China's Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft burns up on reentry

China's Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere and burned up as planned on Sunday night, the China Manned Space Agency said.

Under the guidance of ground controllers, the uncrewed spacecraft reentered at 9:25 pm, the agency said in a statement. Most of the spacecraft disintegrated during reentry, with a small amount of debris falling into designated areas of the ocean.

Tianzhou 7 detached from the Tiangong space station on Nov 10, embarking on a week-long solo flight. During that period, it completed its final mission — deploying a small educational satellite into orbit.

The spacecraft was launched in January from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, carrying supplies to China's space station.

Its successor, Tianzhou 8, lifted off Friday night from the same spaceport. It is the last spacecraft scheduled to visit the Tiangong station in 2024.