China's cargo spacecraft separates from Tiangong-2 space lab

China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, separated from Tiangong-2 space lab at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.

China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, separated from Tiangong-2 space lab at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.[Photo: CMS]

At 3:29 p.m. on Sunday, the cargo ship started to separate from the space lab under orders from the ground. After separation, it operated at an orbit of about 400 kilometers above the earth.

Tianzhou-1 will continue to carry out experiments before it leaves orbit, and will gain experience for building and operating a space station.

Tianzhou-1 was launched on April 20 from south China's Hainan Province, and it completed automated docking with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab on April 22.

The two spacecraft completed the first in-orbit refueling on April 27, a second refueling on June 15 and a final one on Saturday. In the past five months, Tianzhou-1 has operated smoothly and completed various tasks.