Research and Development of the Tianzhou Cargo Spacecraft

Abstract

After more than 7 years of development, the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft (TZ), a space station cargo transfer spacecraft, was successfully launched on 2017 April 20. The TZ is robotic spacecraft that is designed to support China space station operation by transporting pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, large cargo, propellant, and other supplies. The vehicle is equipped with the crew specifications necessary for astronauts to unload pressurized cargo. TZ can be utilized for a variety of commercial, engineering, scientific, or other proposed activities once its primary mission is complete. TZ is China's first dedicated space cargo transport spacecraft, but the safety designs for crew activities are also particular to TZ. Newly developed technologies were applied to enable high-efficiency cargo shipment. Its development was carried out under the policy of adopting flight-proven technologies to enhance the reliability and safety of a mission. The success of the flight test of the TZ-1 cargo spacecraft marked the perfect end of the mission of the China Space Laboratory and laid the foundation for the smooth implementation of the manned space station project. As a novel manned spacecraft, TZ-1 has broken through key technologies such as cargo transportation, propellant replenishment, and fully autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking. TZ has the characteristics of high transport efficiency, multitasks, and strong self-control ability. The paper describes the phylogeny, main technical schemes, and technological achievements of China TZ.