Profile of China´s first taikonaut in space

cctv.com 10-15-2003 18:49

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut in space, or "taikonaut" -- a term coined by Western media, piloting the Shenzhou-V spacecraft. He took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in northwest China's Gansu Province.

Yang was born in June 1965 in Suizhong County of northeast China's Liaoning Province. He joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army when he was 18 years old.

He graduated from the No. 8 Aviation College of the PLA Air Force in 1987 with a bachelor's degree and became a fighter pilot.

As a pilot, he has had 1,350 hours of flight experience. In January 1998, Yang became a member of China's first team of astronauts.

He was selected as one of the finalists to be the country's first astronaut in space for his excellent performance in the five-year training program.

Yang's colleagues have described him as a man with excellent team spirit, and as a man dedicated to his career.

Editor:Wang  Source:CCTV.com