Shenzhou 11
Shenzhou 11 was a crewed spaceflight of the Shenzhou program of China, launched on 17 October 2016 from the Jiuquan [Satellite Launch Center]. It was China's sixth crewed space mission, at 33 days, it was the longest until the follow-up Shenzhou 12 mission which lasted 3 months. Two days after launch, it docked with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, which had been launched on 15 September 2016. Shenzhou 11 was the first and only expedition and mission to Tiangong-2 in this portion of the Tiangong program.
Crew
The crew consisted of two taikonauts. Commander Jing celebrated his 50th birthday while in orbit.; Back-up crew
The mission selected two crew instead of three to extend supplies to increase mission length for their long duration stay.
Mission
The Shenzhou 11 launched at 07:30 on 17 October 2016 local time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 2F launch rocket.The mission's main objective was to rendezvous and dock with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory and gain experience from a 30-day residence, and to test its life-support systems.
In the two days after the launch, it changed its orbit five times to arrive 52 kilometres behind the Tiangong-2 space lab. It autonomously rendezvoused and docked with Tiangong-2 at 3:24 p.m. EDT on 18 October 2016, while both spacecraft were at an altitude of.
The crew landed successfully after the 33-day mission on 18 November 2016. The reentry module of the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft landed in Dorbod Banner, Inner Mongolia around 2:15 p.m. after undocking from the space lab on 17 November.