Space missions

April 24, 1970: Dongfanghong-1, China's first satellite, launched successfully. Weighing 173 kilograms, the satellite broadcast a song for 28 days in space.

April 8, 1984: Experimental communications satellite Dongfanghong-2 launched successfully. It was China's first geostationary orbit communications satellite that operated 36,000 km above the Earth.

May 12, 1997: Dongfanghong-3, a new generation of communications satellite launched. It become the platform on which a number of other satellites, including China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e-1, were developed.

Nov 20, 1999: Unmanned Shenzhou I spacecraft launched, marking the first step for China's manned space missions.

Oct 15, 2003: Shenzhou V, China's first manned spacecraft, with astronaut Yang Liwei on board is sent into orbit and circles the Earth 14 times in 21 hours and 23 minutes.

Oct 12, 2005: The second manned spacecraft Shenzhou VI, with two astronauts on board, is launched and remains in space for 115.5 hours, or nearly five days.

Oct 24, 2007: The first lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 takes to the skies, marking a big step forward in space exploration. It sends the first full map of the moon's surface back to China one month later.

Sept 25, 2008: Shenzhou VII spacecraft carries three astronauts into space for a three-day mission. One of the astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, becomes the first Chinese to walk in space.

Nov 3, 2011: Unmanned Shenzhou VIII spacecraft rendezvous and docks with the unmanned target orbiter Tiangong-1, which was launched on Sept 29, in an orbit 343 km above the Earth, marking China's first space docking.

(China Daily 04/27/2012 page4)