Shenzhou_11

Shenzhou 11

Shenzhou 11

2016 Chinese crewed spaceflight to Tiangong-2

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 first and only expedition and mission to Tiangong-2 in this portion of the Tiangong program.

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Crew

The crew consisted of two taikonauts.[1][5] Commander Jing celebrated his 50th birthday while in orbit.[6]

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Back-up crew
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The mission selected two crew instead of three to extend supplies to increase mission length for their long duration stay.[7]

Mission

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]

References

  1. [1]
    "China's Shenzhou 11 blasts off on space station mission". BBC News. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  2. [2]
    Perlez, Jane (16 October 2016). "China Astronauts to Attempt Nation's Longest Space Mission". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  3. [3]
    de Selding, Peter B. (20 June 2016). "China prepares assembly of its space station, invites collaboration through U.N." SpaceNews. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  4. [4]
    Wall, Mike (19 October 2016). "Chinese Astronauts Dock with Tiangong-2 Space Lab". Space.com. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. [5]
    Huang, Jin (8 March 2016). "Why will Shenzhou-11 carry only two astronauts to space?". People's Daily. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  6. [6]
    "China launches longest manned space mission". Reuters. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  7. [7]
    Clark, Michael (19 October 2016). "Shenzhou 11 and Tiangong 2". Space Pod. TMRO. Retrieved 25 June 2021 – via YouTube.
  8. [8]
    "China's Shenzhou-11 successfully docks with Tiangong-2 spacelab". CCTV America. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  9. [9]
    Griffiths, James (18 November 2016). "Shenzhou-11 astronauts return home after China's longest-ever space mission". CNN. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
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