Soon, a second spacecraft, Shenzhou II, was built, with more advanced performance than Shenzhou I, and more fully equipped with safety and life-sustaining systems.
Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Jan. 10, 2001, it returned to Earth after a seven-day flight. This is China's first positive sample unmanned spacecraft. The spacecraft carried out experiments in the fields of space life sciences, space materials, space astronomy and physics under microgravity environment, and various instruments and equipment performed stably and worked normally, obtaining a large amount of data. Compared with the Shenzhou I spacecraft, the system structure of the Shenzhou II spacecraft has been expanded and its technical performance has been improved, and the technical status of the spacecraft is basically the same as that of the manned spacecraft.
The Shenzhou III spacecraft was launched on March 25, 2002, immediately after the launch. The spacecraft is equipped with human metabolism simulation device, anthropomorphic physiological signal equipment and body dummies, which can quantitatively simulate the important physiological activity parameters of astronauts' respiration and blood circulation. "The Shenzhou III orbital module stayed in orbit for more than 180 days in space and successfully carried out a series of space science experiments.
On December 30, 2002, the liftoff of Shenzhou IV was the last preview of China's manned spaceflight, a flight test with the highest technological requirements, the most complete system of participation and the greatest difficulty since the implementation of the manned spaceflight project, and faced the most severe test since the launch of the manned spaceflight: the launch site The lowest temperature was close to -30℃, exceeding the low-temperature launch conditions by nearly 10℃, and the launch of the spacecraft had entered an irreversible state. The final successful launch of the "Shenzhou" No. 4 spacecraft marked that China's manned spaceflight project withstood the most comprehensive flight test test in an unmanned state, creating a new record of low-temperature launches in China's spaceflight history, but also created a miracle of low-temperature rocket launches in the history of the world's spaceflight. Academician Liang Sili, China's aerospace expert, said that although the development and launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft was later than that of the U.S. and Russia, China's development of the spacecraft started from a higher point. "Shenzhou" spacecraft orbital module can not only stay in orbit to the earth observation, but also as a future space rendezvous and docking of a vehicle, is the future of heaven and earth round-trip transportation is an excellent tool.
On Oct. 6, the Associated Press released news to the world that before launching a manned spacecraft, China had announced that it would put a lunar satellite into lunar orbit in as little as three years. China's lunar exploration program, code-named "Project Chang'e," began in March of this year and is now progressing well. It is also said that if all goes well, the Chinese could be on the moon in 10 years.
October 15, 2003, was an unusual day. At 9:00 a.m., Yang Liwei's "Shenzhou" spacecraft took off with an earth-shaking roar. People all over the world saw the Chinese Yang Liwei flying in space on this day. From that day on, the Chinese five-star red flag began to appear among the flags fluttering in the vast universe. The "miraculous boat" that carries the hopes of the whole nation has opened up a brand-new space age in China.
October 16, 2003, 6:23 a.m., China's "Shenzhou V" spacecraft in the takeoff 21 hours later, landing smoothly in the empty grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
On Oct. 12, 2005, China successfully launched another manned spacecraft, Shenzhou VI, and for the first time conducted a multi-person, multi-day space flight test.
At 21:10 on Sept. 25, 2008, a Long March 2F carrier rocket carried the manned Shenzhou-7 spacecraft into space, carrying the Chinese nation's dream of striking new heights in space.
This is the seventh time the Shenzhou spacecraft has flown into space, and the third time the Chinese have been in space.
Following Yang Liwei's realization of the Chinese nation's dream of flying into space, and Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng's entry into the orbital module to carry out scientific experiments in space, today's golden autumn trip of three Chinese astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng, shoulders a brand new and historic mission - according to the plan, they will be in the space flight to realize the out-of-cabin Walking.