Liu Yang Chinese pilot and astronaut Date of Birth: 06.10.1978 Country: China

Biography of Liu Yang

Liu Yang is a Chinese aviator and astronaut, known for her participation in the space project 'Shenzhou 9'. On June 16, 2012, she became the first Chinese female astronaut. Liu joined the Chinese Air Force in 1997, starting as a pilot and later becoming the deputy head of a flight division with the rank of major. She led her division with a total of 1680 flight hours. After two years of training at astronaut courses, Liu successfully passed the qualification tests and was selected as a member of the astronaut corps, surpassing another participant, Wang Yaping.

Liu Yang is the only child in her family. While it is known that she is married, there is no information available about her children. It was rumored that marriage was a mandatory requirement for all Chinese female astronauts, as it was believed that married women would be physically and psychologically more resilient. However, the China Astronaut Centre denied this rumor, stating that being married was desirable but not obligatory for female astronauts.

Since May 2001, Liu Yang has been a member of the Communist Party of China. The 'Shenzhou 9' project was the fourth manned spacecraft mission of China and the first manned spacecraft to dock with the 'Tiangong 1' space station. The crew of the spacecraft included Liu Yang, Jing Haipeng, and Liu Wang. Liu Yang made history as the first Chinese female astronaut, while her partner, Jing Haipeng, became the first Chinese astronaut to participate in two space missions.

The 'Shenzhou 9' spacecraft was launched on June 16, 2012, exactly 49 years after the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova. During the mission, the crew conducted various experiments, with Liu Yang primarily responsible for medical-related ones. On June 23, 2012, the spacecraft successfully undocked from the space station in automatic mode and redocked in manual mode. On June 29, 2012, the spacecraft landed safely in Inner Mongolia.