Shenzhou V launch successful 2003

The Chinese people's space dream could be traced to a fairy tale that has been told since ancient time, about a woman of surpassing beauty flying to the moon after taking some magic medicine, where she stays as the Moon Goddess.

Back in the 14th century, a Chinese named Wan Hu attempted to send himself into sky by lighting 47 gunpowder-packed bamboo tubes tied to his chair. Although he got killed in this bold attempt, Wan has since been widely regarded as the world's first person using rockets as a flight vehicle.

Thirty-three years ago, Hu Shixiang pressed the rocket blast- off button to send China's first man-made satellite into space. China's space exploration activities had since started.

Five years later, with the successful landing of the country's first recoverable satellite, China turned out to be the third nation in the world having acquired the space vehicle recovery technology. "This laid a solid foundation for China's manned space flight program", said Wang Yongzhi, chief designer of China's manned space program.

"The successful launch of Shenzhou-5 proves that China's space technology has advanced from the research phase into the application phase," said Gu Yidong, director-general and chief designer of the space application system under China's manned space program.

Since China officially launched its manned space program in 1992, its experts have resolved a range of technical problems with the astronaut system, space application system, spacecraft system, rocket system and launch pad system.

Between 1999 and 2002, China successfully launched four experimental and unmanned spacecraft, paving the way for this manned flight. The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located at the juncture area of the Badain Jardan Desert and the Gobi Desert in northwest China's Gansu Province, is the country's largest spaceport from which all the previous four spacecraft were launched.