Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Replay! China launches crew to new space station

A Long March-2F Y12 rocket launched the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo to the Tianhe core module of China's new space station on June 16, 2021 (Jun...

Live: Special coverage on Shenzhou-12 crewed mission to Chinese Space Station

China's home grown Long March rocket will send the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft, carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, to the Chinese Space Station's core module Tianhe at 9:2...

Shenzhou 12

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Human Exploration

Low Earth Orbit Launch Area 91 (SLS-1 / 921) Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First crewed flight to the Chinese large modular space station.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • June 16, 2021, 1:34 a.m.

Updated launch time.


Cosmic_Penguin • June 14, 2021, 2:51 a.m.

Added launch time per NOTAMs.


Nosu • April 21, 2021, 9:55 a.m.

Updated launch date


Cosmic_Penguin • April 11, 2021, 11:22 a.m.

Updated launch date.


Long March 2F/G

Family:
Configuration: F/G

The Long March 2F is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch the crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a human-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 2F/G version includes longer boosters for increased lift capability, among other improvements.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    62.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    464.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Long March 2F/G
  • Family
  • Variant
    F/G
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Long March 2F/G
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    8399.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Shenzhou 12


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 3 Crew Capacity: 3
Destination: Tiangong space station
Serial Number: 12

First crewed mission to the Chinese Space Station.

Shenzhou Details

Crew


Nie Haisheng

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Oct. 13, 1964
Age: 61

Liu Boming

Operator - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Sept. 16, 1966
Age: 60

Tang Hongbo

Operator - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Oct. 1, 1975
Age: 50

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

(CASC)

Chairman & President: Lei Fanpei Founded: 1999 Successes: 599 Failures: 16 Pending: 9

Agency Type:

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment. It was officially established in July 1999 as part of a Chinese government reform drive, having previously been one part of the former China Aerospace Corporation. Various incarnations of the program date back to 1956.

INFO WIKI
Spaceflight Now

Chinese crew landing caps record-setting day in human spaceflight

Three Chinese astronauts landed in the remote Gobi Desert of northwestern China Friday, returning to Earth after a three-month mission on the country’s new Tiangong space station, and ending a historic day in human spaceflight that set a n…

SpaceNews

Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission

Three Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth Sept. 17 after completing the first crewed mission aboard the Tianhe space station module.

SpaceNews

China rolls out cargo mission rocket as Shenzhou-12 astronauts leave space station

China is preparing to launch its second space station cargo mission just as its Shenzhou-12 astronauts are set to return to Earth.

Arstechnica

Rocket Report: China launches crew mission, SpaceX runs into road troubles

"The Space Safari team intends to push the envelope."

Spaceflight Now

Chinese astronauts enter Tiangong space station for first time

Three Chinese astronauts floated into the country’s new Tiangong space station Thursday, becoming the first people to board China’s outpost in orbit just nine hours after a successful launch from a military base in the Gobi Desert to start…

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 91 (SLS-1 / 921)


Long March 2D
Success
11 hours, 12 minutes ago
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Electron
Success
18 hours, 40 minutes ago
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
2 days, 5 hours ago
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…


Kuaizhou 11
Success
2 days, 19 hours ago
SpaceTY-51 & 52
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 20 hours ago
USSF-259
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

USSF-259 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …


Long March 12
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 25
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
3 days, 8 hours ago
Progress MS-35 (96P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Gravity-1
Success
4 days ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #16
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with …


Zhuque-2E Block 2
Success
4 days, 15 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #15
Launch Area 96A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Vega-C
Success
4 days, 20 hours ago
Sentinel-3C & FLEX
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 constellation, which provides high-accuracy optical, radar and altimetry data for marine and lan…