Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




DRAGON SPACE
China's space women wait for blast-off
by Tony Quine
London, UK (SPX) May 18, 2012


Either Major Wang Yaping (pictured), 32, from Yantai, Shandong Province, or Major Liu Yang, 33, from Zhengzhou, Henan Province will be selected for the mission.

China will definitely launch a female air force pilot into space, onboard the ambitious Shenzhou 9 rendezvous and docking mission, likely to launch in mid-June, according to a senior space programme official.

Speaking at a ceremony, to mark the departure of the Long March 2F booster to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, Chinese Academy of Launch Technology, Commander in Chief, Liu Yu, commented that the rocket would be used to launch China's first woman into space, along with two male colleagues.

The announcement was not entirely unexpected. In late 2011, Chinese officials had hinted that a woman might be included in the crew of the planned Shenzhou 10 mission, in 2013. Then, in March, Qi Faren, the former Chief Designer of Shenzhou, implied that the female crew assignment could be brought forward to Shenzhou 9, depending on examination results.

China is known to have only two female taikonauts, and although they have never been named officially, their identities have been circulating on Chinese and English language websites, for many months.

Either Major Wang Yaping, 32, from Yantai, Shandong Province, or Major Liu Yang, 33, from Zhengzhou, Henan Province will be selected for the mission. Both women are married, and are career pilots in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, which they both joined direct from high school, in 1997. They were drafted for spaceflight training, in early 2010, from a pool of just 15 potential female candidates.

So far, there has been no official indication of the identity of any of the Shenzhou 9 prime, or back-up, crew members.

Chinese officials have previously said that, the final crew for Shenzhou 9 would not be selected until the final hours before launch.

Shenzhou 9 is scheduled to rendezvous, and complete a manual docking, with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, and will stay in orbit for 13 days. It will be China's most complex, and longest, spaceflight, more than doubling their current endurance record.

.


Related Links
China at Encyclopedia Astronautica
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








DRAGON SPACE
Shenzhou 9 to be ready for mid-June launch?
London, UK (SPX) May 16, 2012
China seems poised to launch three astronauts into space, in the middle of June, onboard Shenzhou 9, the country's fourth, and most ambitious manned spaceflight. Shenzhou 9 is scheduled to rendezvous and complete a manual docking with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, and will stay in orbit for 13 days, more than doubling China's current endurance record. The Long March 2F rocket was d ... read more


DRAGON SPACE
Perigee "Super Moon" On May 5-6

India's second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 to wait

European Google Lunar X Prize Teams Call For Science Payloads

Russia to Send Manned Mission to Moon by 2030

DRAGON SPACE
Opportunity Rolling Again After Fifth Mars Winter

Mojave Desert Tests Prepare for NASA Mars Roving

Mars Opportunity Rover Is A Go For More Travel

WSU air-quality researcher to lead field studies in support of NASA Mars mission

DRAGON SPACE
SpaceX Falcon 9 Dragon Launch Aborted

NASA chooses rocket for Orion launches

World expert outlines the future for air space travel

Poland seeks competitive edge through new technology

DRAGON SPACE
China's space women wait for blast-off

Shenzhou 9 to be ready for mid-June launch?

China confirms plans to build own orbital station

Building a Heavenly Palace in outer space

DRAGON SPACE
Space Station - Here We Come!

ISS Research and Development Conference June 26-28 Denver

ISS Cosmonauts to Make 3D Photo Report

Russia delivers three astronauts to ISS: official

DRAGON SPACE
SpaceX readies ambitious ISS launch

Japan in first commercial satellite launch

The numbers add up in Arianespace's latest commercial launch success with Ariane 5

ILS Proton Launches Telesat's Nimiq 6 Satellite

DRAGON SPACE
Cosmic dust rings no guarantee of planets

In search of new 'Earths' beyond our Solar System

Free-floating planets in the Milky Way outnumber stars by factors of thousands

Unseen planet revealed by its gravity

DRAGON SPACE
The elusive capacity of networks

New twist on ancient math problem could improve medicine, microelectronics

Sulphur and iron compounds common in old shipwrecks

Freshwater crayfish found to have substance covering teeth astonishingly similar to human enamel




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement