7 chosen to be next Chinese in space
By Wang Xiang |
May 8, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SEVEN pilots, including two young mothers, got the official appointment yesterday to become the country's next-generation astronauts.
They are all pilots with the People's Liberation Army Air Force. None of their names were released.
The country's first two female aeronauts are both seasoned transport pilots in their 30s who have spent more than 1,200 hours in the air and served numerous rescue missions and war games, People's Daily reported.
The five male astronauts are fighter-plane pilots. They will be sent to the orbit and take part in the manned docking of China's future space laboratory, the newspaper said.
They will soon start training, a grueling regimen that will take at least five years even they all pass strict screening tests to prove themselves in top physical condition and possessing ace piloting skills.
The female candidates underwent the same criteria as men during the astronaut recruitment, said General Zhang Jianqi, a former deputy commander of the country's manned space program.
Female pluses
Women have some advantages over men when they were in the space, he said. They are more stable mentally and can deal with loneliness better. Zhang added that married women with children are believed to be more physically and psychologically mature.
The candidates had to meet strict criteria, including no bodily scars and perfect health with no serious diseases going back three generations in their families. Even bad breath could ruin their chances.
China's first fleet of 14 taikonauts was picked from the ranks of elite male pilots in 1994. Six of them went into space after Yang Liwei pioneered a round-the-Earth trip in the domestically developed Shenzhou-5 spacecraft in 2003.
That flight was followed in 2005 by a two-man mission carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng. Zhai Zhigang, one of the three Shenzhou-7 astronauts, became the first Chinese to walk in space in September 27, 2008.
The new generation of astronauts will complete their five-year training by the time China starts to build its first manned space station.
The core module of the first space station should be completed around 2020, said Gu Yidong, commander in chief of China's Manned Space Engineering Program.
They are all pilots with the People's Liberation Army Air Force. None of their names were released.
The country's first two female aeronauts are both seasoned transport pilots in their 30s who have spent more than 1,200 hours in the air and served numerous rescue missions and war games, People's Daily reported.
The five male astronauts are fighter-plane pilots. They will be sent to the orbit and take part in the manned docking of China's future space laboratory, the newspaper said.
They will soon start training, a grueling regimen that will take at least five years even they all pass strict screening tests to prove themselves in top physical condition and possessing ace piloting skills.
The female candidates underwent the same criteria as men during the astronaut recruitment, said General Zhang Jianqi, a former deputy commander of the country's manned space program.
Female pluses
Women have some advantages over men when they were in the space, he said. They are more stable mentally and can deal with loneliness better. Zhang added that married women with children are believed to be more physically and psychologically mature.
The candidates had to meet strict criteria, including no bodily scars and perfect health with no serious diseases going back three generations in their families. Even bad breath could ruin their chances.
China's first fleet of 14 taikonauts was picked from the ranks of elite male pilots in 1994. Six of them went into space after Yang Liwei pioneered a round-the-Earth trip in the domestically developed Shenzhou-5 spacecraft in 2003.
That flight was followed in 2005 by a two-man mission carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng. Zhai Zhigang, one of the three Shenzhou-7 astronauts, became the first Chinese to walk in space in September 27, 2008.
The new generation of astronauts will complete their five-year training by the time China starts to build its first manned space station.
The core module of the first space station should be completed around 2020, said Gu Yidong, commander in chief of China's Manned Space Engineering Program.
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