神舟十二号
Nie Haisheng flew on Shenzhou-6, Shenzhou-10, and Shenzhou-12.
Liu Boming flew on Shenzhou-7 and Shenzhou-12.
The backup plan for Shenzhou-22 has been prepared since Shenzhou-12.
Tianhe was supported by the Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 logistics missions for the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 crews respectively.
Tianhe was launched in April 2021 and has hosted the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 crewed missions.
The Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 crews used Tianhe’s docking hub for EVA entry and exit.
Tianzhou-2 delivered 4,690 kg of cargo in a pressurized segment, including three months’ worth of food for three Shenzhou-12 crew members and two EVA suits.
During Shenzhou-12 operations, the spacecraft approached to and stopped at distances of 200 m and 19 m while testing radial rendezvous without docking.
The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft launched in May 2021 to deliver supplies, EVA suits, experiments, and propellant to the Tianhe core module ahead of Shenzhou-12.
Shenzhou-12 was the third of 11 missions scheduled to construct, supply, and inhabit China’s three-module, 66-metric-ton space station.
The Shenzhou-12 descent capsule’s main parachute had an area of 1,200 square meters and opened around 10 km above the ground.
The Shenzhou-12 landing took place in a newly designated area in the vicinity of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The radial rendezvous test performed by Shenzhou-12 did not include docking and tested required sensors and guidance systems, measurement accuracy, and different lighting conditions when approaching Tianhe from below with respect to the Earth.
Tianhe hosted the Shenzhou-12 astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo beginning 2021-06-17.
The Shenzhou-12 crew entered the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, separated from Tianhe at 8:56 p.m. Eastern, circumnavigated Tianhe, and completed a radial (R‑Bar) rendezvous test at 1:38 a.m. Eastern the following day.
Tianzhou-2 delivered supplies to Tianhe for Shenzhou-12 and is expected to remain docked to the core module beyond the deorbiting of Shenzhou-12.
The second Shenzhou-12 extravehicular activity lasted until 2:33 a.m. on Friday and was completed around an hour ahead of schedule.
The Shenzhou-12 crew completed a spacewalk on 2021-07-04 that installed foot restraints and an extravehicular working platform on Tianhe’s robotic arm and raised a panoramic camera.
Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 launches planned for the construction of the three-module Chinese Space Station.
When the Shenzhou-12 crew enters Tianhe it will be the first time since May 2000 that two orbiting space stations were simultaneously inhabited, the previous instance occurring when STS-101 and Soyuz TM-30 visited the ISS and Mir respectively.