China initiated a highly secretive project to send a crewed mission to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 1971. Under the programme, candidates were selected to receive astronaut training, and a two-seat crew capsule known as Shuguang 1 was proposed. However, technical and financial difficulties, coupled with the political turmoil throughout the country in the early 1970s, eventually led to a quiet cancellation of the plan.
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