Crew

• none

Backup

• none

Mission Parameters

• Mass: 7,800 kg
• Perigee: 332 km
• Apogee: 337 km
• Inclination: 42.4°
• Period: 91.2 minutes
• NSSDC ID: 2002-014A

Mission Highlights

Shenzhou 3 (Divine Vessel 3) is a Chinese (PRC) "unmanned spaceship" that was launched by a Long March 2F rocket from Jiquan Space Launch Center in northwestern Gobi desert at 14:00 UT on 25 March 2002. It consists of three modules: a propulsion section, a conical re-entry capsule, and an orbiter. The capsule was equipped with all that would be needed for a manned flight. The emergency escape system, for automatic initiation and by ground command was repeatedly tested; more tests will be made before a manned launch. The capsule included an instrumented mannequin astronaut to test life support systems. (The earlier models, Shenzhou 1 and Shenzhou 2 did not provide escape capabilities.) The Shenzhou 3 (Divine Vessel 3) space capsule returned to earth in central Inner Mongolia at 08:51 UTC on April 1, 2002. The orbital module stayed in orbit and carried out additional experiments. It was deorbited on 12 November 2002.

See also

• Shenzhou spacecraft
• Long March rocket