Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

LIVE: Launch of China's Shenzhou-21 Manned Spacecraft

China launches its Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship on Oct. 31 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, sending astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang to China's Tiangong spac...

Shenzhou 21

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

Tenth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 31, 2025, 4:06 p.m.

Launch success.


Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 31, 2025, 3:45 p.m.

Liftoff.


LL2 • Oct. 31, 2025, 3:40 p.m.

Official Webcast by CGTN has started


Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 31, 2025, 3:35 p.m.

Tweaked T-0.


LL2 • Oct. 31, 2025, 3:30 p.m.

Official Webcast by CGTN has started


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 21


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 3 Crew Capacity: 3
Destination: Tiangong space station
Serial Number: 21

Spacecraft used to launch 3 astronauts on the 10th crewed mission to the Chinese Space Station.

Shenzhou Details

Crew


Zhang Lu

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Nov. 1, 1976
Age: 49

Wu Fei

Operator - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Oct. 1, 1993
Age: 32

Zhang Hongzhang

Operator - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: April 1, 1986
Age: 40

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
SpacePolicyOnline.com

China’s Shenzhou-21 Crew Returns to Earth

China’s three-man Shenzhou-21 (SZ-21) crew returned to Earth today after 210 days aboard the Tiangong space station. They landed not in the SZ-21 spacecraft, however, but SZ-22. SZ-22 was launched […]

SpacePolicyOnline.com

Chinese Space Station Crew Safely Home After Swapping Capsules

China’s three-man Shenzhou-20 space station crew landed safely this morning (EST) in the Shenzhou-21 capsule. Their Shenzhou-21 colleagues remain aboard Tiangong-3 with the Shenzhou-20 capsule that apparently was damaged by […]

SpacePolicyOnline.com

China Launches New Space Station Crew

China launched a new three-person crew to their Tiangong-3 space station today. Shenzhou-21 lifted off at 11:44 am EDT and arrived at the space station about three hours later where […]

SpaceNews

Shenzhou-21 completes rapid docking with Tiangong space station 3.5 hours after launch

China’s latest crewed mission arrived at the Tiangong space station Friday, just 3.5 hours after launch from Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi Desert. The post Shenzhou-21 completes rapid docking with Tiangong space station 3.5 hours after la…

NASASpaceflight

China prepares to launch crewed Shenzhou-21 mission

China is preparing to send its tenth crew to the Tiangong space station. This will… The post China prepares to launch crewed Shenzhou-21 mission appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 91 (SLS-1 / 921)


Falcon 9
In Flight
11 minutes ago
Starlink Group 15-27
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
15 hours, 8 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
22 hours, 36 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, 9 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, 23 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
3 days 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
3 days, 1 hour 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, 12 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, 3 hours 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, 19 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…