Shenzhou 5 launch. Artwork, with the flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the background, showing the launch of Shenzhou 5, China's first m

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Shenzhou 5 launch. Artwork, with the flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the background, showing the launch of Shenzhou 5, China's first manned spacecraft. This spacecraft was launched on 15 October 2003, on a Long March 2F rocket, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north-west China's Gansu Province. It was the first human spaceflight mission flown by the PRC. Taikonaut Yang Liwei (born 1965) made 14 orbits, and landed after 21 hours. China is the third country to have achieved independent human spaceflight, the other two being the Soviet Union and the United States in 1961.

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Size: 3543px × 2531px
Photo credit: © DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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