October 15–16, 2003 CE / East Asia
Shenzhou 5: China's First Crewed Spaceflight
Yang Liwei entered Earth orbit aboard Shenzhou 5 and returned safely, completing China's first crewed space mission and opening a new phase of the country's human spaceflight.
The story
On October 15, 2003, Shenzhou 5 launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying astronaut Yang Liwei into Earth orbit; he returned safely the next day. The mission tested systems including the crewed spacecraft, life support, tracking and control, and recovery, and resulted from long-term engineering research and cooperation among multiple organizations. It was China's first crewed spaceflight, rather than humanity's first journey into space or a Moon landing. The map marks the launch site; the spacecraft's orbit is not equivalent to a single region on the ground.
Elsewhere in the world
China's human spaceflight program drew on and developed humanity's decades of spaceflight experience, later proceeding to build space laboratories and a space station.
Dates and precision
October 15–16, 2003 CE Ongoing process
The dates describe a process over time; the interactive timeline uses its starting point.
Representative map location
Jiuquan launch site
The point represents the launch site at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, rather than urban Jiuquan in Gansu. The spacecraft returned to Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.
Representative coordinates · 41.282°, 100.298°
Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.
Bibliography
- China National Space Administration | The Shenzhou 5 Mission
- China Manned Space Engineering Office | Xie Mingbao Answers Reporters’ Questions (October 16, 2003)
Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.