Great Achievements in China's Space Technology

　　Since 1985, when the Chinese government announced it was putting the "Long-March" rockets into the international commercial launching market, China has launched 27 foreign-made satellites into space, thus acquiring a share of the international commercial launching market. So far, the "Long-March" rockets have accomplished 63 launches, and made 21 consecutive successful flights from October 1996 to October 2000.

　　3. Launching Sites

　　China has set up three launching sites -- in Jiuquan (Northwest China's Gansu Province), Xichang (Southwest China's Sichuan Province), and Taiyuan (North China's Shanxi Province) -- which have successfully accomplished various kinds of test flights of launching vehicles and launches of a variety of satellites and experimental spacecraft. China's spacecraft launching sites are capable of making both domestic satellite launches and international commercial launches; the sites can also carry out international space cooperation in other fields.

　　4. TT&C

　　China has established an integrated TT&C network comprising TT&C ground stations and ships, which has successfully accomplished TT&C missions for experimental spacecraft and near-earth orbit and geo-stationary orbit satellites. This network has acquired the capability of sharing TT&C resources with international networks, and its technology has reached the international advanced level.

　　5. Manned Spaceflight

　　China reached a milestone in human history at 9:00am on October 15, 2003, with the launch of its first manned space flight into Earth orbit. Blasting off from a remote space base in the Gobi Desert atop a Long March 2F rocket, a single Chinese astronaut named Yang Liwei circled the planet every 90 minutes aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. Consisting of three modules, the 17,000-pound Shenzhou spacecraft made 14 orbits and remained in space for about 21 hours before executing re-entry and a successful parachute landing onto Chinese soil. The flight made China become only the third nation on Earth capable of independently launching its citizens into orbit, following the former Soviet Union in 1961, and the United States in 1962.