Shenzhou 4

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Mission dates
Mission: Shenzhou 4
COSPAR-ID : 2002-061A
Spacecraft: Shenzhou
Launcher: Long march 2F
Crew: no
Begin: December 29, 2002, 16:40  UTC
Starting place: Jiuquan
Landing: January 5, 2003, 11:16 UTC
Landing place: Inner Mongolia, 40 ° 31 'N, 111 ° 23' E
Flight duration: 6 d 18 h 36 min
Earth orbits: 108
◄ Before / After ►
Shenzhou 3
(unmanned) 		Shenzhou 5
(manned)

Shenzhou 4 ( Chinese  神舟 四号 ) launched on December 29, 2002 and was the Shenzhou spacecraft's fourth unmanned test , which was unusual in that it was conducted in very cold weather. Winter temperatures around −15 ° C are not unusual in Inner Mongolia . However, at the end of December 2002, when preparations for the launch had already started, a cold wave hit the Jiuquan Cosmodrome with temperatures of −28 ° C. The experts had doubts whether this was caused by metal contraction or similar. could not cause problems. All kinds of cold protection measures were used, and after consulting the meteorologists, it was decided to start on December 29th.

The flight served as a dress rehearsal for a manned mission to the People's Republic of China , where the ground systems for orbit tracking and control were tested. The spaceship itself was also equipped with all subsystems, and so after the successful test, the green light was finally given for the following manned Shenzhou 5 mission . On board the ship was again an extensive collection of a total of 52 experiments and scientific payloads, especially in the fields of astrophysics , earth observation , microgravity and biotechnology . The most impressive experiment, however, was a laser reflector attached to the outer shell , with the help of which the height of the sea ​​level could be calculated to the millimeter.

Several astronauts had previously trained how to get started and how to operate the controls. The course of the spaceship had also been planned so that a rendezvous with a second Shenzhou spaceship would have been possible. The landing took place after 108 earth orbits or six days and 18 hours of flight on January 5, 2003 at around 11:16 am UTC, 40 kilometers away from Hohhot in Inner Mongolia . However, two larger and more complex path corrections were necessary during the flight. Astronaut food and personal equipment were also stowed on board .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 慕 泉: 李继 耐 回忆 我国 载人 航天 工程 的 艰辛 与 喜悦. In: cctv.com. October 26, 2003, Retrieved October 4, 2019 (Chinese).