The Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft, carrying supplies for the China Space Station, separated from the orbiting station combination at 3:26 p.m. Beijing Time on Friday and switched to independent flight, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMS).

The Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft was sent to the preset orbit from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern China's Hainan Province on November 12, 2022, carrying six months of supplies for the Shenzhou-15 astronauts stationed at the space station, propellant, science facilities, cube satellite, hydrogen fuel cells as well as experiment payloads.

The cargo craft will circle around the space station to dock at its front port of the node cabin after the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship separates from the space station, which is expected to happen later this month.