Exercises

Dongfeng Landing Site Completes Final Full-System Integrated Drill, Ready to Welcome Shenzhou-21 Crew Home

东风着陆场完成最后一次全系统综合演练准备就绪迎神二十一航天员回家

PLA Daily (解放军报) 27 May 2026

Summary

The Dongfeng Landing Site completed its second and final full-system integrated drill on the evening of May 27, testing command, coordination, and emergency support ahead of the Shenzhou-21 crew's return aboard Shenzhou-22, which is expected to land during a dusk-to-night transition. The drill incorporated terrain-specific training for saline-alkali ground, desert, and water landings; a newly built 50-kilometer asphalt road in the landing site's western zone; upgraded high-bandwidth, low-latency communications; and a dedicated lift platform designed to prevent orthostatic hypotension after seven months of weightlessness. This is standard pre-return readiness reporting from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center; its value is as a baseline record of how recovery infrastructure and medical support protocols have incrementally evolved across successive crewed missions.

Translation

Xinhua News Agency, Jiuquan, May 27 (Li Guoli, Zhang Yan) — The Shenzhou-21 crew will return to Earth in the coming days aboard the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft. On the evening of the 27th, the Dongfeng Landing Site completed its second full-system integrated drill, comprehensively testing capabilities in search-and-rescue recovery mission organization and command, coordination, and emergency support.

This was the final full-system integrated drill at the Dongfeng Landing Site before the Shenzhou-21 crew's return. Prior to this, the Dongfeng Landing Site had already organized and completed search-and-rescue team communications coordination and air-ground coordinated search-and-rescue training, among other exercises.

"In response to the possibility that the return capsule may land on special terrain such as saline-alkali land, desert, or bodies of water, we also conducted intensive training, with the aim of improving personnel's emergency rapid-response capabilities," said Li Binbing of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

It is reported that the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft is expected to land during the dusk period, with search-and-rescue and handling operations spanning a day-night transition and the transfer-out phase occurring at night. The landing site will continue to employ the mature UAV illumination deployment plan used in previous nighttime search-and-rescue operations, ensuring sufficient overall lighting brightness across the landing site, clear visibility, and the ability to support continuous day-and-night operations.

"To improve the mobility efficiency and safety of ground teams, we have newly built an asphalt road totaling more than 50 kilometers in the western zone of the landing site, which will significantly shorten the time for ground teams to conduct search-and-rescue and handling operations," said Mao Yongjun of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at a mission briefing.

Currently, the three astronauts have been in orbit for nearly seven months, which places higher demands on egress transfer, medical monitoring, and medical support (医监医保). To this end, medical monitoring and support personnel from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center strictly adhered to protocols and performed precise operations during the drill; a dedicated accessible lift platform for astronauts was also specially installed in the landing zone.

"This lift platform was specially designed for astronauts returning from the weightless environment of space to Earth's gravitational environment, and can prevent astronauts from experiencing orthostatic hypotension and other accidental injuries," a staff member at the drill site explained.

It is understood that the communications equipment newly tested for use in this mission features high bandwidth and low latency, with significant improvements in call quality and communications stability. "The network configuration method is more flexible — wherever the search-and-rescue teams go, network coverage extends there simultaneously," said Long Kunming of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

At present, all search-and-rescue forces at the Dongfeng Landing Site are ready, equipment is in good condition, meteorological conditions are favorable, and the conditions for executing the return mission are in place.

Original Chinese

新华社酒泉5月27日电（李国利、张艳）神舟二十一号航天员乘组将于近日乘神舟二十二号载人飞船返回地球。东风着陆场于27日晚完成第二次全系统综合演练，全面检验搜救回收任务组织指挥、协同配合以及应急保障等能力。这是神二十一航天员返回前，东风着陆场进行的最后一次全系统综合演练。此前，东风着陆场已组织完成搜救分队通信联调、空地协同搜救训练等。 “针对返回舱可能降落在盐碱地、沙漠、水域等特殊地形，我们还开展了强化训练，目的就是提高人员应急快速处置能力。”酒泉卫星发射中心李滨兵说。据介绍，神舟二十二号载人飞船预计着陆时间为黄昏时段，搜救处置工作经历昼夜交替，后送时间为夜间。着陆场将继续沿用前期夜间搜救中成熟的无人机照明布设方案，确保着陆场整体照明亮度充足，视野清晰，能够保障昼夜连贯作业。 “为提高地面分队机动效率和安全性，我们在着陆场西区新建了一条总长50多公里的柏油路，地面分队开展搜救处置的时间将大幅缩短。”酒泉卫星发射中心毛永军在任务情况介绍会上说。目前，3名航天员在轨时间近7个月，这对出舱转运、医监医保等提出了更高要求。为此，酒泉卫星发射中心医监医保人员在演练中严守规范、精细操作，着陆区还专门设置了航天员专用进出无障碍升降平台。 “这个升降平台是针对航天员从失重太空返回地球重力环境专门设计的，可以防止航天员出现体位性低血压和其他意外损伤。”演练现场的工作人员介绍。据了解，这次任务新测试使用的通信设备，具有高带宽、低延时等特点，在通话质量和通信稳定性上有显著提升。“网络组网方式更加灵活，搜救队伍到哪里，网络覆盖就同步延伸到哪里。”酒泉卫星发射中心龙坤明说。目前，东风着陆场各搜救力量已准备就绪，装备设备状态良好，气象条件较好，具备执行返回任务条件。