Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Watch Live! China to launch crew to new space station

A Long March-2F Y12 rocket will launch the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo to the Tianhe core module of C...

Watch: 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 Chines...

Shenzhou 12

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Human Exploration

Low Earth Orbit Launch Area 4 (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 2

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.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    62.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    464.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Long March 2
  • 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: 60

Liu Boming

Operator - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Sept. 16, 1966
Age: 58

Tang Hongbo

Operator - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Oct. 1, 1975
Age: 49

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

(CASC)

Chairman & President: Lei Fanpei Founded: 1999 Successes: 501 Failures: 14 Pending: 7

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

Related News

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 4 (SLS-1 / 921)


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
NROL-69
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office


Ceres-1
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Yunyao-1 43-48
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

6 weather satellites performing atmospheric measurements using GNSS Radio Occultation for a Tianjin based company. Constellation is planned to have a…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
NROL-57
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Eighth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office t…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 12-25
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
2 weeks, 2 days ago
High Five (Kinéis 21-25)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Last of five batches of five satellites for the French Kinéis IoT constellation designed to operate with 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg each.


Ceres-1
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
8 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Carried 8 satellites to 535 km high SSO: * Yunyao-1 #55-60 * AIRSAT-06 & 07


Angara 1.2
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
3 x Rodnik (Kosmos 2585, 2586, 2587)
35/1 - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity and Cosmos series numbering not confirmed. The Strela (Russian: Стрела) are Soviet, then Russian, military space telecommun…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 12-16
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 5 days ago
Transporter 13 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Long March 2D
Success
2 weeks, 5 days ago
SuperView Neo 3-02
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Commercial Earth observation satellite built by CAST for China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd, with 0.5 m resolution over 9 image wavele…