Shenzhou 13 (Chinese: 神舟十三号; pinyin: Shénzhōu Shísān-hào) is the eighth crewed Chinese spaceflight and the thirteenth flight of the Shenzhou program. The spacecraft carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on the second flight to the Tianhe core module, the first module of the Tiangong space station. The launch of the three-person crew with a Long March-2F launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center took place on October 15, 2021 at 16:23 UTC, and the return is planned for spring 2022.
The spacecraft was launched on a Long March-2F launch vehicle in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's Gobi Desert on 15 October 2021, at 16:23:56 UTC. After about six-and-a-half hours flight it arrived at Chinese space station Tiangong. The mission docked with the Tianhe core module at 22:56 UTC, on 15 October 2021, following the launch and successful docking of Tianzhou 3 on 20 September 2021, the third flight of China's Tianzhou cargo resupply craft.[citation needed]
The crew entered the Tianhe core module later on 16 October 2021, at 01:58 UTC as the second expedition to the Tiangong space station.
At least three spacewalks are planned to occur during the crew's approximately six-month stay in orbit. Shenzhou 14 will be in standby for any possible rescue mission.
The work the Shenzhou 13 crew will complete will set up the next phase of the Tiangong space station. After Zhai, Wang and Ye leave to return to Earth in April 2022, six more missions — including the launch of the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules, two cargo spacecraft and two crewed spaceships — are expected to complete construction of the orbiting complex by the end of next year.
The Shenzhou 13 mission is China's eighth human spaceflight since 2003.
