China Manned Space Program

China Manned Space Program

Logo of CMS in the shape of a space station, or the Chinese character "中" as in "中国" (China).
Country	China
Organization	China Manned Space Agency
Purpose	human spaceflight
Status	active
Program history
Duration	From 21 September 1992 till now
First flight	Shenzhou 1 20 November 1999
First crewed flight	Shenzhou 5 15 October 2003
Successes	17
Failures	0
Launch site(s)	Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Wenchang Space Launch Site
Vehicle information
Uncrewed vehicle(s)	Tianzhou cargo spacecraft
Crewed vehicle(s)	Shenzhou spacecraft
Crew capacity	3
Launch vehicle(s)	Long March 2F Long March 7 Long March 5B

The China Manned Space Program (CMS; Chinese: 中国载人航天工程; pinyin: Zhōngguó Zàirén Hángtiān Gōngchéng), also known as Project 921 (Chinese: 921工程; pinyin: 921 Gōngchéng), is a space program developed by China and run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), designed to develop and enhance human spaceflight capabilities for China. It was approved on 21 September 1992 and been in operation ever since.

As one of the most complex space programs in the history of China, CMS is split into “three steps”, or three phases, which can be summarized as:^[1]

1. Crewed spacecraft launch and return.
2. Space laboratory with capabilities of extravehicular activities, space rendezvous and spacecraft docking procedures.
3. Long term space station.

As of July 2021, China has successfully completed the first two steps, which made China the third nation to master human spaceflight after the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States. The Third Step – the construction of Chinese space station, is ongoing. Ever since the first spacecraft was launched in 1999, CMS has completed 17 missions, all of which ended in success with zero astronaut casualty.

History[]

The formal research of China's human spaceflight began in 1968. An institute for medical and space engineering was founded in Beijing.^[2] It was the predecessor of China Astronaut Research and Training Center, at which China's astronauts are trained in the following decades. Before that, in 1964, China launched a sounding rocket, carrying several small animals to an altitude of 70 km as an attempt to study the effects of spaceflight on living creatures.^[2]

On 24 April 1970, China launched its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong I into orbit. In 1970, Qian Xuesen, the father of China's space program, introduced his human spaceflight project, which was later called Project 714. An early version of crewed spacecraft called Shuguang I was under research. However, this program was cancelled due to lack of funds and political interest. Instead, China decided in 1978 to pursue a method of sending astronauts into space using the more familiar FSW-derived ballistic reentry capsules. Two years later. in 1980, the Chinese government cancelled the program citing cost concerns.^[3]

In order to gain relative experience, China launched and recover the first Fanhui Shi Weixing, a recoverable satellite, on 26 November 1975.^[4] The success of the mission demonstrated China's capabilities of controlled atmospheric entry.

In 1986, the 863 Program was funded by the Chinese government. It was intended to stimulate the development of science and technologies in several key areas, in which space capabilities were included.^[5]

The Chinese human spaceflight program, namely the China Manned Space Program, was formally approved on September 21 1992 by the Standing Committee of Politburo as Project 921,^[6] with work beginning on 1 January 1993. The initial plan has three steps:^[1]

1. First Step: Launch a manned spaceship with the aim of building up the fundamental capability in human space exploration and space experiments.
2. Second Step: Launch a space laboratory tasked with making technological breakthroughs for extravehicular activities, space rendezvous and spacecraft docking procedures, as well as providing a solution for man-tended space utilization on a certain scale and short-term basis.
3. Third Step: Establish a Space Station with the aim providing a solution for man-tended -space utilization on a larger scale and longer-term basis.

The program is lead by a chief commander and a chief designer, who handle administrative and technical issues respectively. A joint meeting between these two is responsible for making decisions on important issues during the implementation of the project.^[6] The first chief designer of the program was Wang Yongzhi. A new organization, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), was founded for the administration of the program.

Development[]

First Step[]

The development of Long March 2F, China's first human-rated launch vehicle, began in September 1992.^[7] It was derived from Long March 2E, but with launch escape system and control system redundancy.

On December 1994, the first hot test fire of human-rated rocket's engine was completed successfully.^[7]

In 1996 two pilots from the Air Force, Wu Jie and Li Qinglong, were handpicked and sent to Russia for training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre.^[8]

In January 1998, 14 pilots were selected as the first batch of Chinese astronaut candidates.^[9]

In November 1998, a new flight control center, Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, was opened to support CMS missions.^[8] Also in that year, a new launch complex adapting the advanced "three verticals" (vertical assembly, vertical testing and vertical transport) strategy was put into service in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to support CMS missions exclusively.^[10]

On 20 November 1999, Shenzhou 1, the first uncrewed Shenzhou spacecraft, was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and entered predetermined orbit. The ground electrical test model was used during this test flight to meet the deadline by the end of 1999.^[8] The return capsule of the spacecraft successfully separated with other parts and landed intact in Inner Mongolia the next day. Despite only limited systems being tested, the mission was still a successful test flight for the Shenzhou spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket.

The second test flight of Shenzhou occurred on 10 January 2001. Shenzhou 2, the first formal unmanned spaceship of China, was launched into orbit and stayed for seven days before the return capsule separated and performed a safe landing. ^[11]

In 2002, China launched Shenzhou 3 and Shenzhou 4; both ended in success. All systems of the program had passed the tests perfectly, indicating a manned mission was ready to be conducted.^[8]

The fifth launch, Shenzhou 5, was the first to carry a human (Yang Liwei) and occurred at 01:00:00 UTC on 15 October 2003.^[12] At 587 seconds after taking-off, the spaceship separated from the rocket and entered an elliptical orbit with inclination of 42.4°, the perigee height of 199.14 km and the apogee height of 347.8 km.^[13] Yang became the first Chinese launched into space with Chinese launch vehicle and spacecraft. At 22:23 UTC on 15 October 2003, the re-entry module landed safely on central Inner Mongolia. The whole mission lasted for 21 hours and 23 minutes, making China the third country capable of sending human to space and back independently, after Russia and the United States.

Second Step[]

The goal of the Second Step of CMS was to make technology breakthroughs in extravehicular activities (EVA) as well as space rendezvous and docking to support short-term human activities in space.^[14] To complete the goal, China launched multiple crewed and uncrewed missions, including two prototypes of China's space station.

Phase 1: EVA, space rendezvous and docking[]

The first "multi-person and multi-day" manned space flight, Shenzhou 6, was conducted during 12-17 October 2005. Astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng spent more than 4 days in space and orbited the Earth for 76 circles. ^[15]

On 25 September 2008, Shenzhou 7 was launched into space with three astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng. During the flight, Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming completed China's first EVA with the Feitian extravehicular space suit made in China and the Sea Hawk extravehicular space suit imported from Russia respectively.^[16]

In order to practice space rendezvous and docking, China launched an 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) target vehicle, Tiangong 1, in 2011 with a variant of Long March 2F,^[17] followed by Shenzhou 8, the first uncrewed Shenzhou spacecraft since Shenzhou 5. The two spacecraft performed China's first automatic rendezvous and docking, which verified the performance of docking procedures and mechanisms.^[18] About 9 months later, Tiangong 1 completed the first manual rendezvous and docking with Shenzhou 9, a crewed spacecraft carrying Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and China's first female astronaut Liu Yang.^[19]

On 11 June 2013, crewed spacecraft Shenzhou 10 carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping was launched into orbit and docked with Tiangong 1. The three astronauts spent 12 days in Tiangong 1 by conducting scientific experiments, giving lectures to over 60 million students in China, and performing more docking tests before returning to Earth safely.^[20] The completion of the missions from Shenzhou 6 to Shenzhou 10 demonstrated China's technical advancement in human spaceflight, ending phase 1 of the Second Step.^[21]

Phase 2: space laboratory[]

To further enhance China's human spaceflight capabilities and make preparation for the construction of future space station, China launched the second phase of the Second Step, which consisted of four space laboratory missions.

In June 2016, China conducted the maiden flight of Long March 7, a new generation medium-lift launch vehicle with higher payload capability to low Earth orbit, from the newly built Wenchang Space Launch Site located in the coastal Hainan Province.^[22]

In September 2016, Tiangong 2 was launched into the orbit. It was a space laboratory with more advanced functions and equipment than Tiangong 1. A month later, Shenzhou 11 was launched and docked with Tiangong 2. Two astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong entered Tiangong 2 and stationed for about 30 days, breaking China's record of longest human spaceflight mission while verifying the viability of astronauts’ medium-term stay in space.^[22]

In April 2017, China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou 1 docked with Tiangong 2 and completed multiple in-orbit propellant refueling tests, which marked the successful completion of the Second Step of CMS.^[22]

Third Step[]

On 5 May 2020, China successfully launched the maiden flight of Long March 5B, whose payload capability is greater than 22,000 kg (49,000 lb), allowing China to put a large space station module into low Earth orbit.^[23] The mission inaugurated the Third Step of CMS.^[24]

The Third Step aims to complete the construction of China's space station Tiangong. It can be divided into two phases:^[25]

Phase 1: demonstration of key technologies (underway)[]

On 29 April 2021, the second Long March 5B rocket lifted off from Wenchang, carrying the 22,500 kg (49,600 lb) Tianhe core module, the largest and most complex spacecraft independently developed by China. The core module entered the predetermined orbit about 494 seconds after launch, marking the start of the in-orbit construction of China's space station.^[25]

On 29 May 2021, Tianzhou 2, the first cargo spacecraft to the space station, was launched by a Long March 7 rocket and docked with Tianhe core module 8 hours later.^[26] The shipment included astronaut supplies, space station equipment, extravehicular space suits and propellant.^[27]

The first crewed mission to Tianhe, Shenzhou 12, was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 17 June 2021. The spacecraft conducted China's first crewed autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking 6 hours 32 minutes after launch.^[28] Three crew members, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, became the first inhabitants of Tiangong Space Station.

At 00:11 UTC on 4 July 2021, two of the Shenzhou 12 crew members, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, conducted the first EVA on the space station, which lasted for 6 hours 46 minutes.^[29]

According to the plan released by CMSA, there will be one more cargo mission and one more crewed mission to be carried out in order to complete phase 1.^[30]

Phase 2: assembly and construction (upcoming)[]

Following the conclusion of phase 1, 6 more missions will be conducted to implement phase 2, including launches of 2 laboratory modules of Tiangong, 2 cargo spacecraft and 2 crewed spacecraft. All these missions are scheduled to be carried out by the end of 2022.^[30]

Once the construction is completed, Tiangong Space Station will enter the application and development phase, which is poised to last for no less than 10 years.^[30]

Composition[]

China Manned Space Program is composed of 14 systems, with more than one thousand units from various sectors involved.^[31][1]

The 14 systems and their main objectives are:

Astronaut System

Ensuring the health and performance of astronauts during long term space flight

Space Application System

Making use of the on-board application support capacity to enable space science experiments and investigations.

Manned Spacecraft System

Development of Shenzhou series manned spacecraft used for transporting human into space and back.

Space Laboratory System

Development of two prototypes of future space station, Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2, for the purpose of technology demonstrations.

Long March 2F

Development of Long March 2F, the human-rated carrier rocket used to launch Shenzhou spacecraft and space laboratories.

Long March 7

Development of Long March 7 carrier rocket designed for Tianzhou cargo spacecraft launching.

Long March 5B

Development of Long March 5B carrier rocket, which is responsible for carrying space station modules for the construction of Tiangong Space Station.

Jiuquan Launch Center

Carrying out launch missions for manned spaceship and space laboratory.

Wenchang Space Launch Site

Carrying out the launching of Tiangong space station modules and Tianzhou cargo spaceships.

TT&C and Communications System

Measuring, monitoring and controlling the flight path, altitude and operating status of the rockets and spacecraft, providing channels for video and voice communications with the astronauts and sending scientific data back to Earth.

Landing Site System

Tracking, searching and locating the landed re-entry capsules, rescuing the astronauts and refurbishing and recycling the re-entry capsules and payloads.

Manned Space Station

Development and building of China’s Tiangong Space Station

Cargo Vehicle System

Research and development of Tianzhou cargo vehicle.

Optical Module

Research and development of optical facilities and optical platforms.

Missions[]

Mission types：

Conducted missions[]

The list below includes all missions operated by CMS, including crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, cargo spaceships, launch vehicle test flights and space station modules.

Sequence No.	Mission	Launch	Launch Vehicle	Launch Site	Duration	Landing/Re-entry	Landing/Re-entry Location	Crew	Outcome	Notes
↓ First Step ↓
1	Shenzhou 1	19 Nov 1999	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	21 h 11 m	20 Nov 1999	Dorbod Banner	(uncrewed)	Success	First mission of CMS. Uncrewed test flight of Shenzhou spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket.
2	Shenzhou 2	9 Jan 2001	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	7 d 10 h 22 m	16 Jan 2001	Dorbod Banner	(uncrewed)	Success	Carried scientific payload including monkey, dog, rabbit and other animals.
3	Shenzhou 3	25 Mar 2002	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	6 d 18 h 51 m	1 Apr 2002	Dorbod Banner	(uncrewed)	Success	Carried a test dummy.
4	Shenzhou 4	29 Dec 2002	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	6 d 18 h 36 m	5 Jan 2003	Dorbod Banner	(uncrewed)	Success	Carried 2 test dummies and several science experiments.
5	Shenzhou 5	15 Oct 2003	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	21 h 22 m 45 s	15 Oct 2003	Dorbod Banner	Yang Liwei	Success	First crewed spaceflight of China, orbited Earth for 14 circles, made China the third country with independent human spaceflight capability after Russia and the U.S.
↓ Second Step, phase 1 ↓
6	Shenzhou 6	12 Oct 2005	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	4 d 19 h 33 m	16 Oct 2005	Dorbod Banner	Fei Junlong Nie Haisheng	Success	Multiple days in space, 75 orbits.
7	Shenzhou 7	25 Sep 2008	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	2 d 20 h 27 m	28 Sep 2008	Dorbod Banner	Zhai Zhigang Liu Boming Jing Haipeng	Success	First three-person crew, first Chinese spacewalk.
8	Tiangong 1	29 Sep 2011	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	—	2 Apr 2018	Southern Pacific	(uncrewed)	Success	Target vehicle for space rendezvous and docking testing.
9	Shenzhou 8	31 Oct 2011	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	16 d 13 h 34 m	17 Nov 2011	Dorbod Banner	(uncrewed)	Success	Uncrewed mission, completed China's first space rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.
10	Shenzhou 9	16 Jun 2012	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	12 d 15 h 24 m	29 Jun 2012	Dorbod Banner	Jing Haipeng Liu Wang Liu Yang	Success	First Chinese woman in space; first repeated flight; first crewed docking with Tiangong-1.
11	Shenzhou 10	11 Jun 2013	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	14 d 14 h 29 m	26 Jun 2013	Dorbod Banner	Nie Haisheng Zhang Xiaoguang Wang Yaping	Success	Second Chinese woman in space, second crewed docking with Tiangong-1.
↓ Second Step, phase 2 ↓
12	Long March 7 test flight	25 Jun 2016	Long March 7	Wenchang	—	26 Jun 2016	Jiuquan	(uncrewed)	Success	Long March 7 test flight carrying scaled model of next-generation crewed spacecraft.
13	Tiangong 2	15 Sep 2016	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	—	19 Jul 2019	Southern Pacific	(uncrewed)	Success	Space laboratory with rich equipment, capable of in-orbit refueling and supporting mid-term spaceflight.
14	Shenzhou 11	17 Oct 2016	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	32 d 06 h 29 m	18 Nov 2016	Dorbod Banner	Jing Haipeng Chen Dong	Success	First and only crewed docking with Tiangong-2, crew set record for longest Chinese crewed spaceflight prior to the Third Step.
15	Tianzhou 1	20 Apr 2017	Long March 7	Wenchang	—	22 Sep 2017	(burnt up in atmosphere)	(uncrewed)	Success	First cargo spacecraft, completed in-orbit propellant refueling tests.
↓ Third Step, phase 1 ↓
16	Long March 5B test flight	5 May 2020	Long March 5B	Wenchang	—	8 May 2020	Jiuquan	(uncrewed)	Success	Long March 5B test flight carrying test vehicle of next-generation crewed spacecraft.
17	Tianhe Core Module	29 Apr 2021	Long March 5B	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Success	First module of Tiangong Space Station being launched into orbit.
18	Tianzhou 2	29 May 2021	Long March 7	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Ongoing	First cargo spacecraft to the space station.
19	Shenzhou 12	17 Jun 2021[32]	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	~3 months[33]	Sep 2021[32]	Jiuquan	Nie Haisheng Liu Boming Tang Hongbo	Ongoing	First crewed mission to dock with the Tianhe Core Module to begin construction of the Tiangong space station.[32][34]

Upcoming missions[]

Sequence No.	Mission	Launch (planned)	Launch Vehicle	Launch Site	Duration	Landing/Re-entry	Landing/Re-entry Location	Crew	Notes
20	Tianzhou 3	September 2021	Long March 7	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Second cargo spacecraft to the space station.
21	Shenzhou 13	October 2021	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	~6 months	—	Jiuquan	(pending)	Second crewed mission to the space station.
22		March 2022	Long March 7	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Third cargo spacecraft to the space station.
23		May 2022	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	~6 months	—	Jiuquan	(pending)	Third crewed mission to the space station.
↓ Third Step, phase 2 ↓
24	Wentian Laboratory Cabin Module	May-June 2022	Long March 5B	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Laboratory Cabin Module Ⅰ of the Tiangong Space Station.
25	Mengtian Laboratory Cabin Module	August-September 2022	Long March 5B	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Laboratory Cabin Module Ⅱ of the Tiangong Space Station.
26		October 2022	Long March 7	Wenchang	—	—	—	(uncrewed)	Fourth cargo spacecraft to the space station.
27		November 2022	Long March 2F	Jiuquan	~6 months	—	Jiuquan	(pending)	Fourth crewed mission to the space station.

Astronauts[]

November 1996 trainer selection[]

There were two astronaut trainers selected for Project 921. They trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center in Russia.

• Li Qinglong – born August 1962 in Dingyuan, Anhui Province and PLAAF interceptor pilot and space instructor at Star City
• Wu Jie

January 1998 astronaut candidate selection[]

1. Chen Quan
2. Deng Qingming – from Jiangxi Province and PLAAF pilot, back up on Shenzhou 11
3. Fei Junlong – second Chinese astronaut, commander of Shenzhou 6
4. Jing Haipeng – born October 1966 and PLAAF pilot, astronaut of Shenzhou 7, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 11
5. Liu Boming – born September 1966 and PLAAF pilot, astronaut of Shenzhou 7 and Shenzhou 12
6. Liu Wang – born in Shanxi Province and PLAAF pilot, flew on Shenzhou 9
7. Nie Haisheng – back up in Shenzhou 5, flight engineer on Shenzhou 6, commander of Shenzhou 10 and Shenzhou 12
8. Pan Zhanchun – PLAAF pilot
9. Yang Liwei – first man sent into space by the space program of China on Shenzhou 5, made the PRC the third country to independently send people into space
10. Zhai Zhigang – back up in Shenzhou 5, commander of Shenzhou 7
11. Zhang Xiaoguang – born in Liaoning Province and PLAAF pilot, flew on Shenzhou 10
12. Zhao Chuandong – PLAAF pilot

2010 astronaut candidate selection[]

2. Chen Dong – flew on Shenzhou 11
3. Liu Yang – first Chinese woman into space, flew on Shenzhou 9
4. Tang Hongbo – back up on Shenzhou 11, flew on Shenzhou 12
5. Wang Yaping – second Chinese woman into space, flew on Shenzhou 10
6. Ye Guangfu

October 2020 astroaut candidate selection[]

18 people - 17 men, 1 woman, all of whose names were not revealed - had been selected as new astronauts. The positions were broken down as 7 spacecraft pilots ("aviators of the People's Liberation Army Air Force"), 7 flight engineers ("former researchers or technicians in aeronautics, astronautics and other related fields"), and 4 mission payload specialists ("those involved in space science and through applications for China's manned space program").^[35]

International collaborations[]

In 2016, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) signed a Framework Agreement and a Funding Agreement with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to increase cooperation on future Chinese space station.^[36]

On 28 May 2018, UNOOSA and CMSA announced an initiative to accept applications from United Nations Member States to conduct experiments on-board China's space station.^[37]

On 12 June 2019, the winners of the competitors were announced. 9 projects, involving 23 institutions from 17 Member States of the United Nations, were selected by experts.^[38]

See also[]

• Tiangong Space Station
• Tiangong program
• Space program of China
• China Manned Space Agency

References[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

External links[]

• Official Website of China Manned Space Program

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shenzhou.

• Flickr: Photos tagged with shenzhou, photos likely relating to Shenzhou spacecraft