Shenzhou 3

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

14:15:04

Monday March 25, 2002

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First Long March 2F launch with an active launch escape system.

Shenzhou 3

Wiki

Shenzhou 3 (Chinese: 神舟三号) launched on March 25, 2002, was the third uncrewed launch of China's Shenzhou spacecraft. This was the first Shenzhou spacecraft launched that could have actually carried a human and as such the main objective of the mission was to test the systems required to support a human in space. On board, it carried a dummy to simulate the physiological signals of a human. The launch had been delayed several months due to design changes. It had been planned that Shenzhou 3 would use a new interior design but implementation problems meant reverting to the previous version. The rocket and spacecraft were eventually rolled out on the pad during the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress and the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in early March 2002. On board were carried 44 different experiments. These included an imaging spectrograph, cloud sensor, radiation sensor, solar ultraviolet monitor, solar constant monitor, atmospheric composition detector, atmospheric density detector, multi-chamber space crystallization furnace, space protein crystal equipment, a cell bioreactor, a solid matter tracking detector, and a microgravity gauge. Also on board was a video camera that broadcast images of the Earth as seen through one of the windows on the spacecraft.

Low Earth Orbit

1 Payload

7,400 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Long March 2F

Active 1999 to 2008

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation logo

Agency

CASC

Rocket

Height: 58.34m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 8,400 kg

GTO: 0 kg

Liftoff Thrust

5,985 Kilonewtons

Fairing

Diameter: 3.6m

Height: 19.11m

Stages

2

Strap-ons

4

Launch Site

Site 901 (SLS-1)

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China

Fastest Turnaround

31 days 9 hours

Stats

Long March 2F


3rd

Mission

1st

Mission of 2002

2002


14th

Orbital launch attempt