China launched the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-9 early Tuesday morning to deliver supplies to its orbiting space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Tianzhou-9 is loaded with essential supplies, including consumables for the orbiting crew, propellant, and equipment for application experiments and tests. The craft separated and entered orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff, marking the fourth resupply flight of China's manned space program since the space station entered its application and development phase.