launch of Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, was considered a
success although China was
criticized for allowing the uncontrolled reentry of part of the rocket that
carried it into space.
Usually, discarded rocket stages reenter the atmosphere soon after
liftoff, normally over water, and don't go into orbit.
NASA Administrator
Sen. Bill Nelson said at the time that China had failed to meet responsible
standards regarding space debris.
China's space program has suffered relatively few setbacks since
it first put an astronaut into orbit in 2003, although the space station launch
was delayed by the failure of an earlier version of the massive Long March 5B
rocket.
Earlier this month, China also landed a probe and its accompanying
rover on Mars and has begun sending back pictures from the surface of the red
planet.
Only the United States has successfully landed and operated a
spacecraft on Mars nine times, beginning with the twin Vikings in 1976 and,
most recently, with the Perseverance rover in February.
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