Chinese Father Documents Life With Son Every Year of His Life for 3 Decades

2003: Shenzhou 5

Also in 2003, the Chinese space program launched their first human spaceflight mission on board a spacecraft called Shenzhou 5. This monumental moment made China the third country to launch a human into space, behind the Soviet Union (now Russia) and the United States.

The launch took over the news cycle in China, with official Chinese state media and newspapers devoting more time and space to the launch than any recent event. The launch was praised as a milestone not just for technology, but for Chinese nationalism, though the flag of the United Nations was also brought in addition to the People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan crop seeds were brought on the spacecraft.