Rocket arrives at launch site for space station cargo mission

WENCHANG, Hainan, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Long March-7 Y6 carrier rocket, tasked with sending China's space station cargo vessel Tianzhou-5 into orbit, has been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan on Tuesday.

The rocket will undergo assembly and testing together with Tianzhou-5, which arrived earlier, the China Manned Space Agency said on Tuesday.

China will carry out four more missions -- the launch of the Mengtian lab module, the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft, and the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship, as well as bringing the Shenzhou-14 crew back to Earth -- before it completes the in-orbit construction of the space station by the end of this year.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China is gearing up for the manned spaceship launch and return missions. The Shenzhou-15 crew members are also stepping up training for their spaceflight, the agency said.