Deng Qingming (Chinese: 邓清明; pinyin: Dèng Qīngmíng; born 16 March 1966) is a Chinese People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program.
Early life
He was born into a family of farming background in the Yihuang County, Jiangxi, on 16 March 1966.[2] He is the eldest of five children in the family.[2]
Career
A fighter pilot in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, he was selected to be an astronaut in 1998.[1]
He was announced as a backup member of Shenzhou 9, Shenzhou 10, Shenzhou 11 and Shenzhou 12 before finally being selected as one of the three crew members of Shenzhou 15. After 24 years of training,[3] in November 2022 he successfully blasted off on the mission to the Tiangong space station, where he stayed for 183 days before returning to Earth in June 2023.[1][4]
Personal life
His daughter was born in 1991 and now works in the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Biographies of Taikonauts (yuhangyuans)- Deng Qingming". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
- ^ a b c Zhan Kang (占康) (2002). 邓清明：守得云开见月明 [Deng Qingming: watching the clouds open and seeing the moonlight]. Celebrities' Biographies (in Chinese). 608. Zhengzhou, Henan: Henan Literature and Art Publishing House: 10–14. ISSN 1002-6282.
- ^ Ling Xin (29 November 2022). "Chinese astronaut Deng Qingming finally fulfils dream of travelling in space after near-25-year wait". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
- ^ "Three Chinese astronauts from Shenzhou-15 return safely to Earth". The Star. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2025.