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Shenzhou
Project Summary
In 1992, China's president approved the start of a manned spaceflight program that, if successful, would make China the third nation to launch humans into space. According to British space expert Phillip Clark, the project, code named Project 921, uses a modified version of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that is heavier, has four (instead of two) solar panels, and a cylindrical (instead of spherical) forward module. In November 1999, the Chinese launched a successful unmanned test of their manned spacecraft, named Shenzhou (which means "magic vessel" but whose Chinese written characters sound the same as the word for "China"). The Chinese plan several more unmanned tests, with a first manned flight coming on October 15, 2003. Incidentally, the Chinese refer to their astronauts as "taikonauts," which is based on the Chinese word for "space." China's first taikonaut was Lt. Col. Yang Liwei, who orbited the Earth 14 times during his almost 1-day flight aboard Shenzhou 1. Yang was one of 14 taikonauts in training that were selected in 1998. China promised additional manned flights, including the eventual development of their own space station.
Missions Flown
# of Flt.
Date Spacecraft Name Crew Days Mission/Payload
-------- ----------------------- ---- ---- ------------------------
Manned Flight Details 1
11/21/99 Shenzhou 1 - 1 Unmanned test flight
01/09/01 Shenzhou 2 - 7 Carried small animals
03/26/02 Shenzhou 3 - 7 Unmanned test flight
12/30/02 Shenzhou 4 - _ Unmanned test flight
10/15/03 Shenzhou 5 1 1 Manned flight
10/12/05 Shenzhou 6 2 5 Manned flight
09/25/08 Shenzhou 7 3 3 Manned flight/Spacewalk
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