China to launch cargo spaceship with Tiangong-2  

货运飞船将随天宫二号上天 研制成功后发射将成常态

昨天，全国人大代表、中国航天科技集团第五研究院载人空间站工程载人飞船系统总设计师张柏楠介绍，货运飞船目前研制进展顺利，将随天宫二号发射上天，主要负责运输推进剂、航天生活物资、科学实验设备以及航天垃圾等。他表示，现在货运飞船还处于试验阶段，试验成熟后，上天会成为常态。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A space scientist said on Tuesday that China's research and development of a cargo spaceship is on track, and a cargo spaceship will be launched into space to serve the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, the Beijing Times said on Wednesday.

The information was released by Zhang Bonan, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and a chief designer at the country's spaceship program.

The cargo ship can send supplies to the space station, including propellants, daily necessities for astronauts and equipment for scientific research. It can also destroy various wasted materials, he said.

Tiangong-1, China's first space lab and target orbiter, was sent into orbit on Sept 29, 2011. China is expected to launch the Tiangong-2 space lab around 2015.

The cargo spaceship is still in the experimental stage, according to Zhang.

"Sending such a cargo ship into space will become a regular practice in China after the technology of space transportation systems is fully mastered by scientists," Zhang said. "In the future, cargo spaceships will undertake transportation tasks as the Shenzhou spacecraft did."