List of Tiangong Space Station expeditions

Last updated

First gathering of two Chinese astronaut crews on Tiangong Space Station on 30 November 2022, some days before Expedition 3 to 4 crew handover First gathering on Tiangong.jpg
First gathering of two Chinese astronaut crews on Tiangong Space Station on 30 November 2022, some days before Expedition 3 to 4 crew handover

This is a chronological list of permanent expeditions to Tiangong space station , a Chinese space station in low Earth orbit from 2021. An expedition to the TSS refers to the crew that is occupying the space station and using it for research and testing. Expeditions can last up to six months and include three during the regular station and six crew members during the time of crew swap. [1] Starting with Expedition 3 (Shenzhou 14), crew rotation have overlapped so that the station remains continuously inhabited.

Contents

Expeditions are numbered starting from one and sequentially increased with each expedition. Resupply mission crews and space tourists are excluded (see List of human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station for details). TSS commanders are listed in bold. "Duration" is the period of time between the crew's launch from Earth and until their decoupling from the TSS.

Past expeditions

ExpeditionCrewArrivalDepartureDuration
(days)
DateFlightDateFlight
Expedition 1 [2]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Nie Haisheng
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Liu Boming
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tang Hongbo
17 June 2021
07:54 UTC
Shenzhou 12 16 September 2021
00:56 UTC
Shenzhou 12 ~91 days
station uncrewed
Expedition 2 [3]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhai Zhigang
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ye Guangfu
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wang Yaping
15 October 2021
22:56 UTC
Shenzhou 13 15 April 2022
16:44 UTC
Shenzhou 13 ~182 days
station uncrewed
Expedition 3 [4] Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Chen Dong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Liu Yang
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Cai Xuzhe
5 June 2022
09:42 UTC
Shenzhou 14 4 December 2022
03:01 UTC
Shenzhou 14 ~182 days
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Fei Junlong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Deng Qingming
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhang Lu
29 November 2022
21:42 UTC
Shenzhou 15 Transferred to Expedition 4
Expedition 4 [5]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Fei Junlong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Deng Qingming
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhang Lu
Transferred from Expedition 33 June 2023
13:29 UTC
Shenzhou 15 ~186 days
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jing Haipeng
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhu Yangzhu
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Gui Haichao
30 May 2023
08:29 UTC
Shenzhou 16 Transferred to Expedition 5
Expedition 5 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jing Haipeng
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhu Yangzhu
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Gui Haichao
Transferred from Expedition 430 October 2023
12:37 UTC
Shenzhou 16 ~153 days
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tang Hongbo
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tang Shengjie
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jiang Xinlin
26 October 2023
09:46 UTC
Shenzhou 17 Transferred to Expedition 6
Expedition 6 [6]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tang Hongbo
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tang Shengjie
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jiang Xinlin
Transferred from Expedition 530 April 2024
00:43 UTC
Shenzhou 17 ~187 days
25 April 2024
19:32 UTC
Shenzhou 18 Transferred to Expedition 7
Expedition 7 [7]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ye Guangfu
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Cong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Guangsu
Transferred from Expedition 63 November 2024
08:12 UTC
Shenzhou 18 ~192 days
30 October 2024
03:00 UTC
Shenzhou 19 Transferred to Expedition 8
Expedition 8 [8]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Cai Xuzhe
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Song Lingdong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wang Haoze
Transferred from Expedition 730 April 2025
05:08 UTC
Shenzhou 19 ~182 days
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Chen Dong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Chen Zhongrui
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wang Jie
24 April 2025
15:49 UTC
Shenzhou 20 Will transfer to Expedition 9

Current expedition

ExpeditionCrewArrivalDepartureDuration
(days)
DateFlightDateFlight
Expedition 9 [9]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Chen Dong
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Chen Zhongrui
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wang Jie
Transferred from Expedition 8October 2025 (planned) Shenzhou 20 ~180 days
(planned)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
October 2025 (planned) Shenzhou 21 Will transfer to Expedition 10

Future expeditions

ExpeditionCrewArrivalDepartureDuration
(days)
DateFlightDateFlight
Expedition 10 [10]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Will transfer from Expedition 92026 (planned) Shenzhou 21 ~180 days
(planned)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg TBA
2026 (planned) Shenzhou 22 Will transfer to Expedition 11

See also

References

  1. "China's space station to host 6 astronauts by end of 2022-Xinhua".
  2. "Tiangong: Expedition 1". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  3. "Tiangong: Expedition 2". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  4. China Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (6 April 2022). "Shenzhou 14 to be launched by Long March 2F Y14 on June.05 2022" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 May 2022 via Twitter.
  5. China Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (6 April 2022). "Shenzhou 14 to be launched by Long March 2F Y14 on June.05 2022" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 May 2022 via Twitter.
  6. Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews . Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  7. Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews . Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews . Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  9. Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews . Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  10. Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews . Retrieved 11 May 2022.