- Source: List of Chinese astronauts
This is a list of Chinese astronauts, sometimes called taikonauts. The list includes people trained by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft.
As the Chinese space program developed during the sixties, various proposals for crewed spacecraft were made. The first crewed spacecraft proposed by the People's Republic of China during the late 1960s and early 1970s was the Shuguang One which was expected to bring the first Chinese astronaut in 1973 into space. For this programme 19 astronauts were selected in 1971. However, shortly after these plans were made, several leading scientists attached to the project were denounced, bringing progress to a standstill. Instead, NASA astronaut Taylor Wang, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, became the first ethnically Chinese person in space in 1985.
The People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps was established in 1998 for the selection of Shenzhou program astronauts. In 2003, Yang Liwei was launched aboard Shenzhou 5, becoming the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This achievement made China the third country to independently send humans into space. During the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008, Zhai Zhigang became the first Chinese citizen to carry out a spacewalk. In 2012, Liu Yang became the first Chinese woman to be launched into space aboard Shenzhou 9 and also the first aboard a space station Tiangong-1. In 2021, Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to walk in space during the Shenzhou 13 mission. In 2023, Gui Haichao became the first civilian astronaut not enlisted in the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps and is the first mission payload specialist. In 2024, Wang Haoze became the third Chinese woman to travel to space on the Shenzhou 19 mission and is the only female spaceflight engineer.
As of October 2024, twenty-four Chinese nationals have traveled in space.
Astronauts
= Flown
== By selection group
=Shuguang Group (May 1970)
Group 1
October 1996
January 1998
Group 2 (March 2010)
Group 3 (October 2020)
China announced that 18 people, 17 men and 1 woman, had been selected as new astronauts. The positions were broken down as 7 spacecraft pilots ("aviators of the People's Liberation Army Air Force"), 7 flight engineers ("former researchers or technicians in aeronautics, astronautics and other related fields"), and 4 mission payload specialists ("those involved in space science and through applications for China's manned space program").
As of October 2023, only names of those selected to fly to space have been revealed.
Group 4 (October 2022)
China announced that 12 to 14 people are to be selected as new astronauts. The positions were broken down as 7-8 spacecraft pilots ("aviators of the People's Liberation Army Air Force") and 5-6 spaceflight engineers ("former researchers or technicians in aeronautics, astronautics and other related fields"). Up to two of the latter group will become payload specialists ("those involved in space science and through applications for China's manned space program"). Candidacy was extended to include Hong Kong and Macau.
On June 11, 2024 China announced 10 candidate astronauts, including 8 spacecraft pilots and 2 payload specialists from Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Reports prior to this announcement revealed that Lai Ka-Ying of Hong Kong was one of the women selected in the fourth group. The new astronauts will train for two years for both space station missions and crewed lunar missions.
See also
Chinese women in space
Chinese American astronauts
Taylor Wang
Franklin Chang-Díaz
Leroy Chiao
Ed Lu
List of astronauts
List of astronauts by selection
Shuguang Group 1970 list
China Group 1996 list
Chinese Group 1 list
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- List of Chinese astronauts
- Chinese women in space
- List of Indian astronauts
- Lists of astronauts
- List of women astronauts
- List of astronauts by year of selection
- Wang Haoze
- People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps
- Astronaut
- List of Apollo astronauts
