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Shenzhou
Shenzhou progressed through uncrewed qualification, solo and multi-person orbital missions, laboratories, and regular long-duration crew rotations to Tiangong.
- Missions
- 23
- People
- 30
- Vehicles
- 1
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From independent flight to a permanent station
Shenzhou progressed through uncrewed qualification, solo and multi-person orbital missions, laboratories, and regular long-duration crew rotations to Tiangong.
Program details1999–presentChina Manned Space Agency · 1999–present
Flight record23 flights17 crewed · 6 uncrewed
First flown missionShenzhou 1November 19-20, 1999
Latest flown missionShenzhou 23May 24, 2026-present
Core capabilities
Program story
Four uncrewed flights qualified Shenzhou between 1999 and 2003. Yang Liwei then flew Shenzhou 5, making China the third nation to launch a person into orbit with its own spacecraft and rocket.
Shenzhou 6 and 7 expanded crew size and operations, including China's first spacewalk. Shenzhou 8 demonstrated uncrewed docking with Tiangong-1, followed by crewed laboratory missions and Shenzhou 11's month-long visit to Tiangong-2.
Beginning with Shenzhou 12 in 2021, the spacecraft became the regular crew transport for the modular Tiangong station. Shenzhou 22 demonstrated the program's emergency replacement capability, and Shenzhou 23 began a planned year-long stay experiment in 2026.