# Shenzhou at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station): deployment

Canonical ID: `23bd3f73-0efb-47aa-ba45-877f2283ac86`

Shenzhou crewed spacecraft conducting regular rotational missions to the Tiangong space station since Shenzhou-12 in June 2021. As of 2026, six crewed missions have been completed with crews staying 6 months each.

## Key facts

- **Crew size:** 3 astronauts per mission
- **Mission duration:** 6 months (standard), 1 year (Shenzhou-23)

**Trust tier:** Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verified

_Last updated: 2026-07-09_

- **Slug:** shenzhou-low-earth-orbit
- **Status:** operational
- **Model:** [Shenzhou](/models/shenzhou.md) (id: `823d91a3-75f5-43ed-843e-413000c8dd7d`)
- **Company:** [China Manned Space Agency](/companies/china-manned-space-agency.md) (id: `4df8215d-b374-435c-9948-ab9b66a38a5c`)
- **Location:** [Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)](/locations/low-earth-orbit.md) (id: `c2b414a6-3f5d-4862-8aee-c7bf3198b271`)
- **Operator:** [China Manned Space Agency](/companies/china-manned-space-agency.md) (id: `4df8215d-b374-435c-9948-ab9b66a38a5c`)
- **First seen:** 2021-06-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Verification log (0, append-only)

_No verifications recorded._

## Sources (1)

1. **China sends astronaut on year-long space mission as it eyes 2030 moon landing** · https://www.reuters.com/science/china-send-astronaut-year-long-space-mission-it-eyes-2030-moon-landing-2026-05-23/ · 2021-06-17

## Common questions

### What is the Shenzhou deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?

Shenzhou, built by China Manned Space Agency, is recorded as a deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) on the DEPLOY registry. China Manned Space Agency operates the deployment directly.

### Who operates Shenzhou at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?

China Manned Space Agency, the manufacturer of Shenzhou, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

### When did the Shenzhou deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting June 17, 2021 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

### Have there been incidents at the Shenzhou deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.


_API: GET /v1/robots/23bd3f73-0efb-47aa-ba45-877f2283ac86 · feeds: GET /v1/feeds?deploymentId=23bd3f73-0efb-47aa-ba45-877f2283ac86 · canonical URL: /deployments/shenzhou-low-earth-orbit_