Zhai Zhigang

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Zhai Zhigang bigraphy, stories - Chinese astronaut

Zhai Zhigang : biography

10 October 1966 –

Zhai Zhigang ( born October 10, 1966) is an officer in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and a CNSA astronaut. During the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008, he became the first Chinese citizen to carry out a spacewalk.http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080916/wl_asia_afp/chinaspace Fighter pilot to be China’s first space walker: govt

CNSA career

In 1996, Zhai was selected to trial for the astronaut program and was selected to be the first group of fourteen in 1998. He was one of three members of the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 (神舟五号) flight. Yang Liwei was picked for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang ranked second ahead of Nie Haisheng. Zhai was one of the six astronauts in the final training for Shenzhou 6 (神舟六号). The Ta Kung Pao newspaper had reported that Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng were the leading pair, after having been in the final group of three for Shenzhou 5. However, Zhai had been paired with Wu Jie during training. Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng flew the flight.

Zhai, along with Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng was selected for prime crew on Shenzhou 7 (神舟七号), with Zhai as commander, on 17 September 2008. On 25 September 2008, at 21:10 CST, they launched into space as the first three-man crew for China, China’s third human spaceflight mission.CCTV1 live telecasthttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/26/content_7060750.htm On 27 September 2008, Zhai became the first Chinese astronaut to spacewalk, completely outside the craft. Fellow crew member Liu Boming stood by at the airlock and could be seen straddling the portal. Zhai successfully completed his spacewalk at 18:25 CST.CCTV4 live telecast Zhai wore the Chinese developed Feitian space suit (飞天), while Liu wore the Russian derived Orlan-M space suit, translated in Chinese as Haiying or "Sea Eagle" (海鹰).

Early career

Zhai was born in Longjiang County, Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province. He enrolled at the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Aviation Institute and studied to be a fighter pilot and then as a squadron leader. Zhai became a Lieutenant Colonel and pilot trainer in the PLAAF after logging 1000 hours of flying time.

Personal life

Zhai’s favourite pastimes are calligraphy, dancing and gadgets. He is married to Zhang Shujing and has one son.