China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-4, carrying supplies for the upcoming Shenzhou-14 crewed mission, successfully docked with the combination of the space station core module Tianhe and the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft on Tuesday.

The Tianzhou-4 spacecraft was slung into space atop a Long March-7 Y5 rocket at 1:56am from the Wenchang Launch Base in Hainan.

According to the China Manned Space Agency, it docked with the under-construction space station about seven hours later.

The cargo vessel is carrying supplies for a new three-person crew, along with research equipment and spare parts for maintaining the station.

The Shenzhou-14 crewed mission is scheduled to launch next month for a six-month stay. Towards the end of that mission, three more astronauts will be launched aboard Shenzhou-15 for a further six months, with the two crews overlapping for three to five days, marking the first time the station has six people aboard. (Xinhua/AP)