Shenzhou 11 was a crewed spaceflight of the Shenzhou program of China, launched on 17 October 2016 (16 October UTC) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.[1] It was China's sixth crewed space mission, at 33 days,[2] it was the longest until the follow up Shenzhou 12 mission which lasted 3 months. Two days after launch, it docked with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, which had been launched on 15 September 2016.[1][3][4] Shenzhou 11 was the 1st and only expedition and mission to Tiangong-2 in this portion of the Tiangong program.
![]() Mockup of Shenzhou 11 spacecraft (right) docking with the Tiangong-2 (left) | |
Operator | China National Space Administration (CNSA) |
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COSPAR ID | 2016-061A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 41812![]() |
Mission duration | 33 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Shenzhou |
Manufacturer | CASC |
Crew | |
Crew size | 2 |
Members | Jing Haipeng Chen Dong |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 16 October 2016, 23:30 UTC |
Rocket | Long March 2F |
Launch site | Jiuquan LA-4/SLS |
End of mission | |
Landing date | 18 November 2016, 05:59 UTC |
Landing site | Inner Mongolia |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Docking with Tiangong-2 | |
Docking date | 18 October 2016, 17:24 UTC |
Undocking date | 14 November 2016, 4:41 UTC |
![]() (L-R) Haipeng and Dong Shenzhou program |
The crew consisted of two taikonauts.[1][5] Commander Jing celebrated his 50th birthday while in orbit.[6]
Position | Crew member | |
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Commander | Jing Haipeng Third spaceflight | |
Operator | Chen Dong First spaceflight |
The mission selected two crew instead of three to extend supplies to increase mission length for their long duration stay.[7]
The Shenzhou 11 launched at 07:30 on 17 October 2016 local time (23:30 UTC on 16 October) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 2F launch rocket.[1]
The mission's main objective was to rendezvous and dock with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory and gain experience from a 30-day residence,[5] and to test its life-support systems.[1]
In the two days after the launch, it changed its orbit five times to arrive 52 kilometres behind the Tiangong-2 space lab. It autonomously rendezvoused and docked with Tiangong-2 at 3:24 p.m. EDT on 18 October 2016, while both spacecraft were at an altitude of 393 km (244 mi).[4][8]
The crew landed successfully after the 33-day mission on 18 November 2016. The reentry module of the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft landed in Dorbod Banner, Inner Mongolia around 2:15 p.m. (China time) after undocking from the space lab on 17 November.[9]
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Shenzhou missions |
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Tianzhou missions |
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← 2015 · Orbital launches in 2016 · 2017 → | |
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January | |
February | BeiDou M3-S – USA-266 / GPS IIF-12 – Kosmos 2514 / GLONASS-M 751 – Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 – USA-267 / NROL-45 / Topaz-4 – Sentinel-3A – ASTRO-H / Hitomi · ChubuSat-2 · ChubuSat-3 · Horyu-4 |
March | SES-9 – Eutelsat 65 West A – IRNSS-1F – Resurs-P No.3 – ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Schiaparelli EDM – Soyuz TMA-20M – Cygnus CRS OA-6 (Diwata-1 · Flock-2e' × 20 · Lemur-2 × 9) – Kosmos 2515 / Bars-M No.2 – BeiDou IGSO-6 – Progress MS-02 |
April | Shijian-10 – Dragon CRS-8 · BEAM – Sentinel-1B · MICROSCOPE · AAUSAT-4 · e-st@r-II · OUFTI-1 – Mikhailo Lomonosov · Aist-2D · SamSat 218 – IRNSS-1G |
May | JCSAT-14 – Yaogan 30 – Galileo FOC-10, FOC-11 – Thaicom 8 – Kosmos 2516 / GLONASS-M 753 – Ziyuan III-02 · ÑuSat 1, 2 |
June | Kosmos 2517 / Geo-IK-2 No.12 – Intelsat 31 / DLA-2 – USA-268 / NROL-37 – BeiDou G7 – Eutelsat 117 West B · ABS-2A – Echostar 18 · BRIsat – CartoSat-2C · BIROS · GHGsat · LAPAN-A3 · M3MSat · SkySat-C1 · Flock-2p × 12 · SathyabamaSat · Swayam – MUOS-5 – Chinese next-generation crew capsule scale model · Aolong-1 · Aoxiang Zhixing · Tiange-1 · Tiange-2 – Shijian 16-02 |
July | |
August | Tiantong-1 01 – Gaofen-3 – JCSAT-16 – QUESS / Mozi / Micius · ³Cat-2 · LiXing-1 – USA-270 / GSSAP #3 · USA-271 / GSSAP #4 – Intelsat 33e · Intelsat 36 – Gaofen-10 |
September | Amos-6 – INSAT-3DR – OSIRIS-REx – Ofek-11 – Tiangong-2 – PeruSat-1 · SkySat × 4 – ScatSat-1 · Alsat-1B · Alsat-2B · Blacksky Pathfinder-1 · Alsat-1N · CanX-7 · PISat · Pratham |
October | |
November | Himawari 9 – Shijian-17 – XPNAV 1 – WorldView-4 · CELTEE 1 · Prometheus-2 × 2 · AeroCube 8 × 2 · U2U · RAVAN – Yunhai-1 – Galileo FOC 7, 12, 13, 14 – Soyuz MS-03 – GOES-R – Tianlian I-04 |
December | Progress MS-04 – Göktürk-1 – Resourcesat-2A – WGS-8 – HTV-6 / Kounotori 6 · (EGG · TuPOD · UBAKUSAT · AOBA-VELOX · STARS · FREEDOM · ITF · Waseda-SAT · OSNSAT · Tancredo-1 · TechEDSat · Lemur-2 × 4) – Fengyun 4A – CYGNSS × 8 – EchoStar 19 – Arase / ERG – TanSat · Spark × 2 – Star One D1 · JCSAT-15 – SuperView / Gaojing-1 01, 02 · Bayi Kepu 1 |
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