On June 17, 2021 at 01:22 UTC the "Shenzhou-12” (神舟十二号) manned spacecraft was launched from Chinese Jiuquan Cosmodrome in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province. The space vehicle was orbited by the Chinese "Chang Zheng-2F” (Long March 2F 长征二号F运载火箭) rocket-carrier.

The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Nie Haisheng (聂海胜)  (center); Liu Boming (刘伯明)(right) and Tang Hongbo (汤鸿波) (left). The space vehicle is to dock with the Chinese “Tianhe” core module of the new space station.