On this day, 2003: China sends its first astronaut into orbit
On Oct. 15, 2003, China launched astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit on Shenzhou 5, BBC News and the AP reported. That made China the third country to send a person into space. He circled Earth 14 times and landed about 21 hours later.
On Oct. 15, 2003, China launched its first crewed spacecraft, Shenzhou 5, with astronaut Yang Liwei on board, BBC News and the AP reported.
That made China the third country to send a person into space, after the Soviet Union and the United States, both outlets reported.
A Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan launch site in the Gobi desert at 9 a.m. local time, BBC News reported. The craft reached orbit about 10 minutes later.
Yang, 38, was an air force lieutenant colonel, the AP reported. The Chinese website Sohu said he was picked from three finalists the day before the launch, the AP reported.
"I feel good, see you tomorrow," Yang told mission control from space, BBC News reported.
Before boarding, he made a pledge. "I will not disappoint the motherland," he said, according to BBC News and the AP.
President Hu Jintao watched the launch, BBC News reported. He called it "the glory of our great motherland and a mark for the initial victory of the country's first manned space flight."
China did not show the launch live, the AP reported. It had stopped live broadcasts of launches in 1995, after a rocket blew up just after liftoff and reportedly killed six people on the ground.
The English-language state channel CCTV-9 borrowed from Neil Armstrong. "If these were small steps, then now we are taking a giant leap into space," an announcer said, BBC News reported.
Shenzhou is based on Russia's Soyuz capsule but with wide changes, BBC News reported. China flew four test capsules without crews first and paid Russia to train at least two astronauts, the AP reported.
State TV said Yang would eat shredded pork with garlic sauce and fried rice during the flight, and drink tea, BBC News reported.
Shenzhou 5 orbited Earth 14 times and landed in the Gobi Desert the next morning after a 21-hour mission, The Washington Post reported.
What we know: Yang Liwei orbited Earth 14 times on Shenzhou 5 and landed after a 21-hour mission.
What we don't: Why China dropped its planned live broadcast of the launch, which state media did not explain.
Where outlets agree BBC News and the AP both report that China became the third country to put a person in space, after the Soviet Union and the United States.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.