Meet Qingzhou, China's next-gen cargo craft for its Tiangong space station (video)

A large metal spacecraft is sits on a platform in a warehouse with lettering behind it.

China is working toward the first launch of a next-generation, low-cost cargo spacecraft option for its Tiangong space station.

Qingzhou, meaning "Light Ship," is being developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS) as a smaller, lighter and potentially lower-cost complement to China’s existing Tianzhou cargo spacecraft.