 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (December 2010) |
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2002-014A |
| SATCAT no. | 27397 |
| Mission duration | 6 days, 18 hours, 51 minutes |
| Orbits completed | 107 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Shenzhou |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 25, 2002, 14:15:04 UTC |
| Rocket | Chang Zheng 2F |
| Launch site | Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | April 1, 2002, 08:51 UTC |
| Landing site | Inner Mongolia[vague] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Inclination | 42.40 degrees |
Shenzhou missions | |
Shenzhou 3 (Chinese: 神舟三号) launched on March 25, 2002, was the third unmanned launch of China's Shenzhou spacecraft. This was the first Shenzhou spacecraft launched that could have actually carried a human and as such the main objective of the mission was to test the systems required to support a human in space. On board it carried a dummy to simulate physiological signals of a human — palpitation, pulse, breathing, eating, metabolism, and excretion.
The launch had been delayed several months due to design changes. It had been planned that Shenzhou 3 would use a new interior design but implementation problems meant reverting to the previous version. The rocket and spacecraft were eventually rolled out on the pad during the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress and the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in early March 2002.