Shenzhou 20

Shenzhou 20

Liftoff of Shenzhou 20.
Mission type	Tiangong space station crew transport
Operator	China Manned Space Agency
COSPAR ID	2025-082A
SATCAT no.	63632
Mission duration	234 days, 21 hours, 22 minutes (in progress) 180 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Shenzhou
Manufacturer	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Crew
Crew size	3
Launching	Chen Dong Chen Zhongrui Wang Jie
Landing	None
EVAs	4
EVA duration	27 hours, 33 minutes
Start of mission
Launch date	24 April 2025, 09:17:31 UTC
Rocket	Long March 2F
Launch site	Jiuquan, LA-4/SLS
Contractor	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
End of mission
Landing site	Inner Mongolia (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	379 km (235 mi)
Apogee altitude	389 km (242 mi)
Inclination	41.47°
Docking with Tiangong space station
Docking port	Tianhe nadir
Docking date	24 April 2025, 15:49 UTC
Undocking date	TBA
Time docked	234 days, 14 hours and 50 minutes (in progress)
Mission patch From left: Jie, Dong and Zhongrui China Manned Space Program

Shenzhou 20 (Chinese: 神舟二十号; pinyin: Shénzhōu èrshí-hào; lit. 'Divine Boat Number 20') is a Chinese spaceflight mission to the Tiangong space station launched on 24 April 2025. It carried three taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft.

Shenzhou 20 was expected to return to Earth in early November 2025 after the arrival of the Shenzhou 21 crew. However, due to suspected space debris damage, the return of the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft has been delayed indefinitely, and the Shenzhou 20 crew returned to Earth on 14 November using the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft instead.

The mission was the 15th crewed Chinese spaceflight and the 20th flight overall of the Shenzhou program.

Background

Shenzhou 20 was launched on 24 April 2025, prior to the end of the previous mission, Shenzhou 19. It is the ninth flight to the Tiangong space station and was expected to last approximately six months, departing following the arrival of the Shenzhou 21 crew in late 2025.

Mission

The mission was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on board a Long March 2F rocket. The Shenzhou spacecraft docked with the nadir docking port on the Tianhe core module of the station, where the crew entered to take over operations from the departing crew of Shenzhou-19.

The Tianzhou 9 cargo ship docked with the Tiangong station in October during a planned resupply mission.

On 31 October 2025, Shenzhou 21 arrived at the space station in preparation for the return of Shenzhou 20. Members of both crews were pictured eating "barbecued" chicken wings aboard the station in a video shared by Chinese state media.

Space debris incident

On 5 November 2025, just hours before it was scheduled to undock, minor cracks were detected in a window of the docked Shenzhou 20 spacecraft, attributed to a suspected debris impact. The crew's scheduled return was postponed, and further assessment determined that Shenzhou 20 should not be used for reentry. Its three-person crew returned to Earth on 14 November aboard the already-docked Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, six months ahead of schedule.

On 25 November, Shenzhou 22 launched uncrewed—also six months earlier than planned—and docked with Tiangong later the same day. Its arrival restored a flightworthy return vehicle for the station crew. It also means that both docking ports are in use on the space station and Shenzhou 20 needs to be removed before Shenzhou 23 can dock in 2026.

Shenzhou 22 carried food, clothing, and other consumables to replace supplies used by the crew during the extended Shenzhou 20 mission. It also delivered equipment intended to assess whether the cracked window on Shenzhou 20 could be repaired.

CMSA stated that Shenzhou 20 would remain in orbit to support follow-on experiments related to the damage event.

In December 2025, CMSA confirmed that Shenzhou 20 will return to Earth uncrewed, potentially after protective work using equipment delivered by Shenzhou 22. On 9 December, Shenzhou 21 astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Lu conducted an 8-hour spacewalk that inspected the damage to the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft.

Crew

In keeping with China's past practice, the names of the crew were not announced until the day before launch. The mission was commanded by Chen Dong, who previously flew on Shenzhou 11—the only crewed mission to the Tiangong-2 space laboratory in 2016—and later commanded Shenzhou 14 to the Tiangong space station in 2022. He was joined by flight engineers Chen Zhongrui, a fighter pilot with the People's Liberation Army Air Force, and Wang Jie, an engineer with the China Academy of Space Technology.

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Chen Dong Third spaceflight	None
Operator	Chen Zhongrui First spaceflight	None
Flight engineer	Wang Jie First spaceflight	None

See also

• Soyuz MS-22 - Russian crewed spacecraft also hit by space debris and landed uncrewed.