Shenzhou 5 (Chinese: 神舟五号; pinyin: Shénzhōu Wǔ Hào, see § Etymology) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights of uncrewed Shenzhou missions since 1999. China became the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight capability after the Soviet Union (later, Russia) and the United States. As of November 2025, this mission marks the last time an astronaut was launched alone to conduct an entirely solo orbital mission.

Shenzhou 5 was launched at 09:00 (UTC+08:00) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, a launch base in the Gobi Desert in Gansu province, entering orbit 343 kilometres (213 mi; 185 nmi) above Earth at 09:10 (UTC+08:00) with astronaut Yang Liwei, a 38-year-old lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army and former fighter pilot. The space launch made China the third country to independently launch a person into outer space, after the Soviet Union and the United States. The launch of the Shenzhou was the result of a crewed space program which began in 1992.

Neither the launch nor the reentry was televised live, but the time of both launch and reentry had been widely announced beforehand, and news appeared on China Central Television within minutes after both events.

The Shenzhou spacecraft made 14 orbits and landed 21 hours after launch. It reentered Earth's atmosphere at 06:04 (UTC+08:00) on 16 October 2003 (22:04 UTC 15 Oct 2003), its parachute opened normally and the astronaut said he was feeling fine. The landing happened at 06:28 (UTC+08:00), just 4.8 km (3.0 mi) from the planned landing site in Inner Mongolia, according to the government. The orbital module of the spacecraft stayed in orbit; it continued with automated experiments until 16 March 2004 and decayed on 30 May.

Premier Wen Jiabao congratulated the country's first person in space after his safe return to Earth. Yang emerged from the reentry capsule about 15 minutes later and waved to members of the recovery team.

The Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center later declared China's first crewed spacecraft mission to be successful after Yang Liwei emerged from his capsule.

During the flight Yang wore diapers. When questioned about his experience aboard Shenzhou 5, he stated "Better not to piss in diaper...Baby doesn't like it, neither does an adult."

In addition, Yang reported abnormal vibrations that appeared 120 seconds after launch (pogo oscillation), which he described as "very uncomfortable". As a consequence, corrective measures were taken to the design of the following CZ-2F carrier rocket for the Shenzhou 6 flight.