Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 285

Shenzhou-9

People's Republic of China

China
Patch Shenzhou-9

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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  16.06.2012
Launch time:  10:37:24.558 UTC
Launch site:  Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  200 - 330 km
Inclination:  42.836°
Docking Tiangong-1:  18.06.2012, 06:07:04 UTC
Undocking Tiangong-1:  28.06.2012, 01:22 UTC
Landing date:  29.06.2012
Landing time:  02:02:49 UTC
Landing site:  42°15'47.81" N, 111°16'44.44" E

walkout photo

Crew Shenzhou-9

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alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Jing  Haipeng  Commander 2 12d 15h 25m 24s  198 
2  Liu  Wang  Operator 1 12d 15h 25m 24s  198 
3  Liu  Yang  Experimenter 1 12d 15h 25m 24s  198 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Jing
2  Liu
3  Liu
Shenzhou
Landing
1  Jing
2  Liu
3  Liu

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Nie  Haisheng  Commander
2  Zhang  Xiaoguang  Operator
3  Wang  Yaping  Experimenter
Crew Shenzhou-9 (backup)

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alternative crew photo

Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Long March 2F (Chang Zheng CZ-2F No. Y9)
Spacecraft:  Shenzhou-9

Flight

Launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center; landing 162 km north of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia; fourth Chinese manned spaceflight.

Following a two-days solo flight Shenzhou-9 docked automatic with the Chinese space station Tiangong-1. Two hours later the crew entered the station for the first time and became the first resident crew.

On June 24, 2012 the astronauts temporarily departed their quarters inside the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab, backing away inside a Shenzhou spacecraft before pilot Liu Wang took control of the capsule to complete the first manual docking in China's burgeoning space program. Docking occurred at 04:48 UTC.

Graphics / Photos

Shenzhou with Tiangong-1 crew in training
crew in training Shenzhou-9 rollout
Shenzhou-9 rollout Shenzhou-9 launch
Shenzhou-9 launch
Liu Yang onboard Tiangong-1 Tiangong-1
life onboard life onboard
life onboard life onboard
life onboard life onboard
life onboard life onboard
Earth observation Earth observation
Shenzhou-9 landing Shenzhou-9 landing
Shenzhou-9 recovery Shenzhou-9 recovery

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Last update on Dezember 26, 2023.

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