Shenzhou-16 (CZ-16)

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  56761 / 23077A Launch date - time  30 May 2023 - 01:31 UTC Launch site  Jiuquan, LA-4/SLS Launch vehicle  CZ-2F (#xx) Shenzhou designation   nr Mass (kg)  8082 kg? Docking date - time  30 May 2023 - 08:29 UTC Target spacecraft/port  Tiangong/Tianhe nadir port Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee  380 x 385 km    - Inclination  41.47°    - Period  41.47 min Undocking date - time  30 October 2023 - 12:37 UTC Time docked  153d, 4h, 8min Landing date - time  31 October 2023 - 00:11.32 UTC Landing location  41°39'28"N 100°06'52"E (Inner Mongolia, China) Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  153d,22h,41min Nbr orbits   Landing crew  launch crew

Shenzhou-16 crew ready for launch

Launched Crew

Mission Report:

• The flight launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 30 May 2023 at 9:31 AM China Standard Time (01:31 UTC), following the launch of the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft and near the end of the Shenzhou 15 mission. Just under 7 hours after launch, the spacecraft docked with the Tianhe core module's nadir docking port.
• Upon entering the station, the crew were greeted by and performed a handover ceremony with the crew of Shenzhou 15, with whom they would share a four-day mission overlap prior to the previous crew's departure on June 3.
• Spacewalk: On 20 July 2023, the first scheduled spacewalk of Shenzhou 16 was carried out by Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu through the airlock of the Wentian lab module (Zhu Yangzhu being the first Chinese flight engineer to perform a spacewalk), with Gui Haichao assisting the pair from inside the Tianhe core module. The crew completed a variety of tasks, including the installation and lifting of the support frame for a panoramic camera outside Tiangong's Tianhe core module and unlocking and lifting two panoramic cameras outside the Mengtian experiment module. The spacewalk lasted for 7 hours and 55 minutes, beating the previous EVA duration record of 7 hours and 6 minutes on Shenzhou 15.
• Return: Shenzhou 16 returned to Earth on October 30, 2023, landing at the Dongfeng landing site in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia. Footage of the landing showed an apparent hole in the descent parachute and the capsule tumbling on impact, but the crew was unharmed.

Long March 2F launch.

Tiangong seen from departing Shenzhou-16 crew.

Shenzhou-16 recovery.

External links:

• Wikipedia: Descriptions
• Spacefacts: Flight description
• Skyrocket: Flight description

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel with MPO and "27" in cancel. Credit: #411