【February 13, CMSP News】 Recently, China's cargo vehicle, which will be used in China's space station construction, underwent the first hot-fire test of its full propulsion system. The hot-fire test, a landmark milestone in the development of China’s cargo vehicle, was aimed to validate the design of China's cargo vehicle propulsion system, to assess the compatibility of the engine units, and to test the integrated function of the propulsion system and refueling sub-system working together. 
The cargo vehicle's propulsion sub-system and refueling sub-system, as well as the propellant tanks and refueling pipeline of Tiangong-2 were examined in the hot-fire test. The test procedure comprised two processes: engine firing and propellant refueling. The engine firing process simulated the cargo vehicle’s operation patterns in orbit transfer, rendezvous and docking, altitude control, undocking, etc.
The hot-fire test achieved a complete success and data collected from the test proved that the design of China’s cargo vehicle propulsion system was accurate and reasonable. (By Yu Yanjuan)