 Diagram of Shenzhou 10 (right) docked withTiangong-1 (left) | |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-029A |
|---|---|
| SATCATno. | 39179 |
| Mission duration | 14 days, 14 hours, 29 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Shenzhou |
| Manufacturer | CASC |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members | Nie Haisheng Zhang Xiaoguang Wang Yaping |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 11 June 2013, 09:38:02 (2013-06-11UTC09:38:02Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Long March 2F |
| Launch site | JiuquanLA-4/SLS |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 26 June 2013, 00:07 (2013-06-26UTC00:08Z) UTC |
| Landing site | Inner Mongolia |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 262 kilometres (163 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 315 kilometres (196 mi) |
| Inclination | 42.7 degrees |
| Period | 90.28 minutes |
| Epoch | 12 June 2013[1] |
| Docking withTiangong-1 | |
| Docking date | 13 June 2013, 05:11 UTC |
| Undocking date | 25 June 2013 |
| Time docked | 12 days |
 (L-R)Haisheng,Xiaoguang andYaping | |
Shenzhou 10 (Chinese:神舟十号;pinyin:Shénzhōu Shíhào) was acrewed spaceflight ofChina'sShenzhou program that was launched on 11 June 2013. It was China's fifth crewed space mission.[2][3] The mission had a crew of three astronauts:Nie Haisheng, who was mission commander and previously flew onShenzhou 6;Zhang Xiaoguang, a formerPLAAF squadron commander who conducted therendezvous anddocking; andWang Yaping, the second Chinese female astronaut. The Shenzhou spacecraft docked with theTiangong-1 trial space laboratory module on 13 June,[4] and the astronauts performed physical, technological, and scientific experiments while on board. Shenzhou 10 was the 2nd and final expedition and mission to Tiangong-1 in this portion of theTiangong program.[5] On 26 June 2013, after a series of successful docking tests, Shenzhou 10 returned toEarth.[6]
Prior to the reboost of Tiangong-1 on 30 August 2012, it was projected that a launch window would open between late November and December 2012, when Tiangong-1's orbit had decayed to the level of a Shenzhou's standard orbit. With the reboost, it was expected that the orbital decay would bring Tiangong-1 within reach again in late January, so the Shenzhou 10 mission was anticipated for late January or February 2013.[7] At the18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a space official stated that Shenzhou 10 was planned for the period between June and August 2013.[8]
It is the fifth crewed mission of the Shenzhou program, coming ten years after the original,Shenzhou 5.[9]
From 2012 November onwards, a feed of information ensued, including a desire for the crew to have a female member and that the actual launch date would be at the beginning of the June–August period. Knowledge of the conditions that China sets for launch windows for its piloted spacecraft allowed the likely launch date to be calculated as somewhere in the period between 7 and 13 June.[10]
Xinhua News Agency published an item from theBeijing Times that summed up the aims of the mission, and included the information thatWang Yaping was the only female trainee in the group of astronaut candidates.[11] Wang Yaping was announced to be one of the crew in April 2013, the only member of the crew revealed until June, when the rest of the crew was revealed. The crew of Shenzhou 10 previously served as the backup crew toShenzhou 9.[12][13] WithNie Haisheng's elevation to general, this marked the first instance that China would launch aflag officer into space, after they had become a general officer.[14]
Shenzhou 10 was launched on 11 June 2013, at 09:38 UTC (17:38 local time). ALong March 2F[15] carrier rocket was used to perform the launch, flying fromPad 1 of the South Launch Site at theJiuquan Satellite Launch Center inInner Mongolia. The spacecraft successfully reachedlow Earth orbit before the rocket detached. With a duration of 15 days, Shenzhou 10 was China's longest human spaceflight mission to date,[16][17] surpassing the previous record holder,Shenzhou 9 by two days.[18] CPC General Secretary, Chinese PresidentXi Jinping was present for both the departure ceremony, and the launch itself.[19]
The spacecraft docked with Tiangong-1 at 05:11 UTC on 13 June. The crew opened the hatch three hours later and entered the laboratory module.[20]
Shenzhou 10 returned to Earth on Wednesday, 26 June 2013 00:07 UTC. Total mission duration was 14 days 14 hours and 29 minutes.[21]
Once docked at Tiangong-1, the three crew members conductedspace medicine and technological experiments and other scientific endeavours. Nie Haisheng was mission commander, overseeing docking procedures, and pilot Zhang Xiaoguang was in charge of rendezvous and docking. Wang Yaping conducted the scientific experiments and taught a physics lesson to Chinese students by live television broadcast.[22] On 23 June, Shenzhou 10 undocked from the station and performed a manual re-docking.[23]
| Position | Crew member | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Nie Haisheng Second spaceflight | |
| Operator[15] | Zhang Xiaoguang First spaceflight | |
| Laboratory Assistant[15] | Wang Yaping First spaceflight | |
While in orbit, Wang Yaping was one of only two women in space on 16 June 2013, the 50th anniversary ofVostok 6, the first space flight by a woman,Valentina Tereshkova. The other woman in space that day wasKaren Nyberg on board theInternational Space Station.[24]
