Shenzhou-23 (Sino-Pakistan Mission) - CZ-2F/G - JSLC - October/November 2026

[abhishek]

Is it coincidence that India's first manned spacecraft is also scheduled for 2022?   Or am I being too cynical?

How is that cynical? Nothing bad about a wholesome old fashioned cold war rivalry, space race and nuclear standoff.

How can this be considered a rivalry ? Paying someone to goto space is different from sending humans to space using your own technology.

I ask myself whether Pakistan would have bought a seat on a Chinese spacecraft if India had not set the 2022 target for a piloted spaceflight.

Well if they think this is a competition,then good luck to them but we are certainly not competing against anyone.

Sending humans to space is not the only objective for us,had it been the case we would have done a Gemini or mercury with our PSLV's long ago or else paid the Russians for spaceflight.

The aim is to carry a crew of 3 to LEO and to conduct various experiments in space.

[tonyq]

As Pakistan are only aspiring to hitch a ride with China, then, on a like for like basis, this is a 'race' which India won 34 years ago (or 38 by 2022).

[chetan_chpd]

No clear time limit for “pakistani in space”...i think chinese are just keeping pakistani “ambitions” happy with only words...

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/04/c_137581441.htm

[sanman]

No clear time limit for “pakistani in space”...i think chinese are just keeping pakistani “ambitions” happy with only words...

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/04/c_137581441.htm

From your linked article:

The two sides agreed to actively promote 2012-2020 Space Cooperation Outline between China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Expressing satisfaction on the launch of Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS) earlier this year, both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in space technology applications. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of manned space, and the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) and SUPARCO will sign a framework agreement on cooperation.

Well, perhaps a specific firm timeline is too much to be expected from a diplomatic statement. But this does at least confirm the general basis for the previous unilateral announcement from the Pakistani side. Given China's mature manned spaceflight capabilities, I don't see why it wouldn't happen. Maybe they're also keeping some flexibility in the date to allow it to generally coincide with the Gaganyaan flight, in case ISRO slips beyond its own targeted deadline.

[sanman]

Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry makes further statements to the press about Pakistan's plans for a manned spaceflight(@1:30):



(My translation)
"...in regards to, as you know, our space program, that with China's help is moving forward, and so the first Pakistani astronaut(?) will in 2020 be put into China's space program (training?), and I believe that applications for astronauts will be, through SUPARCO, taken next year, those who want to be astronauts, their applications will be taken, those who are interested in going into space, for this program, that's going on, the details of which will be provided to you, so there will be a need to send some people into this. Here too, among our own apparatus we do have people - I'll make an inquiry with SUPARCO - so we'll probably be looking for a scientist. There are some crooked troublemakers who we ought to send, in order to save our country, and we shouldn't let them come back.(!)"


At @1:41 he used the phrase"Kartab Baz", which in Urdu usually means "stuntman" or "daredevil"("adventurer"?), but it sounded like he was using it to mean "Astronaut" (Note that the Urdu phrase for "Pilot" is "Tiyara Baz"). He then a few seconds later switches to the english word "astronaut". I'd been wondering if the Pakistanis would coin their own custom phrase instead of going with the english "Astronaut", or the Indian "Vyomnaut", etc. The phrase "Khalanuard" is the one used in translation dictionaries.


So anyway, the Pakistani govt seems to be announcing its intention to start recruitment next year for an astronaut to be sent to China in 2020 for training.

[Phillip Clark]

With the launch of the first piloted Indian spacecraft now scheduled for December 2021, I wonder whether Pakistan might try to bring forward their mission with the Chinese?

[daedalus1]

India has already launched an astronaut on a Soviet spacecraft so there is no race there.
Pakistan has no way of matching India launching its own crew.

[Phillip Clark]

India has already launched an astronaut on a Soviet spacecraft so there is no race there.
Pakistan has no way of matching India launching its own crew.

Of course I remember Soyuz-T 11 in 1984, but I am sure that Pakistan would like to have someone in orbit before India launches its own mission.   We shall see .............

[demonslayer]

It shouldn't be much of a challenge for Pakistan as the mission would most involve a Chinese astronaut on board as well.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Olaf]

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2025188/8-china-help-launch-pakistani-space-fawad/

Last week, Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry generated quite some buzz and a whole lot of questions when he announced plans to launch Pakistan’s first manned space mission in 2022.

“Proud to announce that selection process for the first Pakistani to be sent to Space shall begin from Feb 2020, fifty people will be shortlisted — list will then come down to 25 and in 2022 we will send our first person to space, this will be the biggest space event of our history,” he tweeted.

[Phillip Clark]

Has there been any news about this proposed mission?   Maybe COVID-19 has meant that things have gone quiet, of coiurse.

[tonyq]

Has there been any news about this proposed mission?   Maybe COVID-19 has meant that things have gone quiet, of coiurse.

Phil, I've seen nothing about this for well over a year. The date mentioned above, to start selection, has passed, with no obvious activity.

It looks like Shenzhou 12 will be NET Q2 2021, with further construction SZ missions, as the other modules are added over the following 12-18 months.

Guest missions seem unlikely during construction, so I'd guess this mission, if it is still planned, will be NET 2023. 

[Vahe231991]

With the launch of the first piloted Indian spacecraft now scheduled for December 2021, I wonder whether Pakistan might try to bring forward their mission with the Chinese?

The first flight of the Gaganyaan manned spacecraft has been postponed to the mid-2020s, and since none of the recent Shenzhou missions have carried an astronaut aboard, the joint China-Pakistan manned mission mentioned years ago by Imran Khan could take a while to catch up with India's first manned spaceflight, especially due to the aftershocks of COVID-19 delaying the original timetable for training of a Pakistani national for future Shenzhou mission.

[AndrewM]

Sounds like this has been delayed to at least 2027. The selection process is underway and will take about a year with launches starting in a few years.

https://www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202502/t20250228_56338.html [Feb 28] Translated via Google translate

On February 28, 2025, Beijing time, the China Manned Space Engineering Office and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission officially signed the "Cooperation Agreement on the Selection, Training of Pakistani Astronauts and Participation in China's Space Station Flight Mission" in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, opening a new chapter in deepening cooperation between China and Pakistan in the field of manned space flight and taking the first step for China to select and train foreign astronauts to participate in China's space station flight mission.

According to the plan, the two sides will use about a year to complete the selection work, and the Pakistani astronauts will receive comprehensive and systematic training in China. According to the flight mission planning and arrangement of the Chinese space station, Pakistani astronauts will be arranged to enter the Chinese space station together with Chinese astronauts to perform short-term flight missions in the next few years.

[Satori]

Thread for the Shenzhou-23 manned mission.

This will be possibly a short visit by a Pakistani taikonaut to the Tiangong station, also providing the crew of SZ-22 with a fresh Shenzhou return capsule. Other return options can be adopted.

Launch will possibly occur in October/November 2026.

[Satori]

Pakistani astronaut to enter Chinese space station as payload specialist.

Two Pakistani astronauts will undergo training alongside Chinese astronauts, and one of them will be selected to participate in a short-duration spaceflight mission as a payload specialist, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday.

[TheKutKu]

https://www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202510/t20251028_56909.html

The call for proposals for logo design of the four CMSA missions of 2026 gives a short description of each (click to download 2026年度载人航天飞行任务基本情况)

II. Shenzhou-22 and Shenzhou-23 Crewed Flight Missions

Launch Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Crew Composition: The flight crew for each mission will consist of three astronauts.

Docking Methods: The Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft (designated SZ-22) will dock at the core module's radial port after launch. The Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft (designated SZ-23) will dock at the core module's forward port after launch.

Primary Missions:

Shenzhou-22: One astronaut from the Shenzhou-22 flight crew will conduct a long-term residency experiment exceeding one year.

Both missions will involve the implementation of astronaut extravehicular activities (EVAs) and cargo airlock exit operations.

They will continue to conduct space science experiments and technology tests.

They will carry out critical activities including space station platform management, astronaut support operations, and public science education.

One astronaut of SZ-22 will stay for more than a year and won't come back with SZ-22 in October/November 2026, leaving a seat empty.
This is virtually confirmation that the Pakistani astronaut will launch on SZ-23 in October/November 2026 and come back some days later on SZ-22.