China to launch new-generation crewed spaceship in 2026

JIUQUAN - China will launch the new generation of crewed spaceship Mengzhou-1 in 2026, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Mengzhou is developed through a comprehensive upgrade from the Shenzhou crewed spaceship. It adopts a modular design, comprising a return capsule and a service capsule, and it will provide transport between Earth and the space station.

The Mengzhou-1 crewed spaceship will make its maiden flight atop the Long March-10A carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern Hainan province, and dock with the radial port of the space station's core module.

It will verify the performance of the spaceship's overall systems, while delivering environmental assessment instruments and supplies, technology demonstration payloads, crew necessities, and experiment devices for applied-science tests.

China will also launch the Shenzhou-22 and Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China next year. Each mission will carry a crew of three astronauts.

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft will dock with the radial port of the space station's core module, while Shenzhou-23 will dock with the front port.

One astronaut of the Shenzhou-22 crew will stay in orbit for a long-duration residency experiment lasting more than one year.

The tasks of the two crewed spaceflight missions will also include conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs), delivering and retrieving payloads through the cargo airlock, continuing space science experiments and technology tests, managing space station systems, carrying out crew-support tasks, and performing education-outreach activities.

Moreover, China plans to launch the Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in 2026. It will dock with the backward port of the space station's core module.

The main tasks of the cargo spacecraft include delivering crew supplies and EVAs suits, maintenance spares and propellant to keep the station safe and operational, as well as payloads and experiment samples for applied-science projects. When it deorbits, the cargo spacecraft will dispose of the waste from the space station.