For thirteen years, between August 1996 and August 2009, 75 consecutive successful launches were conducted, ending with the launch of Palapa-D on August 31, 2009, which partially failed due to a third stage malfunction.[5] On October 15, 2003, the Long March 2F rocket successfully launched the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft/orbiter carrying China's first astronaut into space; China thus became the third nation to send a person in space independently, after the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States. A Long March 2F launched the Shenzhou 6 with two astronauts on October 12, 2005. On June 1, 2007, Long March rockets completed the 100th launch. On October 24, 2007, the Long March 3A successfully launched (18:05 GMT+8) the "Chang'e 1" lunar orbiting spacecraft from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. On September 25, 2008, a Long March 2F launched Shenzhou 7, China's first three-man mission and first EVA mission.
On the June 11, 2013, a Long March 2F, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, put three astronauts into orbit for the Shenzhou 10 mission.[6]
