Hobby Model 94 Chang Zheng 2 - Shenzhou-5

The Shenzhou 8 was a Chinese unmanned spacecraft that was launched into orbit in early November 2011. The ship was launched into space by the Changzheng 2F launch rocket from the Jiuquan spaceport. The main task of Shenzhou 8 was to test and test in practice the possibility of docking to the Tiangong 1 orbital module. The docking operation was carried out during the mission twice (2 and 14 November 2011) and both maneuvers were fully successful. On one occasion, however, also successfully, the Shenzhou 8 unberthing maneuver from the Tiangong 1 module was carried out. Equally important was the fact that Shenzhou 8 successfully returned to Earth on November 17, 2011, after less than 17 days in space. The experience gained from the operation and maneuvers conducted by Shenzhou 8 had a significant impact on the construction and construction of the Shenzhou 9 and 10 ships, which have already carried out manned space flights.

Chang Zheng 2 (Chinese: long march) is the name of a family of modern Chinese launch rockets designed to carry spacecraft and satellites into orbit. The first rocket of this family was launched as early as 1972, and the last version (Chang Zheng 2 F) made its first successful launch in 1999. The Chang Zheng 2 F rocket is 62 meters long with a maximum diameter of 7.85 meters. It is able to launch a payload of 8.4 tons into orbit. Rockets from this family were developed primarily by the CALT (China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology) research center, with the exception of the Chang Zheng 2 D rocket, which was developed by SAST (Shangai Academy of Space Flight Technology). However, all of them are based in one way or another on the technical solutions used in the first Chinese ballistic missile, the DF-5.