List of Tiangong Space Station expeditions explained

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.

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

ExpeditionCrewArrivalDepartureDuration
(days)
DateFlightDateFlight
Expedition 1[2]
Nie Haisheng
Liu Boming
Tang Hongbo
17 June 2021
07:54 UTC
Shenzhou 1216 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 1315 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 144 December 2022
03:01 UTC
Shenzhou 14~182 days
Fei Junlong
Deng Qingming
Zhang Lu
29 November 2022
21:42 UTC
Shenzhou 15Transferred 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 16Transferred to Expedition 5
Expedition 5 Jing Haipeng
Zhu Yangzhu
Gui Haichao
Transferred from Expedition 430 October 2023
12:37 UTC
Shenzhou 16~153 days
Tang Hongbo
Tang Shengjie
Jiang Xinlin
26 October 2023
09:46 UTC
Shenzhou 17Transferred to Expedition 6
Expedition 6[6]
Tang Hongbo
Tang Shengjie
Jiang Xinlin
Transferred from Expedition 530 April 2024
00:43 UTC
Shenzhou 17~187 days
    25 April 2024
    19:32 UTC
    Shenzhou 18Transferred to Expedition 7

    Current expedition

    ExpeditionCrewArrivalDepartureDuration
    (days)
    DateFlightDateFlight
    Expedition 7[7]
    Ye Guangfu
    Li Cong
    Li Guangsu
    Transferred from Expedition 6October 2024 (planned)Shenzhou 18~180 days
    (planned)
      October 2024 (planned)Shenzhou 19Will transfer to Expedition 8

      Future expeditions

      ExpeditionCrewArrivalDepartureDuration
      (days)
      DateFlightDateFlight
      Expedition 8[8]
      TBA
      TBA
      TBA
      Will transfer from Expedition 7Q2 2025 (planned)Shenzhou 20~180 days
      (planned)
      TBA
      TBA
      TBA
      Q4 2025 (planned)Shenzhou 21Will transfer to Expedition 9

      See also

      Notes and References

      1. Web site: China's space station to host 6 astronauts by end of 2022-Xinhua.
      2. Web site: Tiangong: Expedition 1 . 2022-04-16 . spacefacts.de.
      3. Web site: Tiangong: Expedition 2 . 2022-04-16 . spacefacts.de.
      4. 1511571503879389184 . China Spaceflight . CNSpaceflight . 6 April 2022 . Shenzhou 14 to be launched by Long March 2F Y14 on June.05 2022. . 11 May 2022.
      5. 1511571503879389184 . China Spaceflight . CNSpaceflight . 6 April 2022 . Shenzhou 14 to be launched by Long March 2F Y14 on June.05 2022. . 11 May 2022.
      6. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission . . 17 September 2021 . 11 May 2022.
      7. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission . . 17 September 2021 . 11 May 2022.
      8. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission . . 17 September 2021 . 11 May 2022.