Yang Liwei

Infobox Astronaut
name =Yáng Liwei


type =CNSA Astronaut
status =Active
nationality =flagicon|China Chinese
date_birth =June 21, 1965
place_birth =Suizhong, Liaoning Province
occupation =Fighter pilot
rank =Major General, PLAAF
selection =Chinese Group 1
time =21 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds
mission =Shenzhou 5
insignia =|

Yáng Lìwěi (zh-st |s=杨利伟 |t=楊利偉) (born June 21, 1965) is a Chinese major general and military pilot and a CNSA astronaut. He was the first man sent into space by the space program of China, and his mission, "Shenzhou 5", made the PRC the third country to independently send people into space.

Background

Born in Suizhong County of Huludao City in the Liaoning Province, an industrial area in Northeast China. Yang's mother was a teacher, his father an accountant at a state agricultural firm. Yang Liwei's wife is also a People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer, with whom he has a son.

Growing up, his grades were average but he excelled in sciences.Fact|date=August 2008 He loved to swim and skate and shone in track and field events.Fact|date=August 2008

In 1983, he was admitted to the Number 2 PLAAF flight academy (空军第2飞行学院) and graduated four years later.Fact|date=August 2008 He participated in the screening process for astronauts in 1996.

In the PLAAF, he logged 1350 hours of flight time as a fighter pilot before he went to space training.

paceflight career

Yang was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1998 and has trained for space flight since then. He was chosen from the final pool of 13 candidates to fly on China's first manned space mission. A former fighter pilot in the Aviation Military Unit of the PLA, he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his mission. He was promoted to full Colonel on October 20, 2003. According to the "Youth Daily", the decision had been made in advance of his spaceflight, but Yang was not made aware of it.

He was launched into space aboard his "Shenzhou 5" spacecraft atop a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 09:00 CST (01:00 UTC) on October 15, 2003. Prior to his launch almost nothing was made public about the Chinese astronaut candidates; his selection for the "Shenzhou 5" launch was only leaked to the media one day before the launch.

Yang Liwei has reported the apparition of abnormal vibrations 120 seconds after launch, he described as "very uncomfortable". As a consequence, corrective measures were swiftly taken to the design of the following CZ-2F carrier rocket for the Shenzhou-6. cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2008/07-19/1317666.shtml|title="神七"运载火箭完成总装和出厂测试 今将出征|publisher= 中国新闻网|date=2008-07-19|accessdate=2008-07-19]

Yang punctuated his journey with regular updates on his condition — variations of "I feel good", the last coming as the capsule floated to the ground after re-entry. He spoke to his wife as the Shenzhou 5 started its eighth circuit around the Earth, assuring her from space: "I feel very good, don't worry". He ate specially designed packets of shredded pork with garlic, Kung Pao chicken and eight treasure rice (zh-st |s=八宝饭 |t=八寶飯), along with Chinese herbal tea. In the middle of the journey, state television broadcast footage of Yáng waving a small flag of the People's Republic of China and that of the United Nations inside his capsule.

State media said Yang's capsule was supplied with a gun, a knife and tent in case he landed in the wrong place.

Yang's craft landed in the grasslands of the Chinese region of |date=September 29, 2007|accessdate=June 8|accessyear=2008] sparked rumours of a hard landing confirmed by accounts of personnel present at the landing site.

Although the first Chinese citizen in space, Yang Liwei is not the first person of Chinese origin in space. Shanghai-born Taylor Wang flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-51-B in 1985. Wang, however, had become a United States citizen in 1975. Shannon Lucid was also born in Shanghai to American missionary parents, and "Apollo 8" astronaut William A. Anders was born in Hong Kong, but neither were of Chinese ethnicity. There have also been a number of American-born Chinese astronauts sent into space by NASA.

Yang visited Hong Kong on October 31, 2003, holding talks and sharing his experiences during a six-day stay in the territory. The visit coincided with an exhibition that featured his reentry capsule, spacesuit and leftover food from his 21 hour mission. On November 5, he travelled to Macau.

On November 7, Yang received the title of "Space Hero" from Jiang Zemin, the Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission (CMC). He also received a badge of honour during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. The Chinese University of Hong Kong has given Yáng an honorary doctorate.

The asteroid 21064 Yangliwei and the fossil bird "Dalingheornis liweii" are named after him.

Aftermath

In a similar move taken by the Soviet Union and the United States (with national space flight heroes Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn, respectively) an official decision to no longer assign him to spaceflight missions was made. Yang was promoted to Major General on July 22nd, 2008. [cite web|url=http://news.enorth.com.cn/system/2008/07/22/003580809.shtml|title =我国首位“太空人”杨利伟被授予少将军衔(图)|publisher= 北方网|date=July 22, 2008|accessdate=July 23|accessyear=2008]

See also

* Wan Hu
* Space program of China
*List of Chinese astronauts

References

External links

* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/yang_liwei.htm Spacefacts biography of Yang Liwei]
* [http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2004/unisbio706.html United Nations: Background Information on Chinese Astronaut, Yang Liwei]