# Shenzhou by China Manned Space Agency

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/shenzhou
Frontier: [Spaceflight](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight.md) · Field: Crew & cargo vehicles · Company: [China Manned Space Agency](https://technooptimist.io/companies/cmsa.md)
Stage: Deploy (4 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-05-25, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Give China its own way to fly people to orbit and back, keeping Tiangong crewed all year with six-month rotations and a docked lifeboat, until the larger Mengzhou ship takes over.
Status: Shenzhou-23 crew aboard Tiangong since May 2026; Shenzhou-24 due in late 2026 with a Pakistani visitor.
Next milestone: Shenzhou-24 crew launch, with a short Pakistani visit, target Q4 2026

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Shenzhou 1, first uncrewed test flight | 19 Nov 1999 |   |
| Done | Shenzhou 5 flies Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut | 15 Oct 2003 |   |
| Done | Shenzhou-20 window cracks; crew returns on Shenzhou-21 | 14 Nov 2025 |   |
| Done | Uncrewed Shenzhou-22 launched as a replacement lifeboat | 25 Nov 2025 |   |
| Done | Damaged Shenzhou-20 returns uncrewed after in-orbit repairs | Jan 2026 |   |
| Done | Shenzhou-23 flies the first astronaut from Hong Kong | 24 May 2026 |   |
| Current | Shenzhou-24 crew launch, with a short Pakistani visit | Q4 2026 |   |
| Planned | One Shenzhou-23 crew member completes about a year in orbit | 2027 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **Q4 2026**: Shenzhou-24 crew launch, with a short Pakistani visit
- **2027**: One Shenzhou-23 crew member completes about a year in orbit

## Most important updates

- **25 May 2026**: Shenzhou-23 docks at Tiangong with Hong Kong's first astronaut; one crew member to stay a year. Shenzhou-23 launched from Jiuquan at 11:08 pm on May 24 and docked with Tiangong's Tianhe core module about 3.5 hours later. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/shenzhou-23-docks-at-tiangong-with-hong-kong-s-first-astronaut-one-crew-21ba59b8.md) · [original source](https://starlust.org/shenzhou-23-spacecraft-carrying-hong-kongs-first-spacefarer-docks-to-chinas-tiangong-space-station))
- **Jan 2026**: Damaged Shenzhou-20 capsule survives an uncrewed reentry after in-orbit repairs. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, whose window was cracked by a suspected debris impact, returned safely to Earth without a crew after internal repairs in orbit. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/damaged-shenzhou-20-capsule-survives-an-uncrewed-reentry-after-in-orbit-09a074f2.md) · [original source](https://spacenews.com/damaged-shenzhou-20-spacecraft-survives-reentry-shenzhou-23-arrives-at-spaceport/))
- **25 Nov 2025**: China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to replace the cracked Shenzhou-20 lifeboat at Tiangong. China launched Shenzhou-22 without a crew from Jiuquan and docked it to Tiangong about 3.5 hours later. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/china-launches-uncrewed-shenzhou-22-to-replace-the-cracked-shenzhou-20-eb376e71.md) · [original source](https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/china-launches-uncrewed-replacement-for-damaged-shenzhou-20/))

## Current obstacles

- **Debris can disable the lifeboat**: A suspected debris hit cracked Shenzhou-20's window in Nov 2025, leaving the crew with no safe ride home for 11 days until Shenzhou-22 arrived.
- **Three seats limit crew swaps**: A year-long stay means a seat has to be freed: a Pakistani visitor on Shenzhou-24 is to come home with Shenzhou-23 crew, taking the stayer's seat.

## Physics limits

- **Orbital debris hits at bullet-beating speed**: In low orbit, even a paint fleck travels around 17,500 mph relative to a spacecraft. Shielding adds mass, and windows cannot be armoured like the hull, so some risk always remains.
- **Every seat costs tonnes**: A capsule must carry its crew, air, heat shield and parachutes through launch and reentry. Adding seats grows the whole ship and rocket, which is why Shenzhou stops at three.

## How it works

### Three modules: Living room, capsule, engine room

A front module adds living and storage space, the middle capsule carries the crew up and down, and a rear module holds power, life support and engines.

### Only one comes back: Only the capsule returns

The 3.2 t middle capsule is the only part built to survive reentry; the other two modules are discarded before reentry, which keeps the heat shield small.

### Fast docking: From launch pad to station in 3.5 hours

The ship launches into a path that lets it catch Tiangong within a few orbits, so crews dock about three and a half hours after liftoff.

### Lifeboat: Docked as the crew's way home

Each Shenzhou stays at the station for about six months. If it is damaged, the crew has no safe ride home until a replacement arrives.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Shenzhou | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crew | 3 | reported |
| Mass | 7,840 kg | reported |
| Length × diameter | 9.25 m × 2.8 m | reported |
| Habitable volume | 14 m³ (6 m³ in the return capsule) | reported |
| Docked life at Tiangong | About 200 days | reported |
| Free-flight endurance | 20 days | reported |
| Launch to docking | About 3.5 hours | reported |
| Average power | About 1.5 kW from 40+ m² of solar arrays | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## Peer comparison

- [Roscosmos Soyuz MS & Progress MS](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/soyuz-ms.md) (Deploy): Crew 3; Launch to docking About 3 hours

## About China Manned Space Agency

CMSA, founded 1993, oversees China's crewed spaceflight. Operates Tiangong, currently the only permanently crewed orbital station besides ISS and will be the sole operator after ISS retires in early 2031.

- Tiangong: three modules (Tianhe core, Wentian and Mengtian labs) in T-shaped orbit.
- Three-person crews rotate every six months; cross-shape expansion announced June 2026.
- Will be sole crewed orbital outpost after ISS retires in early 2031; China's sole human presence.

- Founded: 1993
- Headquarters: CN
- Status: public
- People: Hao Chun (Director); Lin Xiqiang (Deputy Director)
- Partners, customers, investors: China National Space Administration (partner); China Academy of Space Technology (supplier)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/cmsa.md

## Related programs

More from China Manned Space Agency:

- [Tiangong Space Station](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/tiangong.md) (Deploy)
- [Mengzhou & Lanyue Lunar System](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/mengzhou.md) (Proto)
- [Xuntian (CSST) space telescope](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/xuntian.md) (Proto)

Everything in Spaceflight: https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight.md

---

The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt).
Data API (JSON, realtime stream): https://technooptimist.io/developers. People read 5 pages free, then Reader $10/month; these Markdown pages are open to agents.