Shenzhou 19

Shenzhou 19, the 14th crewed Chinese spaceflight and the 19th mission of the Shenzhou program, launched on 29 October 2024 and returned to Earth on 30 April 2025. The spacecraft carried three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, marking the eighth flight to the station. The mission lasted about six months, ending after the Shenzhou 20 crew arrived on 24 April 2025.

Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center atop a Long March 2F rocket, the Shenzhou spacecraft docked at the forward port of the Tianhe core module. The crew took over operations from the departing Shenzhou 18 crew, who returned to Earth on 4 November. Their work included experiments supporting China’s goal of a crewed lunar landing by 2030. The mission was originally scheduled to return on 29 April 2025 but was delayed one day due to high winds, landing safely on 30 April at a new site on the eastern side of the Dongfeng landing area in Inner Mongolia.

The crew consisted of commander Cai Xuzhe, a 48-year-old veteran who previously flew on Shenzhou 14 in 2022; Song Lingdong, a 34-year-old former air force pilot on his first spaceflight; and Wang Haoze, also 34, the third female Chinese astronaut and the country’s first female flight engineer, responsible for maintaining the station’s key systems. Song and Wang were the youngest Chinese astronauts to fly.

The crew conducted three spacewalks. On 17 December 2024, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong set a record for the longest spacewalk at 9 hours and 6 minutes, installing debris protection devices and inspecting external equipment. Song became the youngest Chinese astronaut (born after 1990) to perform an EVA. A second spacewalk on 20 January 2025, lasting 8 hours and 17 minutes, saw the same pair install more debris shields and check extravehicular gear. A third spacewalk on 21 March 2025, lasting 7 hours and 5 minutes, involved further debris shield installation and equipment checks.