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Deployment

Shenzhou at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)

Crewed spacecraft performing autonomous fast-rendezvous docking with the Tiangong space station.

Shenzhou by China Manned Space Agency · Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verified

Track Shenzhou at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)

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Machine-readable surfaces

Footage

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Xinhua

Chinese state media (Xinhua) footage of a Shenzhou crewed spacecraft docking with the Tiangong space station. Shenzhou is a crewed spacecraft with autonomous fast-rendezvous docking capability, attributed to the CNSA program.

Shenzhou-21 completed autonomous fast-rendezvous docking with the Tiangong space station in Low Earth Orbit approximately 3.5 hours after launch in November 2025, marking China's fastest crewed docking to date.

Key facts

Station
Tiangong
Status
Autonomous fast-rendezvous docking with Tiangong; Shenzhou-21 docked ~3.5 hours after launch (2025-11), China's fastest crewed docking

Safety record

No incidents on record for Shenzhou at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station).

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-06-29
Model
Shenzhou
Company
China Manned Space Agency
Location
Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)
Status
operational
First seen
2021-06-17
ID
1f250e2d-27d2-448a-8943-f0edfc56fa57

Timeline

  1. Jun 2021
    First recorded
    Shenzhou first documented operating at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station).
  2. Jun 2021
    created
  3. Jun 2026
    Current status: operational, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

Shenzhou operates in Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station). Explore the full verified map:

Sources (2)

  1. https://spacenews.com/shenzhou-21-completes-rapid-docking-with-tiangong-space-station-3-5-hours-after-launch/
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzhou_(spacecraft)
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-06-29

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-06-29

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: production

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: space

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Shenzhou at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station).

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.

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