RockLee said:
Weird logic in naming the spaceshuttle, it's the 2nd ship, yet they call it Shenzhou 4...maybe the 2 others blew up in an attempt to launch
It seems to me that 'VI' means 6, not 4.
There WERE Shenzhou I, II, III, IV and V before the Shenzhou VI, and ALL VERY SUCCESSFUL.
To let you know more:
Shenzhou 1: Nov 19, 1999, unmanned test flight;
Shenzhou 2: Jan 09, 2001, carrying live test animals;
Shenzhou 3: Mar 25, 2002, carrying a test dummy;
Shenzhou 4: Dec 29, 2002, performed several science experiments (fullly suitable for manned flight);
Shenzhou 5: Oct 15, 2003, carrying 1 man and staying in orbit for 21 hours;
*Shenzhou 6: Oct 12, 2005, carrying 2 men and staying in orbit for 119 hours;
And in the near future:
Shenzhou 7: maybe in 2007, carrying 3 men and spacewalking;
Shenzhou 8: coming soon, docking in orbit;
Shenzhou 9: coming soon, maybe space station;
...
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