It was first launched (Tianzhou 1) on the Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang on April 20, 2017[3] and demonstrated autonomous propellant transfer (space refueling).

[4][7] The China Manned Space Engineering Office opened a consultation for the naming of the prospective cargo ship on April 25, 2011.

[8] On July 8, Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut and deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that they had a short list of ten names.

[9] On October 31, 2013, it was revealed that the spacecraft had been named Tianzhou (Chinese: 天舟; pinyin: Tiān Zhōu; lit.

[10] Tianzhou spacecraft were initially flown to the Tiangong space station every 6 months.