Wenxian ZHANG
China began work on its Shenzhou Space project in 1992. Since 1999, the project has successfully launched seven spacecraft, three of which were manned (starting with the Shenzhou-5 in 2003), and one of which (in 2008) included a space walk. The space program is a source of national pride, a demonstration that China has the technology to keep pace with other developed countries.
China began planning for manned space flight in the