SHENZHOU-16 CREW RETURNS TO EARTH, Oct 30, 2023, China, 8:11 pm ET?

Update, October 29:  China confirms they will land on October 31 (Beijing Time) at the Dongfeng Landing Site in Inner Mongolia, but they did not specify the landing time.

Original Entry: China has not officially announced when the Shenzhou-16 crew will return to Earth from the Tiangong-3 space station (their replacements arrived on Shenzhou-17 on October 26), but Bob Christy @Orbital Focus calculates it is likely on October 31 at 00:11 UTC, which is October 30, 8:11 pm EDT.

Mission Update

Shenzhou 16 Return from Chinese Space Station

Touchdown is now projected on Oct 31 at around 00:11 UTC in an area about 50 km north of Jiuquan SC from where it was launched#Shenzhou17 #Shenzhou16 #China #space #launch

— Orbital Focus (@OrbitalFocus) October 27, 2023