Watch the Launch

Additional Media

CASC - Long March 2F/G - Shenzhou 18 - Crewed Launch Tiangong - SLS-1 - Jiuquan - April 24, 2024

Shenzhou 18 (Chinese: 神舟十八号; pinyin: Shénzhōu Shíbā-hào; lit. 'Divine Boat Number 18') is a planned Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station. It is expected to launch on 25 April 2024, near...

Shenzhou 18

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

Seventh crewed flight to the Chinese space station.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • April 25, 2024, 2 p.m.

Launch success.


Cosmic_Penguin • April 25, 2024, 1 p.m.

Liftoff.


LL2 • April 25, 2024, 9:58 a.m.

Unofficial Re-stream by VideoFromSpace has started


Cosmic_Penguin • April 15, 2024, 9:20 a.m.

Added launch window per NOTAMs.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 15, 2024, 8:13 a.m.

NET April 25.


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 18


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 3 Crew Capacity: 3
Destination: Tiangong Space Station
Serial Number: 18

Seventh crewed mission to the Chinese Space Station.

Shenzhou Details

Crew


Ye Guangfu

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Sept. 1, 1980
Age: 45

Cong Li

Engineer - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Oct. 1, 1989
Age: 36

Guangsu Li

Engineer - configurations.Country.None - ( CNSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: July 1, 1987
Age: 38

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

(CASC)

Chairman & President: Lei Fanpei Founded: 1999 Successes: 567 Failures: 15 Pending: 12

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

SpaceNews

China’s Shenzhou-18 crew arrive at Tiangong space station

China’s three Shenzhou-18 mission astronauts arrived at the Tiangong space station Thursday following launch from Jiuquan spaceport.

SpacePolicyOnline.com

New Chinese Space Station Crew Arrives at Tiangong-3 Space Station

China continued its new pattern of space station crew exchanges today with the launch of the three-man Shenzhou-18 crew. They docked with the Tiangong-3 space station 6.5 hours after launch […]

NASASpaceflight

Launch Roundup: SpaceX lands its 300th booster, NASA tests a solar sail, and China launches three more taikonauts

During the last full week of April, forthcoming launches include two Starlink missions planned on Monday and Friday, and another two more Falcon 9 flights lifting customer satellites. The first of these is the delayed WorldView Legion 1 & …

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 91 (SLS-1 / 921)


Atlas V 551
Success
2 days, 7 hours ago
Amazon Leo (LA-05)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…


Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
Success
3 days, 6 hours ago
Meridian-M No.21L
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Meridian is a series of communications satellite for military and civilian use.


Tianlong-3
Failure
3 days, 8 hours ago
Demo Flight
Tianlong-3 Launch Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 rocket.


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 1 hour ago
Starlink Group 10-58
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Space Launch System (SLS)
Success
4 days, 14 hours ago
Artemis II
Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Artemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon …


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 15 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-44
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Transporter 16 (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.


Kinetica 2
Success
1 week ago
Demo Flight (Qingzhou Prototype Spacecraft)
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch and mission of CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 rocket, with 3 spacecraft on board: * New March 02 (Qingzhou space station cargo resupply …


Electron
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

The European Space Agency (ESA)'s LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing) demonstrator mission will feature a 10-satellite const…


Long March 2C/YZ-1S
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Shiyan 33
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese satellite reported to be for "space environment research" purposes. Actual usage not known.