 Liftoff of Shenzhou 21 | |
| Mission type | Tiangong space station crew transport |
|---|---|
| Operator | China Manned Space Agency |
| COSPAR ID | 2025-246A |
| SATCATno. | 66263 |
| Mission duration | 13 days, 16 hours, 55 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Shenzhou |
| Manufacturer | China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Launching | |
| Landing | Chen Dong Chen Zhongrui Wang Jie[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 31 October 2025, 15:44:46 UTC (23:44:46 CST) |
| Rocket | Long March 2F |
| Launch site | Jiuquan,LA-4/SLS |
| Contractor | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 14 November 2025, 08:40 UTC |
| Landing site | Inner Mongolia, China |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 41.5° |
| Docking withTiangong space station | |
| Docking port | Tianhe forward |
| Docking date | 31 October 2025, 19:22 UTC[2] |
| Undocking date | 14 November 2025, 03:14 UTC |
| Time docked | 13 days, 7 hours, 52 minutes |
 Mission patch | |
Shenzhou 21 (Chinese:神舟二十一号;pinyin:Shénzhōu èrshíyī-hào;lit. 'Divine Boat Number 21') was a Chinese spaceflight to theTiangong space station, launched on 31 October 2025.[3] It carried threetaikonauts on board aShenzhou spacecraft. The mission is the 16th crewed Chinese spaceflight and the 21st flight overall of theShenzhou program. The flight marked the tenth crew rotation to the Tiangong station, which has been continuously occupied since June 2021.
The Shenzhou 21 spacecraft was originally scheduled to complete a six-month rotation at Tiangong. However, due to suspectedspace debris damage to theShenzhou 20 spacecraft, Shenzhou 21 returned to Earth early after only a two-week stay, carrying the Shenzhou 20 crew. The Shenzhou 21 mission crew remains at Tiangong.[4]
Shenzhou 21 was launched aboard aLong March 2F rocket fromLaunch Area 4 at theJiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 31 October 2025 at 15:44:46 UTC (23:44:46 CST, local time at the launch site).[5]
Prior to launch, the taikonauts took part in a formal send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Astronaut Systems Engineering Office—a tradition dating to Shenzhou 5 in 2003—before traveling by motorcade to the pad for spacecraft ingress about 2 hours, 20 minutes before liftoff.[5]
After orbital insertion, Shenzhou 21 conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the forward port of Tiangong'sTianhe core module at 19:22 UTC,[2] taking approximately three and a half hours to reach the station. This was three hours faster than the Shenzhou 20 docking sequence and significantly faster than the two days trip prior toShenzhou 14.[5]Once docked to Tianhe's forward port, the crew entered the station and took over operations from the departingShenzhou 20 crew ofChen Dong,Chen Zhongrui, andWang Jie, who have been in orbit since April 2025.
The two crews were expected to overlap for about one week before Shenzhou 20's scheduled return to Earth in early November 2025.[5] However, the return of the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft has been delayed indefinitely due to suspected damage fromspace debris.[6]
On November 11, the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft returned to Earth early after a two-week stay at the station, carrying the crew ofShenzhou 20.[7] The Shenzhou 21 crew remains on board Tiangong, and on November 25, theShenzhou 22 spacecraft was flown uncrewed to the space station to serve as their return vehicle.[8]
On December 9, Wu Fei and Zhang Lu conducted an 8-hour spacewalk that inspected the damage to the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft.[9]
During their six-month stay, the Shenzhou 21 crew will conduct 27 scientific experiments, including China's first study of rodent mammals in orbit. Four mice accompanied the crew to examine the effects of microgravity and confined living conditions; they will later return to Earth aboard Shenzhou 20. Other experiments will focus on new-energy research and biological adaptation in microgravity.[5]
The crew is also expected to receive theTianzhou 10 cargo spacecraft and prepare for handover to theShenzhou 23 mission in 2026. They may become the first crew to utilize the upgradedFeitian space suits, delivered to the station byTianzhou 9 earlier in the year.[5]
The crew for the Shenzhou 21 mission was selected in February 2025,[10] but, in keeping with China's past practice, their names were not announced until the day before the launch. The mission is commanded byZhang Lu, who previously flew onShenzhou 15 in 2022–23. He is joined by flight engineerWu Fei, a researcher at theChina Academy of Space Technology, andZhang Hongzhang, a payload specialist from theDalian Institute of Chemical Physics. Wu, aged 32 at launch, became the youngest taikonaut to fly in space. Both Wu and Zhang Hongzhang were selected in 2020 as part of China's third group of taikonauts.[5]
| Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Zhang Lu Second spaceflight | Chen Dong Third spaceflight |
| Flight engineer/Operator | Wu Fei First spaceflight | Chen Zhongrui First spaceflight |
| Payload Specialist/Flight Engineer | Zhang Hongzhang First spaceflight | Wang Jie First spaceflight |
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