science

Shenzhou 9

Shenzhou 9 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Shenzhou 9 rather than just read about it. In short: Shenzhou 9 (Chinese: 神舟九号) was the fourth crewed spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first crewed mission and expedition to dock with the Tiangong-1 space station, which took place on 18 June.

Key takeaways

Shenzhou 9 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Shenzhou 9 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Shenzhou 9 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Shenzhou 9 (Chinese: 神舟九号) was the fourth crewed spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first crewed mission and expedition to dock with the Tiangong-1 space station, which took place on 18 June. The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft landed at 10:01:16 CST (02:01:16 UTC) on 29 June in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The mission's crew included the first Chinese female astronaut, Liu Yang. The next mission was Shenzhou 10, which launched on 11 June 2013.

History On 12 March 2012, it was announced that the initial crew selection roster for the mission included female astronauts. The crew were unveiled to the press on 15 June. China's first female astronaut would be Liu Yang. Liu was selected ahead of her fellow female astronaut prospect Wang Yaping. This mission also featured the first repeat astronaut, Jing Haipeng, the commander of the mission. Shenzhou 9 was the 9th flight in China's Shenzhou program and the fourth crewed spaceflight. The mission's launch was 49 years to the day after that of the first woman in space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

Mission preparations The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert on 9 April 2012 and its carrier rocket, the Long March 2F, arrived on 9 May. On 9 June 2012, the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and its carrier rocket were rolled out to launch pad. On 12 June 2012 underwent system-wide joint exercises, and final health checks were completed the following day.

Expedition ceremony On 16 June 2012, the expedition ceremony was held at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo attended the ceremony. The astronauts, Liu Wang, Liu Yang, and Jing Haipeng, rode to the launch tower and turned in the entrance with the assistance of support staff.

Mission The Long March 2F rocket was launched on 16 June 2012 at 10:37 UTC. Shenzhou 9 docked with China's first space lab Tiangong-1 at 06:07 UTC on 18 June, marking China's first crewed spacecraft rendezvous and docking. This docking was remotely controlled from a ground station. After about 3 hours, when the pressures inside the vessels were equalized, Jing Haipeng entered into Tiangong-1. Six days later, Shenzhou 9 detached from the station and then redocked manually under the control of crew member Liu Wang, making it the first manual docking for the Chinese program. Shenzhou 9 landed by parachute in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia on 29 June 2012.

Crew

On this mission, Commander Jing Haipeng became the first Chinese astronaut to fly more than once in space and Liu Yang became the first Chinese woman in space.

The backup crew later became the prime crew for Shenzhou 10.

Mission timeline 9 April 2012 Shenzhou 9 space capsule arrives at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center 9 May 2012 Long March 2F space launcher arrives at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center 9 June 2012 Launch stack rolled out to the launch pad 15 June 2012 Crew unveiled 16 June 2012 Launch, first woman in space for the Chinese program, first repeat traveller for the Chinese program, first crewed mission to a space station for the Chinese program 18 June 2012 First crewed rendezvous for the Chinese space program. Automated docking with Tiangong-1, first crewed docking by the Chinese program 24 June 2012 Shenzhou 9 undocks with Tiangong-1 Shenzhou 9 redocks with Tiangong-1, first manual docking by the Chinese space program, second crewed docking by the program 29 June 2012 Shenzhou 9 landed in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Shenzhou 9

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Shenzhou 9 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Shenzhou 9 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Shenzhou 9 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Shenzhou 9

In research: Shenzhou 9 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Shenzhou 9 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Shenzhou 9 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2012 in China, Crewed Shenzhou missions, Human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Shenzhou 9 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Shenzhou 9 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Shenzhou 9 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Shenzhou 9 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shenzhou 9 in simple terms?

Why does Shenzhou 9 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Shenzhou 9?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Shenzhou 9.