Overview
- Long March-2F lifted off from Jiuquan at 04:11 UTC on Nov. 25, with Shenzhou-22 autonomously docking about 3.5 hours later to end the station’s 20-day contingency period.
- The uncrewed spacecraft reestablishes a lifeboat for the Shenzhou-21 crew—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang—who lacked a flightworthy return vehicle for roughly 10–11 days.
- Shenzhou-22 delivered food, medical supplies, spare parts, and a device intended to treat the cracked viewport on Shenzhou-20, which remains docked for experiments and assessment.
- CMSA says Shenzhou-22 will stay attached to return the current crew around April–May 2026 as mission timelines are realigned following the incident.
- Officials describe the operation as the program’s first emergency launch, achieved by compressing the test-to-launch cycle to about 16 days and validating a rolling backup posture amid persistent MMOD hazards.