Shenzhou 5 was the first manned spaceflight launched by the People's Republic of China. The spacecraft was launched on October 15, 2003, and carried astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit for 21 hours and 23 minutes. The spacecraft was launched using a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The mission was considered a success, and it marked a significant milestone for China's space program. Shenzhou 5 was the first time a Chinese astronaut had been sent into space, and it made China the third country in the world, after Russia and the United States, to have independently launched a human into space.