Shenzhou 12

Shenzhou 12

Launch of Long March 2F with 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
Rocket	Long March 2F
Launch site	Jiuquan, SLS-1
Contractor	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
End of mission
Landing date	September 2021 (planned)
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
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 programme

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.

Mission

Diagram of a Shenzhou spacecraft, like the one that flew on Shenzhou 12.

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. The flight will mark the first of four crewed missions, by the end of construction in 2022.

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.

Two spacewalks are planned to occur during the crew's approximately three-month stay in orbit.

Crew

The crew was publicly announced in a press conference on 16 June 2021.

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