Shenzhou 5

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = "Shenzhou 5" (神舟五号)
insignia = Sz5insignia.png sign =
crew_members = 1
launch_pad = Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
launch = October 15, 2003 01:00:03 UTC
landing = October 15, 2003 22:22:48 UTC
crew_photo =
crew_caption = L-R: Fèi Jùnlóng, Niè Hǎishèng) ifdc|

next = "Shenzhou 6"
previous = "Shenzhou 4"
duration = 21 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds
orbits = 14

"Shenzhou 5" (zh-stp|s=神舟五号|t=神舟五號|p=shénzhōu wǔ hào) — was the first human spaceflight mission of the People's Republic of China (PRC), launched on October 15, 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F rocket booster. There had been four previous flights of un-manned Shenzhou missions since 1999.

Crew

*Yang Liwei

Mission parameters

*Mass: 7,790 kg
*Perigee: 332 km
*Apogee: 336 km
*Inclination: 42.4°
*Period: 91.2 minutes
*NSSDC ID: 2003-045A

Mission highlights

Shenzhou 5 was launched at 09:00 (UTC +8) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, a launch base in the Gobi Desert in Gansu Province, entering orbit 343 km above Earth at 09:10 (UTC +8) with astronaut Yang Liwei (杨利伟), the 38 year-old Lieutenant Colonel in the People's Liberation Army and former fighter pilot. The launch made the PRC the third country to independently launch a person into space, after the Soviet Union and the United States. The launch of the Shenzhou is the result of a manned space program which began in 1992.

Neither the launch nor the reentry was televised live, and it is widely believed that it was due to government fears that a disaster could create an embarrassment, but the time of both launch and reentry had been widely announced beforehand, and news appeared on Chinese Central Television within minutes after both events. This placed the level of secrecy associated with the Shenzhou V mission between American and Soviet practices. In contrast to American practice, foreign journalists were not admitted and live television was not broadcast; in contrast to Soviet practice, the fact that a launch was about to occur was announced days in advance and photos and video from the mission were available within minutes of launch and reentry.

It made 14 orbits and landed 21 hours after launch. The Chinese manned spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere at 06:04 (UTC +8) on October 16, 2003 (22:04 UTC 15 Oct 2003), its parachute opening normally and the astronaut saying he was feeling fine. The landing happened at 06:28 (UTC +8), just 4.8 kilometers from the planned landing site in Inner Mongolia, according to the government. The orbital module of the spacecraft stayed in orbit; it continued with automated experiments until March 16, 2004, and decayed on May 30. [ [http://satobs.org/seesat/May-2004/0381.html SeeSat-L May-04 : Shenzou OM decayed ] ]

Premier Wen Jiabao congratulated the country's first person in space after his safe return to Earth. Yáng emerged from the capsule about 15 minutes later and waved to members of the recovery team.

The control center in Beijing later declared China's first manned spacecraft mission to be successful after Yang Liwei emerged from his capsule.

Yáng's experience in using Space Diapers

During the flight Yáng wore Diapers. When questioned about his experience abord Shenzou 5 he stated "Better not to piss in diaper...Baby doesn't like it, neither does an adult [cite web|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/20/eng20060720_284788.html|title =Better not to piss in diaper in space, says China's first spaceman”|publisher= Xinhua|date=July 29, 2006|accessdate=October 5|accessyear=2008] ."

Hard Landing

Ever since official images taken after the landing revealed that the astronaut had an injured lower lip [cite web|url=http://www.sc.xinhuanet.com/content/2007-09/29/xinsrc_04309042916001501715764.jpg|title =杨利伟：“职业航天员是我的事业和人生追求”|publisher= Xinhua|date=September 29, 2007|accessdate=June 8|accessyear=2008] , rumours of a hard landing have circulated in China, and may have been leaked by personnel present at the landing site.or|date=September 2008 In addition, Yang reported the abnormal vibrations that appeared 120 seconds after launch, which he described as "very uncomfortable."cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2008/07-19/1317666.shtml|title="神七"运载火箭完成总装和出厂测试 今将出征|publisher= 中国新闻网|date=2008-07-19|accessdate=2008-07-19] As a consequence, corrective measures were swiftly taken to the design of the following CZ-2F carrier rocket for the Shenzhou-6. cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2008/07-19/1317666.shtml|title="神七"运载火箭完成总装和出厂测试 今将出征|publisher= 中国新闻网|date=2008-07-19|accessdate=2008-07-19]

Politics

The launch was widely heralded in the official Chinese state media with newspapers devoting far more space to the launch than any recent event. While the Chinese media portrayed the launch as a triumph for Chinese science and technology and a milestone for Chinese nationalism, it has also been pointed out in both Chinese and Western media that Yang Liwei showed the flag of the United Nations in addition to the flag of the People's Republic of China. [cite web|url=http://www.people.com.cn/GB/keji/1056/2136544.html|title=航天员杨利伟在飞船中展示中国国旗和联合国旗|publisher= People's Daily|date=2003-10-16|accessdate=2008-10-02] [cite web|url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinese_Astronauts_Begin_Training_For_Spacewalk_999.html|title=Chinese Astronauts Begin Training For Spacewalk|publisher= SpaceDaily|date=2007-07-19|accessdate=2008-10-02] The state media also reported that crop seeds from Taiwan were brought aboard the spacecraft. [cite web|url=http://www.people.com.cn/GB/keji/1056/2144579.html|title=“神舟”五号载人飞船成功搭载台湾农作物种子|publisher= People's Daily|date=2003-10-21|accessdate=2008-10-02]

President Hu Jintao, in an official celebration at the Great Hall of the People, hailed China's success in launching its first manned spacecraft into orbit, describing it as "an honor for our great motherland, an indicator for the initial victory of the country's first manned space flight and for an historic step taken by the Chinese people in their endeavor to surmount the peak of the world's science and technology."cite web|url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2003-11-08/10051080035s.shtml|title=庆祝我国首次载人航天飞行圆满成功|publisher=sina.com|date=2003-11-08|accessdate=2008-10-02]

Hu added, "the Party and the people will never forget those who have set up this outstanding merit in the space industry for the motherland, the people and the nation." He also expressed congratulations and respect to specialists and people who have contributed to China's space mission development on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission (CMC).cite web|url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2003-11-08/10051080035s.shtml|title=庆祝我国首次载人航天飞行圆满成功|publisher= sina.com|date=2003-11-08|accessdate=2008-10-02]

The launch was met with praise from around the world. For example, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan called the launch "a great feat"cite web|url=http://www1.cctv.com/english/20031016/101017.shtml
title=Congratulations from world leaders|publisher= CCTV.com|date=2003-10-16|accessdate=2008-10-02] and a U.S. State Department spokesman said that the United States wished to "applaud China's success in becoming only the third country to launch people into space".cite web|url=http://www1.cctv.com/english/20031016/101017.shtml
title=Congratulations from world leaders|publisher= CCTV.com|date=2003-10-16|accessdate=2008-10-02]

In popular culture

The spacecraft has since featured prominently in festivities and celebrations not only in China but also in foreign countries, such as official North Korean commemorative stamps showing the first Chinese manned spacecraft alongside the DPRK's first satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1. [cite web|url=http://www.qlstamp.com/news/0008/2004616103040.htm|title =朝鲜6月18日发行胡锦涛、温家宝等中国领导人的邮票|publisher= 其乐邮币卡网|date=2004-06-16|accessmonthday=September 19|accessyear=2008]

ee also

*Chinese space program
*Shenzhou spacecraft
*Long March rocket

References

External links

* [http://space.com/missionlaunches/shenzhou5_launch_031014.html http://space.com/missionlaunches/]
*http://www.astronautix.com/articles/couzhou5.htm
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/shenzhou-5.htm Spacefacts data about Shenzhou 5]