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 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…
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.
