Published : 20/11/2025

In the early hours of 20 November 1999, China's first experimental spacecraft for future crewed mission, Shenzhou-1 (神舟一號), or known as Shenzhou (神舟號) at that time, was launched into space at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

The Shenzhou-1 spacecraft consisted of an orbital module, a re-entry module and a propulsion module. 10 minutes after lift-off, Shenzhou-1 successfully separated from its carrier rocket and accurately entered its predetermined orbit.

After entering orbit, the various tracking and control centres on the ground, as well as the tracking ships distributed across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, jointly tracked and controlled Shenzhou-1, while also testing the spacecraft's internal life support systems, attitude control systems, and so on.

After completing the scheduled space science experiments, Shenzhou-1 successfully returned and landed in the central region of Inner Mongolia.

Shenzhou-1 was the first flight experiment of China's crewed space programme, marking a major breakthrough for China in crewed spaceflight technology.

As an important milestone in China's space history, it made China the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to master the "round-trip to space" technology for spacecraft.