Astronaut profiles

cctv.com 10-12-2005 11:19

Despite all of the efforts on the ground, there's two people who are really in the hot seat. They're Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, who are behind the controls of Shenzhou-6. They may have started the day as relative unknowns, but the pair are now rocketing to national stardom.

FEI JUNLONG is a 40-year-old air force captain and is a Class III Astronaut of the PLA Astronauts Regiment. A native of Kunshan City in Jiangsu Province, Fei is a former aviation technical inspector. Fei's a Command Pilot and has 1,790 flying hours under his belt. Fei became one of China's first astronauts in 1998. He passed the Professional Astronauts Assessment with excellent scores.

41-year-old NIE HAISHENG's also an air force captain and a Class III Astronaut. Nie's from Zaoyang City in Hubei Province and is a former aviation director. He's completed 1,480 flying hours. Nie is a Class One Astronaut and was picked to become one of the nation's first astronauts in the late 1990s. Nie passed the Professional Astronauts Assessment with excellent scores and was one of the candidates for China's first manned space shuttle.

Editor:Wang  Source:CCTV.com