As China prepares for the launch of the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou 4 is getting ready to return.The combination of the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft and the Long March 7 Y6 carrier rocket was transferred to the launching area in Wenchang, Hainan province, on Wednesday before the Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft departed from the Tiangong space station in the afternoon, according to the China Manned Space Agency.The agency said in a release that the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time.The facilities at the launch site, the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, are in good condition, and various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned, the agency added.The Tianzhou 4 craft undocked from Tiangong at 2:55 pm and will be guided by ground controllers back to Earth in due course, the agency said.Launched on May 10 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, Tianzhou 4 docked with Tiangong in a low-Earth orbit of around 400 kilometers later that day.Carrying nearly 6 metric tons of propellants and materials, including more than 200 packages, the spacecraft was tasked with supporting the Shenzhou XIV mission, during which a three-member crew is scheduled to spend six months inside the space station.The mission crew has so far spent more than five months aboard the station.Tianzhou 4 is the third cargo ship to have docked with Tiangong, following the Tianzhou 2 and 3.Designed to function for more than a year, each Tianzhou cargo spaceship has two parts — a cargo cabin and a propulsion section. The vehicles are 10.6 meters long and 3.35 meters wide.The cargo vehicle has a liftoff weight of 13.5 tons and can transport up to 6.9 tons of supplies to the space station.Currently, the Tiangong station consists of a core module, two lab modules and a spacecraft used to transport the astronauts.As China prepares for the launch of the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou 4 is getting ready to return.The combination of the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft and the Long March 7 Y6 carrier rocket was transferred to the launching area in Wenchang, Hainan province, on Wednesday before the Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft departed from the Tiangong space station in the afternoon, according to the China Manned Space Agency.The agency said in a release that the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time.The facilities at the launch site, the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, are in good condition, and various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned, the agency added.The Tianzhou 4 craft undocked from Tiangong at 2:55 pm and will be guided by ground controllers back to Earth in due course, the agency said.Launched on May 10 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, Tianzhou 4 docked with Tiangong in a low-Earth orbit of around 400 kilometers later that day.Carrying nearly 6 metric tons of propellants and materials, including more than 200 packages, the spacecraft was tasked with supporting the Shenzhou XIV mission, during which a three-member crew is scheduled to spend six months inside the space station.The mission crew has so far spent more than five months aboard the station.Tianzhou 4 is the third cargo ship to have docked with Tiangong, following the Tianzhou 2 and 3.Designed to function for more than a year, each Tianzhou cargo spaceship has two parts — a cargo cabin and a propulsion section. The vehicles are 10.6 meters long and 3.35 meters wide.The cargo vehicle has a liftoff weight of 13.5 tons and can transport up to 6.9 tons of supplies to the space station.Currently, the Tiangong station consists of a core module, two lab modules and a spacecraft used to transport the astronauts.