Overview
- An airspace closure notice points to a Long March 2F liftoff from Jiuquan around 11:10 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 24 (0410 UTC Nov. 25), with CMSEO officials indicating the flight will be uncrewed.
- Shenzhou-22 will deliver food, supplies and station equipment and was shifted from a previously planned crewed launch in spring 2026.
- The Shenzhou-21 crew—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang—remains on Tiangong without a certified lifeboat after their vehicle was used to bring the prior crew home.
- CMSEO determined Shenzhou-20’s return capsule window developed a crack likely from a space debris impact, rendering it unsafe for crewed reentry; the spacecraft will stay in orbit for experiments and be deorbited later.
- China keeps backup Shenzhou and Long March 2F hardware in near-readiness with a best-case turnaround of about 8.5 days, though launch timing depends on pad availability, weather, range safety and orbital phasing.