Before that, in 1964, China launched a sounding rocket, carrying several small animals to an altitude of 70 km as an attempt to study the effects of spaceflight on living creatures.

Instead, China decided in 1978 to pursue a method of sending astronauts into space using the more familiar FSW-derived ballistic reentry capsules.

[3] In order to gain relative experience, China launched and recovered its first recoverable satellite, Fanhui Shi Weixing, on 26 November 1975.

It was intended to stimulate the development of science and technologies in several key areas, in which space capabilities were included.

A new organization, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) under the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, was founded for the administration of the program.

[7] The hardware and know-how purchased from Russia led to modifications of the original Step One spacecraft, later known called Shenzhou, roughly translated as "divine vessel".

Shenzhou 2, the first formal uncrewed spaceship of China, was launched into orbit and stayed for seven days before the return capsule separated and performed a safe landing.

All systems of the program had passed the tests perfectly, indicating a crewed mission was ready to be conducted.

The whole mission lasted for 21 hours and 23 minutes, making China the third country capable of sending humans to space and back independently, after Russia and the United States.

On 25 September 2008, Shenzhou 7 was launched into space with three astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng.

[20] On 11 June 2013, crewed spacecraft Shenzhou 10 carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping was launched into orbit and docked with Tiangong 1.

The three astronauts spent 12 days in Tiangong 1 by conducting scientific experiments, giving lectures to over 60 million students in China, and performing more docking tests before returning to Earth safely.

In June 2016, China conducted the maiden flight of Long March 7, a new generation medium-lift launch vehicle with higher payload capability to low Earth orbit, from the newly built Wenchang Space Launch Site located in the coastal Hainan Province.

It can be divided into two phases:[26] On 29 April 2021, the second Long March 5B rocket lifted off from Wenchang, carrying the 22,500 kg (49,600 lb) Tianhe core module, the most complex spacecraft independently developed by China.

The core module entered the predetermined orbit about 494 seconds after launch, marking the start of the in-orbit construction of China's space station.

[26] On 29 May 2021, Tianzhou 2, the first cargo spacecraft to the space station, was launched by a Long March 7 rocket and docked with Tianhe core module 8 hours later.

The spacecraft conducted China's first crewed autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking 6 hours 32 minutes after launch.

[29] Three crew members, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, became the first inhabitants of Tiangong Space Station.

At 00:11 UTC on 4 July 2021, two of the Shenzhou 12 crew members, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, conducted the first EVA on the space station, which lasted for 6 hours 46 minutes, breaking the previous 20-minute EVA record made during Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008 by a huge margin.

The plan was for the crew, including Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, to complete a six-month stay, the longest one since the beginning of the program.

[40] On 17 July 2022 at 02:59 UTC, Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft was undocked from the Tianhe core module after completing its mission.

[41] On 24 July 2022, the third Long March 5B rocket lifted off from Wenchang, carrying the 23,200 kg (51,100 lb) Wentian laboratory cabin module, the largest and heaviest spacecraft launched by China.

[42] At 10:26 UTC on 1 September 2022, two of the Shenzhou 14 crew members, Chen Dong and Liu Yang, conducted the first EVA from the Wentian module's airlock, which lasted 6 hours 7 minutes.

[44] On 31 October 2022, the fourth Long March 5B rocket lifted off from Wenchang, carrying the 23,200 kg (51,100 lb) Mengtian laboratory cabin module.

[46] On 9 November 2022 at 06:55 UTC, Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft was undocked from the Tianhe core module after completing its mission.

[49] China Manned Space Program is composed of 14 systems, with more than one thousand units from various sectors involved.

The station is designed to allow the long-term study of astronomical, biological, and physical phenomena in low Earth orbit.

The positions were broken down as 7 spacecraft pilots ("aviators of the People's Liberation Army Air Force"), 7 flight engineers ("former researchers or technicians in aeronautics, astronautics and other related fields"), and 4 mission payload specialists ("those involved in space science and through applications for China's manned space program").

The agency had expected to select 7-8 spacecraft pilots ("aviators of the People's Liberation Army Air Force") and 5-6 spaceflight engineers ("former researchers or technicians in aeronautics, astronautics and other related fields").

[57] On 28 May 2018, UNOOSA and CMSA announced an initiative to accept applications from United Nations Member States to conduct experiments onboard China's space station.