Launch of CASC's Long March 7 Rocket with the Tianzhou-5 Spacecraft

Video from the channel International Rocket Launches about Long March 7, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 11:24. Language: English. Video type: Launch.

A Long March 7 launches the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft toward the Tiangong space station. The cargo craft is to dock at the rear port of the Tianhe core module, vacated by the departure of Tianzhou 4. The lower port is occupied by Shenzhou 14, and Shenzhou 15 would arrive at the forward port days later. With that, the station would reach its maximum configuration at this stage: three T-shaped modules, two crewed spacecraft and one cargo ship, six vehicles totaling nearly 100 tonnes. The rendezvous was planned to take about three hours.

After the countdown, the rocket lifts off with six engines firing, four on the boosters and two on the core stage, and turns toward the southeast. The broadcast combines onboard cameras with a 3D animation based on telemetry, while tracking stations, including Xisha and Lingshui, report a normal flight. The separation of the boosters is shown, followed by that of the first stage with its interstage, and the jettisoning of the payload fairing once outside the atmosphere. The second stage carries four YF-115 engines: two fixed ones, which shut down first, and two gimbaled ones, which fine-tune the trajectory before shutting down.

About ten minutes after liftoff, the second-stage camera shows Tianzhou 5 already separated and firing its attitude control thrusters. The next step is the deployment of the solar panels.