NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

Shenzhou 11

Launch Time
Sun Oct 16, 2016 23:30 UTC

Only crewed mission to dock to Tiangong 2.

Rocket

Long March 2F/G
Image Credit: CASC
CASC
Status: Active
Liftoff Thrust: 5,985 kN
Payload to LEO: 8,600 kg
Payload to GTO: 0 kg
Stages: 2
Strap-ons: 4
Rocket Height: 58.34 m
Fairing Diameter: 3.6 m
Fairing Height: 19.11 m

Mission Details

Shenzhou 11

Shenzhou 11 was a crewed spaceflight of the Shenzhou program of China, launched on 17 October 2016. It was China's sixth crewed space mission, and its longest to date, at 33 days. Two days after launch, it docked with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, which had been launched on September 15, 2016.

The mission's main objective was to rendezvous and dock with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory and gain experience from a 30-day residence, and test its life-support systems.

In the two days after the launch, it changed its orbit five times to arrive 52 kilometers behind the Tiangong-2 space lab. It autonomously rendezvoused and docked with Tiangong-2 at 3:24 p.m. EDT on October 18, 2016, while both spacecraft were at an altitude of 393 km.

The crew landed successfully after the 33-day mission on 18 November 2016. The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia around 2:15 pm (China time) after undocking from the space lab on 17 November.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 7,840.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit

Location

Site 901 (SLS-1), Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China

Stats

2016

62nd orbital launch attempt

Long March 2F

13th mission
2nd mission of 2016
13th successful mission