Chen Dong
Chinese - (CNSA)
Active
Date of Birth: Dec. 12, 1978
Age: 47
Chen Dong (simplified Chinese: 陈冬; traditional Chinese: 陳冬; pinyin: Chén Dōng; born 12 December 1978) is a Chinese pilot and astronaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program. He was selected to fly on the Shenzhou 11 mission in October 2016 with astronaut Jing Haipeng. The two underwent more than 3,000 hours of training before the launch of the spacecraft. On 17 October 2016 On 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT on 16 October), Chen lifted off with Shenzhou 11 for a 33-day space mission to the Tiangong-2 space station as his first spaceflight, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 2F launch rocket. The crew landed successfully after the 33 day mission on 18 November 2016, marking China's longest manned space flight to date. The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia around 2.15 p.m(China time) after detaching from the space lab on 17 November.
Long March 2F/G | Shenzhou-11
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | ChinaJiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Oct. 16, 2016, 11:30 p.m.
Long March 2F/G | Shenzhou 14
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | ChinaJiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
June 5, 2022, 2:44 a.m.
Long March 2F/G | Shenzhou 20
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | ChinaJiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
April 24, 2025, 9:17 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
Ninth crewed flight to the Chinese space station. Due to damage sustained by the spacecraft's descent module porthole window by orbital debris collision found in early November 2025, the spacecraft was deemed unsuitable for crew return. Shenzhou 22 was launched without crew as replacement, and Shenzhou 20 will return to Earth without crew after EVA inspection by the onboard crew.
Low Earth OrbitThe China National Space Administration (CNSA) is the national space agency of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for the national space program and for planning and development of space activities. CNSA and China Aerospace Corporation (CASC) assumed the authority over space development efforts previously held by the Ministry of Aerospace Industry. The CNSA has many launch sites around China with their orbital sites located in Jiuquan, Xichang, Taiyuan and Wenchang.
Long March 8A
SatNet LEO Group 18
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of ChinaA batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
Long March 6A
Yaogan 50-01
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaThe Yaogan 50-01 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-97
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
PSLV-DL
EOS-N1 and others
Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, IndiaSmall Earth observation satellite from NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for an "Indian strategic user", details TBD. This launch will also carry 18 o…
Falcon 9
Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAThe Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope …
