The combination of the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft and its carrier rocket Long March-7 Y8 at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, south China's Hainan Province, January 15, 2024. /CFP

China's Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft will be launched soon to deliver supplies to the astronauts in the China Space Station.

Unlike previous launches, the Tianzhou-7 will adopt a three-hour rendezvous and docking plan with the space station, the first time such an operation has been conducted.

Two-hour and six-and-a-half-hour rapid rendezvous and docking plans have been practiced on previous missions to the station. The three-hour rendezvous and docking plan for transporting materials to the space station provides a more efficient method and reduces the pressure on various systems during mission execution.

The combination of the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft and its carrier rocket Long March-7 Y8 was vertically transferred to the launching area at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in China's tropical island province of Hainan on Monday.