Tianzhou 1, a Chinese prototype space freighter launched back in April, finally ended its mission successfully on September 22nd by burning up in the Earths atmosphere. This, of course, is a standard method of disposal for such craft (the Russian Progress cargo vehicle is a fine example) so that they don’t become typical space debris.
Tianzhou 1 conducted multiple dockings with the Tiangong 2 space station, as well as successfully demonstrated in-flight refueling of the station from the cargo vehicle.
This successful mission shows that China has successfully developed the logistics required to maintain a constant space presence, much in the same way as Salyut 6, 7, MIR, and the Internation Space Station have allowed for decades now (each in their own time, of course.)
Sadly, there is limited information beyond this that I can find (at least in any reasonable form) thanks to the moderate secrecy of the Chinese space program, and the fact that thanks to oh-so-wonderful legislation, NASA and CNSA are forbidden from working with each other. News is somewhat scarce, at least in an easy to find form, so, I’ll take what I can get – namely, minor updates from SpaceFlight Now, one of my prime sources for general space information. Obviously a source I recommend.
China’s Tianzhou 1 vehicle burns up in atmosphere as designed after orbital refueling tests for future space station https://t.co/B1KXEgHoLA pic.twitter.com/xaM4wx0fPf
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) September 22, 2017