Shenzhou 1

Flight data:

Description:

• Shenzhou was a Chinese (PRC) unmanned capsule launched by a Long March 2F rocket from Jiquan launch center in Gansu province at 22:30 UT. It carried a mannequin for test purposes. It was reported to be an 8.4 ton capsule, capable of accommodating a crew of four. The capsule was not a reusable vehicle. It parachuted down in Inner Mongolia after orbiting for 21 hours and 11 minutes.

Mission details:

• On 20 November 1999, China announced the successful launch of the ShenZhou spaceship, the first unmanned experimental prototype spaceship for its manned space programme Project 921. The spaceship was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) by a CZ-2F space launch vehicle at local time 06:30 on 20 November (22:30 GMT 19 November), and the spaceship entered into orbit about 10 minutes after the lift-off.
• The first ShenZhou spaceship is only an electronic experimental prototype with no life support system and emergency escaping system. There was no mission payloads carried onboard. Despite this, the successful launch of the ShenZhou still marked a significant progress in China′s manned space programme.
• Controlled by the newly established Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Centre, the ShenZhou spaceship flew 21 hours 11 minutes (14 orbits) before the YuanWang-3 tracking ship off the coast of Namibia picked up the spacecraft′s signal at 18:49 GMT, and commanded retro-fire. The re-entry capsule of the spaceship entered the earth atmosphere and flew over the coast of the Arabian peninsula, and then over Pakistan, and entered Chinese territory over Tibet.
• The drogue chute deployed at an altitude of 30km and the re-entry capsule soft-landed in the scheduled landing spot in Inner Mongolia. The capsule touched down at 03:41 Beijing Time on 21 November 1999 (19:41 GMT on 20 November 1999). The landing coordination is 41 deg N, 105 deg E.

External links:

• Flight of Shenzhou 1

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Shenzhou 1. Credit: #411a

Recovery cancel. Credit: #411a