About 10 minutes after launch, the spacecraft separated from the Long March-2F Y22 carrier rocket and entered its designated orbit. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) declared the launch mission a complete success.
Flying without a crew, Shenzhou-22 carried a payload of space food, medical supplies, fresh fruits and vegetables, and tools to repair a cracked window on the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft.
Shenzhou-22 will autonomously perform a fast-track rendezvous maneuver and dock with China's space station complex.
The new spacecraft will serve as the return spacecraft for the three Shenzhou-21 astronauts currently in orbit.
The mission to return the three Shenzhou-20 astronauts to Earth, originally scheduled for November 5 aboard the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, was delayed after the spacecraft was suspected to have collided with space debris.
The Long March-2F Y22 rocket and the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft, already on standby at the launch site, were immediately prepared for launch, then began an emergency launch sequence that lasted 16 days.
Carried by a Long March-2F Y22 rocket, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on November 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)Carried by a Long March-2F Y22 rocket, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on November 25, 2025.
Carried by a Long March-2F Y22 rocket, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on November 25, 2025.
Carried by a Long March-2F Y22 rocket, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on November 25, 2025.
