List of Tiangong Space Station expeditions

This is a chronological list of permanent expeditions to Tiangong space station, a Chinese space station in low Earth orbit from 2021. An expedition to the TSS refers to the crew that is occupying the space station and using it for research and testing. Expeditions can last up to six months and include three during the regular station and six crew members during the time of crew swap.[1] Starting with Expedition 3 (Shenzhou 14), crew rotation will overlap, hence the station will be continuously inhabited.

First gathering of two Chinese astronaut crews on Tiangong Space Station on 30 November 2022, some days before Expedition 3 to 4 crew handover

Expeditions are numbered starting from one and sequentially increased with each expedition. Resupply mission crews and space tourists are excluded (see List of human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station for details). TSS commanders are listed in bold. "Duration" is the period of time between the crew's launch from Earth and until their decoupling from the TSS.

Past expeditions

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Expedition Crew Arrival Departure Duration
(days)
Date Flight Date Flight
Expedition 1[2]
  Nie Haisheng
  Liu Boming
  Tang Hongbo
17 June 2021
07:54 UTC
Shenzhou 12 16 September 2021
00:56 UTC
Shenzhou 12 ~91 days
station uncrewed
Expedition 2[3]
  Zhai Zhigang
  Ye Guangfu
  Wang Yaping
15 October 2021
22:56 UTC
Shenzhou 13 15 April 2022
16:44 UTC
Shenzhou 13 ~182 days
station uncrewed
Expedition 3[4]   Chen Dong
  Liu Yang
  Cai Xuzhe
5 June 2022
09:42 UTC
Shenzhou 14 4 December 2022
03:01 UTC
Shenzhou 14 ~182 days
  Fei Junlong
  Deng Qingming
  Zhang Lu
29 November 2022
21:42 UTC
Shenzhou 15 Transferred to Expedition 4
Expedition 4[5]
  Fei Junlong
  Deng Qingming
  Zhang Lu
Transferred from Expedition 3 3 June 2023
13:29 UTC
Shenzhou 15 ~186 days
  Jing Haipeng
  Zhu Yangzhu
  Gui Haichao
30 May 2023
08:29 UTC
Shenzhou 16 Transferred to Expedition 5
Expedition 5   Jing Haipeng
  Zhu Yangzhu
  Gui Haichao
Transferred from Expedition 4 30 October 2023
12:37 UTC
Shenzhou 16 ~153 days
  Tang Hongbo
  Tang Shengjie
  Jiang Xinlin
26 October 2023
09:46 UTC
Shenzhou 17 Transferred to Expedition 6
Expedition 6[6]
  Tang Hongbo
  Tang Shengjie
  Jiang Xinlin
Transferred from Expedition 5 30 April 2024
00:43 UTC
Shenzhou 17 ~187 days
25 April 2024
19:32 UTC
Shenzhou 18 Transferred to Expedition 7
Expedition 7[7]
  Ye Guangfu
  Li Cong
  Li Guangsu
Transferred from Expedition 6 3 November 2024
08:12 UTC
Shenzhou 18 ~192 days
30 October 2024
03:00 UTC
Shenzhou 19 Transferred to Expedition 8

Current expedition

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Expedition Crew Arrival Departure Duration
(days)
Date Flight Date Flight
Expedition 8[8]
  Cai Xuzhe
  Song Lingdong
  Wang Haoze
Will transfer from Expedition 7 April 2025 (planned) Shenzhou 19 ~180 days
(planned)
  TBA
  TBA
  TBA
April 2025 (planned) Shenzhou 20 Will transfer to Expedition 9

Future expeditions

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Expedition Crew Arrival Departure Duration
(days)
Date Flight Date Flight
Expedition 9[9]
  TBA
  TBA
  TBA
Will transfer from Expedition 8 October 2025 (planned) Shenzhou 20 ~180 days
(planned)
  TBA
  TBA
  TBA
October 2025 (planned) Shenzhou 21 Will transfer to Expedition 10
Expedition 10[10]
  TBA
  TBA
  TBA
Will transfer from Expedition 9 2026 (planned) Shenzhou 21 ~180 days
(planned)
  TBA
  TBA
  TBA
2026 (planned) Shenzhou 22 Will transfer to Expedition 11

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "China's space station to host 6 astronauts by end of 2022-Xinhua".
  2. ^ "Tiangong: Expedition 1". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  3. ^ "Tiangong: Expedition 2". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  4. ^ China Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (6 April 2022). "Shenzhou 14 to be launched by Long March 2F Y14 on June.05 2022" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ China Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (6 April 2022). "Shenzhou 14 to be launched by Long March 2F Y14 on June.05 2022" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  7. ^ Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. ^ Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  9. ^ Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  10. ^ Jones, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 May 2022.