China first unveiled its manned space engineering program in 1992, with the eventual goal to construct a permanent space station in 2022.
Between late 1999 and early 2003, China conducted a total of four unmanned space flight tests to examine the various functions and designs of its spacecraft, launch vehicles and ground capabilities. The Shenzhou-1 was launched on November 20, 1999, while the Shenzhou-4 took off on December 30, 2002 and returned to the Earth seven days later after orbiting the Earth 108 times.
While still unmanned, the Shenzhou-4 was a fully functional spacecraft with the same capabilities and safety features as a manned vehicle. Its successful launch and return led to China's first m
