China Prepares to Launch Shenzhou-21 Crewed Spacecraft | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: The combination of the Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft and its Long March-2F carrier rocket was transferred to the launch area of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on the morning of October 24, 2025, as the country prepares to send another crew to its orbiting space station. Carried by a mobile launch platform, the combination moved along 1.5 km of seamless rail toward the launch tower from the testing facility. "This rocket incorporates 16 design changes, with the most important one being the fully upgraded optical navigation system, which greatly improves the redundant inertial measurement units and boost flight reliability," said Sun Yanqiu, an engineer of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. The Shenzhou-21 will be the 10th crewed mission since China began the initial construction of its space station and the sixth one since the space station entered the stage of application and development. "After today's transfer, we will conduct checks on the combination's functions as well as a full-system launch rehearsal and an integrated rehearsal to verify compatibility between system interfaces, coordination and procedures. Once everything is confirmed normal, we will carry out rocket propellant filling and proceed to ignition and launch," said Zhao Lei, an engineer at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. According to schedule, the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft is set to be launched at an appropriate time in the coming days. The Shenzhou-21 crew will replace the astronauts of the Shenzhou-20 mission that have worked in orbit for six months. Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute, 38 seconds Release Date: Oct. 24, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #LongMarch2FRocket #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公�� #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Spacecraft Docking: Extended Views | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: China's Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong Space Station on the morning of November 1, 2025—only 3.5 hours after launch, setting a new record for the fastest docking achieved between a Shenzhou spacecraft and China’s space station. China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist. The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and first-time flyers, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months. They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission. They will also witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station. Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station. Shenzhou-21 Crew Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆) Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞) Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute, 17 seconds Release Date: Nov. 1, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #Shenzhou21CrewSpacecraft #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Spacecraft Docking: Extended Views | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: China's Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong Space Station on the morning of November 1, 2025—only 3.5 hours after launch, setting a new record for the fastest docking achieved between a Shenzhou spacecraft and China’s space station. China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist. The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and first-time flyers, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months. They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission. They will also witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station. Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station. Shenzhou-21 Crew Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆) Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞) Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute, 17 seconds Release Date: Nov. 1, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #Shenzhou21CrewSpacecraft #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Spacecraft Docks 3.5 Hours after Launch | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org | 🚀The Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft successfully docked with the China Space Station early Saturday morning, Beijing Time, only 3.5 hours after launch. The Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft, powered by their Long March 2F Y21 rocket, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 23:44 Friday (Beijing Time), carrying three astronauts. China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist. The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and debutants Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, have all expressed confidence in completing their mission aboard the China Space Station. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months. They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission, which will also see them witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station. Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station. Shenzhou-21 Crew Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆) Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞)  Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) Credit: CMSA/Xinhua Duration: 45 seconds Date: Oct. 31, 2025 China Academy of Space Technology #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #MicrogravityExperiments #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Spacecraft Docks 3.5 Hours after Launch | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org | 🚀The Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft successfully docked with the China Space Station early Saturday morning, Beijing Time, only 3.5 hours after launch. The Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft, powered by their Long March 2F Y21 rocket, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 23:44 Friday (Beijing Time), carrying three astronauts. China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist. The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and debutants Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, have all expressed confidence in completing their mission aboard the China Space Station. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months. They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission, which will also see them witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station. Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station. Shenzhou-21 Crew Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆) Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞)  Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) Credit: CMSA/Xinhua Duration: 45 seconds Date: Oct. 31, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #MicrogravityExperiments #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Japan's HTV-X1 Cargo Ship Captured by Canadarm2 | International Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: On October 29, 2025, the Canadian Space Agency's Canadarm2 captured the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched its HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft on a H3-24L rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at Tanegashima Space Center in southeastern Japan on October 26, 2025. This was Japan's first cargo shipment to the ISS in five years. Follow Expedition 73: https://lnkd.in/esX3qsf Expedition 73 Crew Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos) JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. Image Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Duration: 1 minute Release Date: Oct. 29, 2025 #NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ISS #Canadarm2 #CSA #Canada #HTVX #新型宇宙ステーション補給機 #CargoSpacecraft #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Liftoff on Long March 2F Y21 Rocket | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: And they are off! 🚀The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, powered by their Long March 2F Y21 rocket, was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 23:44 Friday (Beijing Time), carrying its three-astronaut crew. It will be a fast journey. They are expected to dock with the China Space Station in just 3.5 hours. China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist. The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and debutants Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, have all expressed confidence in completing their mission aboard the China Space Station. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months. They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission, which will also see them witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station. Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station. Shenzhou-21 Crew Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆) Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞) Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 2 minute, 51 seconds Release Date: Oct. 31, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Mice #MicrogravityExperiments #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Liftoff on Long March 2F Y21 Rocket | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: And they are off! 🚀The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, powered by their Long March 2F Y21 rocket, was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 23:44 Friday (Beijing Time), carrying its three-astronaut crew. It will be a fast journey. They are expected to dock with the China Space Station in just 3.5 hours. China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist. The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and debutants Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, have all expressed confidence in completing their mission aboard the China Space Station. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months. They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission, which will also see them witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station. Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station. Shenzhou-21 Crew Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆) Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞) Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 2 minute, 51 seconds Release Date: Oct. 31, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Mice #MicrogravityExperiments #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-20 Crew Prepares for Return to Earth | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: The Shenzhou-20 crew on China's space station are preparing for their return to Earth after staying in orbit for more than six months. The trio—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—are continuing with their experiments and equipment maintenance while getting ready for their journey back to the ground, as their mission nears its end. During the past months, they have undertaken research and technology tests in areas such as the space life sciences, microgravity fundamental physics, space materials science, space medicine and advanced aerospace technologies. They have also conducted multiple extravehicular activities (spacewalks) and undertaken equipment maintenance and environmental monitoring in the space station. The crew will rotate with the Shenzhou-21 astronauts that are scheduled to arrive at the space station to take over the work in orbit at an appropriate time in the near future, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). The combination of the Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft and its Long March-2F carrier rocket was transferred to the launch area of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on the morning of October 24, 2025, as the country prepares to send another crew to its orbiting space station. Shenzhou-20 Crew Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute Release Date: Oct. 26, 2025 #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Shenzhou20Mission #神舟二十号 #Shenzhou20Crew #Taikonauts #ChenDong #ChenZhongrui #WangJie #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-20 Crew Prepares for Return to Earth | China Space Station FriendsofNASA.org: The Shenzhou-20 crew on China's space station are preparing for their return to Earth after staying in orbit for more than six months. The trio—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—are continuing with their experiments and equipment maintenance while getting ready for their journey back to the ground, as their mission nears its end. During the past months, they have undertaken research and technology tests in areas such as the space life sciences, microgravity fundamental physics, space materials science, space medicine and advanced aerospace technologies. They have also conducted multiple extravehicular activities (spacewalks) and undertaken equipment maintenance and environmental monitoring in the space station. The crew will rotate with the Shenzhou-21 astronauts that are scheduled to arrive at the space station to take over the work in orbit at an appropriate time in the near future, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). The combination of the Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft and its Long March-2F carrier rocket was transferred to the launch area of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on the morning of October 24, 2025, as the country prepares to send another crew to its orbiting space station. Shenzhou-20 Crew Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute Release Date: Oct. 26, 2025 Yuguang Yang Chinese Academy of Sciences #NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Shenzhou20Mission #神舟二十号 #Shenzhou20Crew #Taikonauts #ChenDong #ChenZhongrui #WangJie #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video