Today in History · October 15, 2003
China sends its first astronaut into space
Yang Liwei orbits the Earth aboard Shenzhou 5, making China the third nation to launch a human into space on its own.
On October 15, 2003, a Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, carrying 38-year-old fighter pilot Yang Liwei aboard the Shenzhou 5 capsule. It was the culmination of more than a decade of secretive preparation under China’s crewed space program.
Yang completed 14 orbits of the Earth over roughly 21 hours, reporting that the planet was “very beautiful” as he passed over his homeland. He landed safely in Inner Mongolia the following morning, climbing out of the capsule to a hero’s welcome.
The flight made China only the third country — after the Soviet Union and the United States — to send a human into space using its own rocket and spacecraft. It announced China’s arrival as a major space power, paving the way for its space station, lunar missions and eventual landing of a rover on Mars.
