The Shenzhou spacecraft and the Dragon spacecraft are currently the mainstream manned spacecraft in China and the United States. The main indicators are as follows
1. First flight time and number of passengers
Shenzhou spacecraft: In October 2003, Shenzhou 5 was the first manned spacecraft on the mainland to make its first flight. The space of the Shenzhou spacecraft is about 6 m³, the space is smaller, and it can carry up to 3 people, which is relatively crowded.
Dragon spacecraft: The first manned maiden flight in May 2020, with a space of 9.3 m³ and a maximum payload of 7 people, often 4 people. Each person has more space and a better experience.
Second, the structural aspect
Shenzhou spacecraft: The Shenzhou series of spacecraft adopts a three-cabin configuration, consisting of a propulsion module, a return module, and an orbital module.
Dragon spacecraft: Divided into two sections, the upper part is the space capsule, and the lower part is the service module. The capsule is topped with a nose cone, which is open during space flight, and thrusters are built into the capsule to power the spacecraft.
3. Landing place and exit method
Shenzhou spacecraft: landed on land — usually in Inner Mongolia, on the mainland, where astronauts emerge from the top of the re-entry capsule.
Dragon spacecraft: Landing at sea – usually in the Gulf of Mexico, astronauts exit from the side of the capsule.
Fourth, whether it can be reused
Shenzhou spacecraft: Not reusable for the time being.
Dragon Spacecraft: The number of reusable times has been increased from a maximum of 5 times to 15 times in the future
Fifth, the cost aspect
Shenzhou spacecraft: In July 2022, the Chinese media "Aerospace News" reported that the single cost of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft is 850 million yuan, and the single cost of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft is 350 million yuan.
Dragon spacecraft: It is said that SpaceX uses booster recovery and fairing recovery technology, which greatly reduces the cost of rocket launches, and the launch cost can be controlled at about $20 million, excluding 30% of the profits, the cost of a single Dragon spacecraft is about $135 million.
In terms of cost, the two are equally equal.
7. Docking time with the space station
Shenzhou spacecraft: The manned spacecraft Shenzhou 16 docked with the Tianhe core module about 6.5 hours later.
Dragon spacecraft: According to NASA, the Dragon spacecraft, launched in early March, docked with the space station after nearly 28 hours of flight.
In this regard, the Shenzhou spacecraft is slightly superior.
8. The future of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft is promising
Since the first flight of Shenzhou 1 in 1999, there has been no major change in the basic framework, so there is a big gap with the overall performance of the rising star - the Xspace Dragon spacecraft 20 years later.
The Mengzhou manned spacecraft is a reusable manned spacecraft being developed by the mainland, which is expected to fly in 2027~2028. Its low-earth orbit version can carry 4 to 7 astronauts, which is much better than the existing Shenzhou spacecraft, while the version used for manned lunar landing can carry 3 astronauts.
At that time, the mainland dream boat spacecraft will have the strength to compete with the Musk Dragon spacecraft!