China First Manned Space Mission Program in 1960s

I am sure that everyone knows that the first Chinese manned mission was Shenzhou 5 launched on October 15, 2003 in which Yang Liwei (杨利伟) became the first Chinese astronaut (or hangtianyuan). But you may not know that China started (and failed) the first manned program (Project 714) back in 1960s. The name of the program was “Shuguang” meaning the dawn time. The following is the story.

New Chinese astronauts selection is down to 5 male and 2 female candidates

Chinese news source said, China has finished another round of selecting new astronauts according to army officials who are attending NPC & CPPCC Annual Sessions. There are five male candidates out of 30 and two female candidates out of 15. These lucky candidates will receive further examinations. All of them are currently airforce pilots but their names are state secret.

The news says that among 15 females, five candidates are from Shandong province. They are: Wang Yaping (王亚平), Xing Lei (邢蕾), Cao Yanyan (曹艳艳), Liu Lu (刘璐) and Sun Jing (孙静). It is expected that some of them will become first generation of female astronauts in China.

The selected candidates will be “perfect” human beings. They must have ages between 25 and 35, height between 1.60 m and 1.75 m, weight between 55 kg and 70 kg. They should not have strong accent. They must be non addict, non drinking, non smoking, non picky on food, non snoring. Female astronauts must be married and have children.

In China, astronauts are called hangtianyuan.

Top 10 manned space exploration news in 2009 selected by Chinese astronauts

On January 23, 2010, Chinese magazine “Astronaut” announced its selection of “Top 10 manned space exploration news in 2009″ (2009年十大载人航天新闻). It is the first such activity by a combined committee of Chinese astronauts and experts in manned missions. The committee of 48 people includes; Lu Shanguang(陈善广), Liu Yu (刘宇), Qin Wenbo (秦文波) and six Chinese astronauts. Yang Liwei (杨利伟) read the announcement. The result is: