CZ-2F on pad Media Gallery

Man-rated version of CZ-2E, designed for launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Little difference externally. Modifications were related to improved redundancy of systems, strengthened upper stage to handle large 921-1 spacecraft fairing and launch escape tower. President Jiang Zemin gave the name 'Shenjian' ('Divine Arrow') to the CZ-2F after the successful launch of the Shenzhou-3 mission.

Manufacturer: CALT. Launches: 6. Success Rate: 100.00%. First Launch Date: 1999-11-19. Last Launch Date: 2005-10-12. Launch data is: continuing. LEO Payload: 8,400 kg (18,500 lb). to: 185 km Orbit. at: 57.00 degrees. Payload: 3,500 kg (7,700 lb). to a: geosynchronous transfer orbit trajectory. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi). Associated Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Liftoff Thrust: 5,920.000 kN (1,330,860 lbf). Total Mass: 464,000 kg (1,022,000 lb). Core Diameter: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Total Length: 62.00 m (203.00 ft).

• Stage Number: 0. 4 x Stage: CZ-2E-0. Gross Mass: 41,000 kg (90,000 lb). Empty Mass: 3,200 kg (7,000 lb). Thrust (vac): 816.285 kN (183,508 lbf). Isp: 291 sec. Burn time: 128 sec. Isp(sl): 261 sec. Diameter: 2.25 m (7.38 ft). Span: 2.26 m (7.41 ft). Length: 15.33 m (50.29 ft). Propellants: N2O4/UDMH. No Engines: 1. Engine: YF-20B. Other designations: LB-40. Status: In production.

• Stage Number: 1. 1 x Stage: CZ-2E-1. Gross Mass: 196,500 kg (433,200 lb). Empty Mass: 9,500 kg (20,900 lb). Thrust (vac): 3,265.143 kN (734,033 lbf). Isp: 289 sec. Burn time: 166 sec. Isp(sl): 261 sec. Diameter: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Span: 6.00 m (19.60 ft). Length: 23.70 m (77.70 ft). Propellants: N2O4/UDMH. No Engines: 4. Engine: YF-20B. Other designations: L-180. Status: In production.

• Stage Number: 2. 1 x Stage: CZ-2E-2. Gross Mass: 91,500 kg (201,700 lb). Empty Mass: 5,500 kg (12,100 lb). Thrust (vac): 831.005 kN (186,817 lbf). Isp: 298 sec. Burn time: 295 sec. Isp(sl): 260 sec. Diameter: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Span: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Length: 15.52 m (50.91 ft). Propellants: N2O4/UDMH. No Engines: 1. Engine: YF-25/23. Other designations: L-90. Status: In production.

1999 March 11 - Launch Vehicle: CZ-2F.

• Chinese Man-Rated Launch Vehicle Test Predicted Nation: China. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. It was reported on the Internet that the maiden flight of a new version of the CZ-2E designed to carry a manned vehicle would be made by mid-1999. References: 424.

• Manned Program Delayed Nation: China. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Far eastern newspapers reported an accident at Jiuquan Launch Center late May 1999. It was said that a fuel depot exploded, resulting in casualties and delaying the first manned vehicle launch originally scheduled for October. References: 424.

• CZ-2F Photograph Appears on the Internet Nation: China. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. A photograph of the CZ-2F manned spacecraft launch vehicle and its vertical assembly building was posted anonymously on the Internet. It was said to have been taken in May 1998 at the Jiuquan launch site by a contruction contractor. Some believed the photograph to be a phony but events later proved it to be real and a deliberate leak.References: 424.

• China Upgrades Launch Facilities Nation: China. Tang Xianming, Director of the Xichang Launch Center, confirmed the construction of a new Vertical Assembly Facility at the Jiuquan Launch Center. He also affirmed that China would continue to use the Xichang Launch Center, which would be upgraded with improved data processing and control equipment.References: 424.

• Shenzhou Nation: China. Mass: 7,600 kg (16,700 lb). Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Agency: CASC. Manufacturer: China Academy of Launch Vehicle Tech., Beijing. Perigee: 196 km (122 mi). Apogee: 324 km (202 mi). Inclination: 42.60 deg. COSPAR: 1999-061A. USAF Sat Cat: 25956. Duration: 0.88 days. Decay Date: 1999-11-20. The unmanned first test flight of a prototype of the Chinese Project 921-1 spacecraft took place 49 days after the planned date of October 1, 1999. Shenzhou separated from its launch vehicle and went into orbit about ten minutes after lift-off. The spacecraft was controlled from the new Beijing Aerospace Directing and Controlling Centre. The spacecraft did not manoeuvre during the flight. The first attempt to return the spacecraft to earth came on orbitt 12, but the retrofire command would not be accepted by the spacecraft's computer. A retry on the next orbit also failed.

  The Yuanwang-3 tracking ship off the coast of Namibia picked up the spacecraft's signal at 18:49 UT, and commanded retro-fire. This time the spacecraft accepted the command, which probably saved the entire program. The spacecraft passed out of range of the tracking ship nine minutes later. Its trajectory arced over Africa, skimmed the coast of the Arabian peninsula, and then over Pakistan, before re-entering over Tibet.

  Following re-entry, the drogue chute deployed at an altitude of 30 km with the capsules soft-landing rockets firing 1.5 m above the ground. The capsule landed at 41 deg N, 105 deg E, (415 km East of its launch pad and 110 km north-west of Wuhai, Inner Mongolia), at November 20 19:41 UT. The spacecraft had completed 14 orbits of the earth in 21 hours and 11 minutes.

  After the flight it was reported that not a single primary spacecraft system had failed, so none of the back-up systems were tested. The touchdown point was only 12 km from the predicted position. The soft landing braking rocket worked well - no damage was found to the capsule structure, heat shield or the seals. The jettisoned heat shield, parachute hatch, and drogue chute were found within 5 km of the landing point. The orbital module, which separated prior to retro-fire, continued in controlled flight until 27 November, when it decayed and reentered the atmosphere. A primary payload returned by Shenzhou were 100 kg of seeds, considered valuable to the Chinese after one day of exposure to the space environment. The Chinese space tracking fleet returned from the Shenzhou mission between 12 December 1999 and 4 January 2000. During their 259-day voyage, the four ships traveled 185,000 km and experienced some heavy seas while tracking and communicating with the Shenzhou for a total of 150 minutes.Additional Details: Shenzhou(18859).

• Shenzhou 2 Nation: China. Mass: 7,400 kg (16,300 lb). Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Agency: CASC. Manufacturer: China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Perigee: 330 km (200 mi). Apogee: 346 km (214 mi). Inclination: 42.60 deg. COSPAR: 2001-001A. USAF Sat Cat: 26664. Duration: 6.77 days. Decay Date: 2001-01-16. The second unmanned test flight of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft design carried a monkey, a dog and a rabbit in a test of the spaceship's life support systems. Shenzhou 2 was the first test of an all-up flight model of the spacecraft, with a functioning orbital module. It was also the most ambitious space science laboratory ever launched by China. It carried 64 scientific payloads: 15 in the re-entry module, 12 in the orbital module and 37 on the forward external pallet. These included a micro-gravity crystal growing device; life sciences experiments with 19 species of animals and plants, cosmic ray and particle detectors; and China's first gamma ray burst detectors.

  The launch was originally scheduled for January 5, but the second stage of the launch vehicle was dented by an access platform while being prepared for roll-out in the vehicle assembly building. This caused several days of delay until it was cleared for flight. Shenzhou 2 made three orbit-raising manoeuvres during its flight, reaching a 330 x 345 km orbit by the end of the initial phase of the mission. Ninety minutes before landing the orbital module depressurised, and the spacecraft went briefly out of control. However this was regained after venting of the atmosphere from the module ended. The descent module and service modules separated from the forward orbital module and external pallet normally. After retrofire by the service module, it separated and the descent module landed at 11:22 GMT on January 16 in Inner Mongolia. Lack of post-recovery photographs led to speculation that the recovery may not have been completely successful. The Shenzhou orbital module had its own solar panels and remained operational in orbit, conducting scientific experiments. It was actively controlled for six months, maneuvering in orbit several times (reaching a final orbit of 394 x 405 km). It then was allowed to decay and reentered the atmosphere at 09:05 GMT on August 24, 2001. The reentry point was near 33.1 deg S in latitude and 260.4 deg E in longitude, over the western Pacific Ocean between Easter Island and Chile.References: 4, 296, 460, 552, 554.

• Shenzhou 3 Nation: China. Mass: 7,800 kg (17,100 lb). Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Agency: China Aerospace Corp. (China). Manufacturer: China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Perigee: 374 km (232 mi). Apogee: 379 km (235 mi). Inclination: 42.40 deg. Period: 92.10 min. COSPAR: 2002-014A. USAF Sat Cat: 27397. Duration: 6.78 days. Decay Date: 2002-04-01. The third unmanned test of the Shenzhou spacecraft was delayed almost three months when a defective connector was found on the booster after roll-out to the pad in January 2002. The vehicle was disassembled, and all suspect connectors were replaced. The stand-down also revealed ten previously undetected defects in the space capsule. The spacecraft, the first all-up flight model with a functioning (but deactivated) launch escape system, was finally launched and placed into an initial 197 x 326 km x 42.4 deg orbit at 1425 UTC. At about 2120 UTC Shenzhou used its own engine to raise its orbit to 332 x 337 km. The capsule included a dummy astronaut instrumented to monitor life support systems. The descent module returned to Earth on April 1 at 0851 UTC, landing in Inner Mongolia. The orbital module remained in orbit to carry out further experiments, finally being deorbited on 12 November 2002. The spacecraft carried 44 scientific payloads, including a medium-resolution imaging radiometer developed by Chinese Academy of Sciences, installed on the instrument pallet atop the orbital module.References: 4, 460, 552, 554.

• Shenzhou 4 Nation: China. Mass: 7,794 kg (17,182 lb). Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Agency: China Aerospace Corp. (China). Manufacturer: China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Perigee: 331 km (205 mi). Apogee: 337 km (209 mi). Inclination: 42.40 deg. Period: 91.20 min. COSPAR: 2002-061A. USAF Sat Cat: 27630. Duration: 6.77 days. Decay Date: 2003-01-05. Final unmanned test of the Shenzhou spacecraft. First night launch of the CZ-2F was viewed by Party leaders on a very cold but clear night. The spacecraft carried fifty-two science payloads in four main areas: microwave Earth observation, space environment monitoring, microgravity fluid physics, and biological technology research. The spacecraft's reentry capsule was successfully recovered on 5 January 2003 at 1116 UT. The Chinese released the news and photographs of the capsule in the dusk snow only an hour later. The landing site was 40 km from Hohhot (40.51deg N, 111.38 deg E). As in prior missions, the orbital module continued in orbit. Chinese astronauts trained on the actual flight hardware before the launch and it was officially announced that this successful mission set the stage for a first Chinese manned spaceflight in the second half of 2003. Western observors noted that the orbit and ground track allowed launch of a second rendezvous vehicle, an indication of future manned space station missions. Shenzhou 4 carried 52 scientific payloads including a microwave radiometer using a reflector antenna, installed on top of the orbital module.References: 110, 460, 552, 554.

• Shenzhou 5 Nation: China. Mass: 7,840 kg (17,280 lb). Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Agency: PLAAF. Manufacturer: CALT. Perigee: 332 km (206 mi). Apogee: 336 km (208 mi). Inclination: 42.42 deg. Period: 91.20 min. COSPAR: 2003-045A. USAF Sat Cat: 28043. Duration: 0.89 days. Decay Date: 2003-10-16. Flight Crew: Yang Liwei. Flight: Shenzhou 5. China's first manned spaceflight began with the lift-off of the CZ-2F booster into the clear blue morning sky. All went according to plan and China's first man in space, Yang Liwei, entered an initial 200 km x 343 km orbit ten minutes after launch. The naval vessels standing buy for rescue in the Sea of Japan were called back to port.

  The highly conservative mission plan was for Yang to remain in the Shenzhou re-entry capsule for the entire 21-hour mission, and not to enter the orbital module. He had two rest periods of three hours each, and was scheduled to eat once or twice meals of what was said to be a superior form of Chinese space food. Frequent communications sessions, including colour television links to the spacecraft, were made possible by China's four tracking ships deployed in the oceans of the world.

  As the spacecraft was in its 21st orbit, the orbital module separated. It would stay in the 343 km orbit for a planned six-month military imaging reconnaissance mission. Retrofire was commanded via a tracking ship in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. Shenzhou-5 landed only 4.8 km from the aim-point in Inner Mongolia with the parachute being sighted by the ground recovery forces prior to landing. Yang landed after 21 hours 23 minutes aloft.References: 434.

• Shenzhou 5 Orbital Module Nation: China. Mass: 1,100 kg (2,400 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Perigee: 338 km (210 mi). Apogee: 347 km (215 mi). Inclination: 42.40 deg. Period: 91.40 min. COSPAR: 2003-045G. USAF Sat Cat: 28049. Decay Date: 2004-05-30. The Shenzhou 5 orbital module was essential an unmanned military reconnaisance satellite. It was never entered by the astronaut during the mission, and was equipped with two high resolution (1.6 m) surveillance cameras. It was expected to operate until at least spring 2004.

• Shenzhou 6 Nation: China. Mass: 8,040 kg (17,720 lb). Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Shenzhou. Perigee: 334 km (207 mi). Apogee: 334 km (207 mi). Inclination: 42.40 deg. COSPAR: 2005-040A. USAF Sat Cat: 28879. Flight Crew: Fei Junlong, Nie Haisheng. Flight: Shenzhou 6. Moved up from October 13. Second Chinese manned space mission. The two-astronaut crew spent 5 days in space, and worked in the Shenzhou orbital module for the first time. Aside from biomedical experiments, the nature of their work was not divulged, and few images of the interior of the orbital module (with its probable military experiments) were released.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

• Isakowitz, Steven J,, International Reference to Space Launch Systems Second Edition, AIAA, Washington DC, 1991 (succeeded by 2000 edition). ISBN: 1563473534. Superseded by the later editions. More at amazon.com...

• Wilson, Andrew, editor,, Jane's/Interavia Space Directory, Jane's Information Group, Coulsdon, Surrey, 1992 et al. ISBN: 0710618107. The most comprehensive source of information for current space projects. Too expensive for human beings and most libraries. More at amazon.com...

• Chen Lan, Dragon in Space, . The best source anywhere for information on current news regarding the Chinese space program. Accessed at: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1921/.