Shenzhou 12
Mission type | Chinese Space Station crew transport |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 2021-053A |
SATCAT no. | 48852 |
Mission duration | 90 days (planned) 1232 days, 9 hours and 52 minutes (in progress) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Shenzhou 12 |
Spacecraft type | Shenzhou |
Manufacturer | China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation |
Crew | |
Crew size | 3 |
Members | Nie Haisheng Liu Boming Tang Hongbo |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 17 June 2021, 01:22:31 UTC[1] |
Rocket | Long March 2F |
Launch site | Jiuquan, SLS-1 |
Contractor | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology |
End of mission | |
Landing date | September 2021 (planned) [2] |
Landing site | Inner Mongolia, China |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 41.5° |
Docking with Chinese Space Station | |
Docking port | Tianhe Forward port |
Docking date | 17 June 2021, 07:54:00[1] |
Time docked | 3 years, 4 months and 14 days (in progress) 90 days (planned) |
Shenzhou 12 mission patch Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming |
Shenzhou 12 (Chinese: 神舟十二号; pinyin: Shénzhōu shí'èr hào; lit. 'Divine Vessel') is a Chinese spaceflight that launched on 17 June 2021. The flight marks the seventh crewed Chinese spaceflight and the seventh crewed flight of the Shenzhou program. The spacecraft is carrying three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on the first flight to the Tianhe core module, the first module of the Chinese Space Station.[3]
Mission
Shenzhou 12 was originally planned as the second visiting mission for the experimental Tiangong-2 space station, following Shenzhou 11. In 2016, plans for a second mission to Tiangong-2 were cancelled, and Shenzhou 12 was replanned as the first crewed Shenzhou mission to the Tiangong space station which currently consists of one module, Tianhe, launched on 29 April 2021.[4] The flight will mark the first of four crewed missions, by the end of construction in 2022.[3]
The mission docked with the Tianhe core module following the launch and successful docking of Tianzhou 2, the second flight of China's Tianzhou cargo resupply craft. Tianzhou 2 was able to remain docked, because the Tianhe core module has four docking ports, unlike China's two previous space stations which only had one.[5]
Two spacewalks are planned to occur during the crew's approximately three-month stay in orbit.[6]
Crew
The crew was publicly announced in a press conference on 16 June 2021.[7]
Position | Crew Member | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Nie Haisheng, PLAAC 3rd spaceflight | |
Operator 1 | Liu Boming, PLAAC 2nd spaceflight | |
Operator 2 | Tang Hongbo, PLAAC 1st spaceflight |
Backup crew
Position | Crew Member | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Zhai Zhigang, PLAAC | |
Operator 1 | Wang Yaping, PLAAC | |
Operator 2 | Ye Guangfu, PLAAC |
References
- ^ a b Becker, Joachim (17 June 2021). "Spaceflight mission report: Shenzhou 12". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "长征二号F/G Y12 • 神舟十二号载人飞船 • LongMarch 2F/G Y12 • Shenzhou-12". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 21 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ a b Barbosa, Rui C. (1 March 2021). "China preparing to build Tiangong station in 2021, complete by 2022". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "ChinaSpaceFlight". Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Long March 7 Tianzhou 2". Next Spaceflight. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ @Cosmic_Penguin (15 June 2021). "Oh it turns out the official crew announcement for Shenzhou 12 happened at the top of the hour!
T-0 01:22 UTC on June 17
CDR Nie Haisheng (SZ-6 & 10)
PLT Liu Boming (SZ-7)
PLT Tang Hongbo (new, class of 2010)
2 EVA planned during ~3 month expedition" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via Twitter. - ^ "China unveils Shenzhou-12 astronauts for space station construction". Xinhua News Agency. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.