Engineering:Shenzhou 12
 Diagram of a Shenzhou spacecraft, like the one that will fly on Shenzhou 12. | |
| Spacecraft properties | |
|---|---|
| Spacecraft type | Shenzhou |
| Manufacturer | CASC |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members | Nie Haisheng Deng Qingming Ye Guangfu |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 June 2021[1] |
| Rocket | Long March 2F |
| Launch site | Jiuquan LA-4/SLS |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | September 2021[2] |
| Landing site | Inner Mongolia |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Docking with Chinese Space Station | |
| Docking port | Tianhe |
| File:Shenzhou 12 insignia.png China Manned Space insignia Shenzhou programme | |
Shenzhou 12 is a Chinese spaceflight planned for launch on 10 June 2021. The flight will mark the seventh crewed Chinese spaceflight and the seventh crewed flight of the Shenzhou programme. The spacecraft is scheduled to carry three CNSA taikonauts on the first flight to Tianhe, the first module of the Chinese large modular space station.[1]
Crew
Following the first test launch of a Long March 5B rocket on 5 May 2020, it was confirmed that the flight crew had been internally named, although no details about who will fly the mission have been made public yet.[3] It was also at one point speculated that the mission might involve one or more women and could mark the first time a Chinese woman commands a space mission or performs an EVA.[4]
| Position | Crew Member [5] | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Nie Haisheng, CNSAThird spaceflight | |
| Operator 1 | Deng Qingming, CNSA First spaceflight | |
| Operator 2 | Ye Guangfu, CNSA First spaceflight | |
Mission
Shenzhou 12 was originally planned as the second visiting mission for the Tiangong-2 space station, following Shenzhou 11, although in 2016 plans for a second mission to Tiangong-2 were cancelled, and Shenzhou 12 was replanned as the first crewed Shenzhou mission to the Chinese large modular space station which at the time will only consist of one module, Tianhe, scheduled for launch in early 2021.[6] The flight will mark the first of four crewed missions, by the end of construction in 2022.[1]
The mission will visit the Tianhe Core Cabin Module following the launch of Tianzhou 2, the second flight of China's Tianzhou cargo resupply craft. Although it has not been made clear yet if Tianzhou 2 will remain on the station for the duration or any of Shenzhou 12's stay on the station, it is a possibility as the CCM will have more than one docking port as opposed to China's two previous space stations.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Barbosa, Rui C. (1 March 2021). "China preparing to build Tiangong station in 2021, complete by 2022". NASASpaceFlight. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/03/china-preparing-to-build-tiangong-station-in-2021-complete-by-2022/. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ↑ "长征二号F/G Y12 • 神舟十二号载人飞船 • LongMarch 2F/G Y12 • Shenzhou-12" (in zh). spaceflightfans.cn. 21 April 2021. http://www.spaceflightfans.cn/event/long-march-2f-launch-shenzhou-12-manned-spaceship.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/AJ_FI/status/1257644667258261510
- ↑ "SZ-12 Shenzhou-12 - CZ-2F - JSLC - 2020". https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=39624.0.
- ↑ "Chinese Space Station: Core module TianHe - Crews revealed". https://www.shymkent.info/space/chinese-spaceflight/chinese-space-station-core-module-tianhe/.
- ↑ "Notitie op de muur". https://vk.com/chinaspaceflight?w=wall-119361981_6416.
- ↑ "Long March 7 | Tianzhou 2". https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/2557.
 |  |
