1. Yang Liwei is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut of the People's Liberation Army.
22 Facts About Yang Liwei
1. 2.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program.
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Yang Liwei is currently a vice chief designer of China Manned Space Engineering.
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Yang Liwei's mother was a teacher and his father was an accountant at a state agricultural firm.
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Yang Liwei married Zhang Yumei with whom they had a son together.
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Yang Liwei participated in the screening process for astronauts in 1996.
7.
Yang Liwei entered Tsinghua University in Beijing for doctoral studies in 2004 and received a Doctor of Philosophy in Management in 2009.
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Wen Jiabao 8.
Yang Liwei was selected as a taikonaut candidate in 1998 and has trained for space flight since then.
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Yang Liwei was chosen from the final pool of 14 candidates to fly on China's first crewed space mission.
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Yang Liwei was promoted to full Colonel on 20 October 2003.
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Yang Liwei was launched into space aboard his Shenzhou 5 spacecraft atop a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 09:00 CST on 15 October 2003.
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Yang Liwei reported the occurrence of abnormal vibrations two minutes after launch which he described as "very uncomfortable".
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Yang Liwei punctuated his journey with regular updates on his condition; variations of "I feel good", the last coming as the capsule floated to the ground after re-entry.
14.
Yang Liwei spoke to his wife as the Shenzhou 5 started its eighth orbit around the Earth, assuring her from space: "I feel very good, don't worry".
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Yang Liwei ate specially designed packets of shredded pork with garlic, Kung Pao chicken and eight treasure rice, along with Chinese herbal tea.
16.
State media said Yang Liwei's capsule was supplied with a gun, a knife and tent in case he landed in the wrong place.
17.
Yang Liwei was in space for a total of 21 hours, Yang Liwei left the capsule about 15 minutes after landing, and was congratulated by Premier Wen Jiabao.
18.
Yang Liwei visited Hong Kong on 31 October 2003, holding talks and sharing his experiences during a six-day stay in the territory.
19.
Yang Liwei received a badge of honour during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.
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Yang Liwei was promoted to Major General on 22 July 2008.
21.
Yang Liwei became an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party at the 17th Party Congress in October 2007.
22.
Yang Liwei is the director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office.