China Manned Space Program uses Shenzhou
Development
First Step
The development of Long March 2F, China's first human-rated launch vehicle, began in September 1992. It was derived from the Long March 2E, but with a launch escape system and control system redundancy.
In December 1994, the first hot test fire of a human-rated rocket's engine was completed successfully.In 1996, two pilots from the Air Force, Wu Jie and Li Qinglong, were handpicked and sent to Russia for training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre.In January 1998, 14 pilots were selected as the first batch of Chinese astronaut candidates.In November 1998, a new flight control center, Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, was opened to support CMS missions. Also in that year, a new launch complex adapting the advanced "three verticals" (vertical assembly, vertical testing and vertical transport) strategy was put into service in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to support CMS missions exclusively.On 19 November 1999, Shenzhou 1, the first uncrewed Shenzhou spacecraft, was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and entered predetermined orbit. The ground electrical test model was used during this test flight to meet the deadline by the end of 1999. The return capsule of the spacecraft successfully separated with other parts and landed intact in Inner Mongolia the next day. Despite only limited systems being tested, the mission was still a successful test flight for the Shenzhou spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket.
The second test flight of Shenzhou occurred on 10 January 2001. Shenzhou 2, the first formal uncrewed spaceship of China, was launched into orbit and stayed for seven days before the return capsule separated and performed a safe landing.In 2002, China launched Shenzhou 3 and Shenzhou 4; both ended in success. All systems of the program had passed the tests perfectly, indicating a crewed mission was ready to be conducted.The fifth launch, Shenzhou 5, was the first to carry a human (Yang Liwei) and occurred at 01:00:00 UTC on 15 October 2003. At 587 seconds after taking off, the spaceship separated from the rocket and entered an elliptical orbit with an inclination of 42.4°, the perigee height of 199.14 km and the apogee height of 347.8 km. Yang became the first Chinese launched into space with Chinese launch vehicle and spacecraft. At 22:23 UTC on 15 October 2003, the re-entry module landed safely in central Inner Mongolia. The whole mission lasted for 21 hours and 23 minutes, making China the third country capable of sending humans to space and back independently, after Russia and the United States.
The first "multi-person and multi-day" crewed space flight, Shenzhou 6, was conducted during 12–17 October 2005. Astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng spent more than 4 days in space and orbited the Earth for 76 orbits.Development of Shenzhou series crewed spacecraft used for transporting humans into space and back.
Space Laboratory SystemJanuary 1998 astronaut candidate selection
Chen Quan – PLAAF pilot
Deng Qingming – from Jiangxi Province and PLAAF pilot, back up on Shenzhou 11, flew on Shenzhou 15
Fei Junlong – second Chinese astronaut, commander of Shenzhou 6 and Shenzhou 15
Jing Haipeng – born October 1966 and PLAAF pilot, astronaut of Shenzhou 7, Shenzhou 9, Shenzhou 11 and Shenzhou 16
Liu Boming – born September 1966 and PLAAF pilot, astronaut of Shenzhou 7 and Shenzhou 12
Liu Wang – born in Shanxi Province and PLAAF pilot, flew on Shenzhou 9
Nie Haisheng – back up in Shenzhou 5, flight engineer on Shenzhou 6, commander of Shenzhou 10 and Shenzhou 12
Pan Zhanchun – PLAAF pilot
Yang Liwei – first man sent into space by the space program of China on Shenzhou 5, made the PRC the third country to independently send people into space
Zhai Zhigang – back up in Shenzhou 5, commander of Shenzhou 7 and Shenzhou 13
Zhang Xiaoguang – born in Liaoning Province and PLAAF pilot, flew on Shenzhou 10
Zhao Chuandong – PLAAF pilot2010 astronaut candidate selection
Cai Xuzhe – flew on Shenzhou 14
Chen Dong – flew on Shenzhou 11, commander of Shenzhou 14
Liu Yang – first Chinese woman into space, flew on Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 14
Tang Hongbo – back up on Shenzhou 11, flew on Shenzhou 12
Wang Yaping – second Chinese woman into space, flew on Shenzhou 10 and Shenzhou 13
Ye Guangfu – back up on Shenzhou 12, flew on Shenzhou 13
Zhang Lu – flew on Shenzhou 15