On Jan. 10, 2001, China sent Shenzhou-2, the first formally unmanned spaceship, into space, carried by a Long March-2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The launch was conducted in a condition required for a manned spacecraft. It carried out experiments in the fields of space life science, space material, space astronomy and space physics under conditions of microgravity. 

Shenzhou-2 unmanned spaceship