Shenzhou 16

Shenzhou 16 (Chinese: 神舟十六号; pinyin: Shénzhōu Shíliù-hào; lit. 'Divine Boat Number 16') is a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 30 May, 2023 at 9:31 AM CST (UTC +8) on board a Shenzhou spacecraft. It carries two People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts and a payload specialist from Beihang University. The mission is the eleventh crewed and sixteenth flight overall of the Shenzhou program.

Shenzhou 16
Launch of Shenzhou 16 on a Long March 2F
Mission typeTiangong Space Station crew transport
OperatorChina Manned Space Agency
COSPAR ID2023-077A
SATCAT no.56761Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration155 days (planned)
150 days, 15 hours and 47 minutes (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftShenzhou 16
Spacecraft typeShenzhou
ManufacturerChina Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Crew
Crew size3
MembersJing Haipeng
Zhu Yangzhu
Gui Haichao
EVAs1
EVA duration7 hours 55 minutes
Start of mission
Launch date30 May 2023, 01:31 UTC
RocketLong March 2F
Launch siteJiuquan, LA-4/SLS
ContractorChina Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
End of mission
Landing date31 October 2023 (planned)
Landing siteDongfeng landing site, Inner Mongolia, China
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination41.5°
Docking with Tiangong Space Station
Docking portTianhe nadir
Docking date30 May 2023, 08:29 UTC
Undocking date30 October 2023 (planned)
Time docked150 days, 8 hours and 49 minutes (In Progress)

Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu
 

Background

Shenzhou 16 will be the fifth long-duration spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, and will last about six months.

The spacecraft completed construction and testing in December 2022 and before launch was on standby for an emergency rescue mission of the Shenzhou 15 crew.[1]

Mission

The flight launched from JSLC on May 30, 2023, 9:31 AM following the launch of Tianzhou 6 and near the end of the Shenzhou 15 mission.[2] The spacecraft successfully docked with Tiangong under 7 hours after lift-off.

The two crews performed a handover in space prior to the departure of the Shenzhou 15 crew on June 3.[3][4]

Spacewalk

On 20 July 2023, the first scheduled spacewalk of Shenzhou 16 was carried out by Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu through the airlock of the Wentian lab module, with Gui Haichao assisting the pair from inside the Tianhe core module. The crew completed a variety of tasks, including the installation and lifting of the support frame for a panoramic camera outside Tiangong's Tianhe core module and unlocking and lifting two panoramic cameras outside the Mengtian experiment module. The spacewalk lasted for 7 hours and 55 minutes.[5]

Crew
Position Crew member
Commander China Jing Haipeng, PLAAC CMSA
Fourth spaceflight
Flight engineer China Zhu Yangzhu, PLAAC CMSA
First spaceflight
Payload Specialist China Gui Haichao, CMSA
First spaceflight

The Shenzhou 16 mission marks Commander Jing Haipeng's fourth trip to space, a new record for China. Payload specialist Gui Haichao, a professor at Beihang University, became the first Chinese civilian in space.[6] Gui and Zhu are also the first members of Chinese Group 3 to fly to space.

See also

References
  1. Shenzhou-16 spacecraft put on standby for emergency missions, retrieved 2022-12-18
  2. "2023年度载人航天任务基本情况" [Basic Situation of Manned Space Missions in 2023]. CMSA (in Chinese). 15 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. "China set to launch Shenzhou-15 spacecraft to its space station on Tuesday". Reuters. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  4. "Watch China's Shenzhou 16 astronauts enter Tiangong space station (Video)". Space.com. 30 May 2023.
  5. "China's Shenzhou 16 astronauts complete 1st spacewalk (video)". Space. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. "Update: China unveils Shenzhou-16 crew for space station mission-Xinhua".
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