Here are some details about Shenzhou.

-- Shenzhou means Divine Ship (God Vessel or Magic Vessel).

-- It has a dome-shaped design and is comprised of three modules -- a forward orbital module, a re-entry module and a service module at the back.

-- The orbital module has a hatch where astronauts can exit, and carry out a spacewalk if required.

-- The ship can seat up to three people.

-- The first Shenzhou was launched on 19 November, 1999 and orbited the Earth 14 times before landing under parachute.

-- Three subsequent Shenzhou spacecrafts have been launched, leading up to the manned mission.

-- Shenzhou capsules have flown at altitudes from 122 to 207 mileskilometres).

-- The capsules are built by the state-run China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

-- Shenzhou is said to have been named by former president Jiang Zemin.

-- The Shenzhou V spacecraft will be launched by a Long March 2F rocket which have been been used for years to ferry Earth orbit satellites.

SPACE.WIRE