Ligularia

Shenzhou 18 (Chinese: 神舟十八号; pinyin: Shénzhōu Shíbā-hào; lit. 'Divine Boat Number 18') is a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched on 25 April 2024, near the end of the Shenzhou 17 mission. It carried three taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft. The mission is the thirteenth crewed Chinese spaceflight and the eighteenth flight overall of the Shenzhou program.^[2]

Background

Shenzhou 18 launched prior to the completion of the previous mission, Shenzhou 17. It is planned to last about six months, as is standard with Shenzhou missions to Tiangong space station. It will depart following the arrival of the Shenzhou 19 crew.

The crew of Shenzhou 18 consists of Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu.^[3]

Mission

The mission launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on board a Long March 2F rocket at 20:59 Beijing Time(UTC+8) (12:59 UTC). The Shenzhou spacecraft docked at the nadir port of the station's Tianhe core module at 19:32 UTC on 25 April 2024, some six and a half hours after liftoff.^[4] The crew entered the station prior to the departure of the crew from Shenzhou 17.

On 28 May 2024, Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu carried out China's longest spacewalk yet, spending 8.5 hours on tasks including the installation of the space station's space debris protection device. Another spacewalk was conducted on 3 July 2024.^[5]

Crew

Position	Crew member
Commander	Ye Guangfu, CMSA Second spaceflight
Operator	Li Cong, CMSA First spaceflight
System Operator	Li Guangsu, CMSA First spaceflight

The crew of the Shenzhou 18 mission was announced by the CMSA on 24 April 2024 during a press conference in Jiuquan, China.^[3]

References