In this picture from the Xinhua news agency, first Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei waves before boarding China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou 5 at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003. China launched its first manned space mission on Wednesday, sending an astronaut hurtling toward orbit and becoming the third country in Earth's history to do so after Soviet Union and the United States.
