Yang Liwei: Difference between revisions
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| place_birth =[[Suizhong]], [[Huludao]], [[Liaoning]], [[People's Republic of China|China]] |
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Revision as of 21:41, 15 October 2009
Yáng Liwei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Nationality |  Chinese |
| Occupation | Fighter pilot |
| Space career | |
| CNSA Taikonaut | |
| Rank | Major General, PLAAF |
Time in space | 21 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds |
| Selection | Chinese Group 1 |
| Missions | Shenzhou 5 |
Mission insignia | File:Sz5insignia.png |
Template:Chinese name Yáng Lìwěi (simplified Chinese: 杨利伟; traditional Chinese: 楊利偉; pinyin: Yáng Lìwěi; born June 21, 1965 in Suizhong, Huludao, Liaoning) 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.[citation needed] He loved to swim and skate and shone in track and field events.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] 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.
Spaceflight 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. [1]
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 (simplified Chinese: 八宝饭; traditional Chinese: 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 Inner Mongolia at around 06:30 CST on October 16, 2003 (22:00 UTC), having completed 14 orbits and travelled more than 600,000 km. Yang left the capsule about 15 minutes after landing, and was congratulated by Premier Wen Jiabao. But the astronaut's bleeding lips seen in the official images broadcasted [2] 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 22, 2008. [3]
See also
References
- ^ ""神七"运载火箭完成总装和出厂测试 今将出征". 中国新闻网. 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "杨利伟："职业航天员是我的事业和人生追求"". 新华网. September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 8.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "我国首位"太空人"杨利伟被授予少将军衔(图)". 北方网. July 22, 2008. Retrieved July 23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)