Long March 2F | Shenzhou-1
Launch Successful
L - -- : -- : -- : --
Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
Nov. 19, 1999, 10:30 p.m. - Nov. 19, 1999, 10:30 p.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
Nov. 19, 1999, 10:30 p.m. - Nov. 19, 1999, 10:30 p.m.
First test flight of the Shenzhou spacecraft, without crew on board. The spacecraft used has only 8 of the 13 sub-systems on board being operational, and was not equipped with a life support system or an emergency escape system. The major test objectives of the mission were the flight of the Long March 2F rocket, separation of the modules, attitude control, lifting body reentry, heat shield testing and ground recovery.
The Long March 2F is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch the crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a human-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The first Shenzhou spacecraft was different from those later used. Instead of featuring unfolding solar panels, Shenzhou 1 was equipped with fixed solar cells. During this first flight there were also no orbit changes. According to Qi Faren the chief designer of the spacecraft, only 8 of the 13 sub-systems on board the spacecraft were operational. Shenzhou 1 was designed primarily to test the Long March 2F rocket. The only systems and capabilities tested on the spacecraft were the separation of the modules, attitude control, lifting body reentry, the heat shield, and ground recovery.
Shenzhou DetailsThe China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment. It was officially established in July 1999 as part of a Chinese government reform drive, having previously been one part of the former China Aerospace Corporation. Various incarnations of the program date back to 1956.
INFO WIKIA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Small Earth observation satellite from NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for an "Indian strategic user", details TBD. This launch will also carry 18 o…
The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope …
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
CSG-3 is an Earth observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency, part of a reconnaissance constellation using synthetic aperture radars operatin…
2 satellites officially described as for "demonstration of new technologies for spatial targets detection" purposes.
A satellite officially described as for cartography purposes, details TBD.
A pair of Russian optical Earth observation satellites built by the Progress Rocket Space Centre for obtaining stereo images of the Earth's surface, …
China's geostationary meteorological satellite program FY-4 (Feng Yun 4) is the second generation of chinese geostationary meteorological satellites.