Shenzhou 3
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| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission: | Shenzhou 3 |
| Call sign: | Shenzhou 3 |
| Launch: | March 25, 2002 14:00 UTC Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center |
| Landing: | April 1, 2002 08:51 UTC Inner Mongolia |
| Duration: | 6 days 18 hours 51 minutes |
| Orbits: | 107 |
| Contents |
Crew
- none
Backup
- none
Mission Parameters
- Mass: 7,800 kg
- Perigee: 332 km
- Apogee: 337 km
- Inclination: 42.4°
- Period: 91.2 minutes
- NSSDC ID: 2002-014A
Mission Highlights
Shenzhou 3 (Divine Vessel 3) is a Chinese (PRC) "unmanned spaceship" that was launched by a Long March 2F rocket from Jiquan Space Launch Center in northwestern Gobi desert at 14:00 UT on 25 March 2002. It consists of three modules: a propulsion section, a conical re-entry capsule, and an orbiter. The capsule was equipped with all that would be needed for a manned flight. The emergency escape system, for automatic initiation and by ground command was repeatedly tested; more tests will be made before a manned launch. The capsule included an instrumented mannequin astronaut to test life support systems. (The earlier models, Shenzhou 1 and Shenzhou 2 did not provide escape capabilities.) The Shenzhou 3 (Divine Vessel 3) space capsule returned to earth in central Inner Mongolia at 08:51 UTC on April 1, 2002. The orbital module stayed in orbit and carried out additional experiments. It was deorbited on 12 November 2002.
See also
| Previous Mission: Shenzhou 2 |
Space program of China | Next Mission: Shenzhou 4 |