Shenzhou (spacecraft)

Shenzhou spacecraft

A Shenzhou spacecraft undergoing ground testing without solar panels
Manufacturer	CAST
Country of origin	China
Operator	CMSA
Applications	Crewed spaceflight
Specifications
Launch mass	8100 kg[1]
Crew capacity	3
Dimensions	9.25 x 2.8 m
Volume	14.8 m3[1] habitable: 7.0 m3
Regime	Low Earth
Design life	Up to 183 days (docked at the Tiangong space station)
Production
Status	In service
On order	1
Built	18
Launched	18
Operational	1
Failed	0
Maiden launch	Shenzhou 1: 19 November 1999 (uncrewed) Shenzhou 5: 15 October 2003 (crewed)
Last launch	Active Shenzhou 18: 25 April 2024 (crewed)

Shenzhou (Chinese: 神舟; pinyin: Shénzhōu, /ˈʃɛnˈdʒoʊ/;^[2] see § Etymology) is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its crewed spaceflight program, China Manned Space Program. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size. The first launch was on 19 November 1999 and the first crewed launch was on 15 October 2003. In March 2005, an asteroid was named 8256 Shenzhou in honour of the spacecraft.

The Shenzhou spacecraft is slated to be replaced in the late 2020s by a next-generation crewed spacecraft named Mengzhou, currently under development. The new spacecraft has a configuration more similar to the Apollo program's command and service module, which is different from the configuration of the Shenzhou spacecraft.^[3]