Wang Yaping

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.
Wang Yaping
王亚平
Wang Yaping at Shenzhou-13 launch.jpg
Wang at Shenzhou 13 launch ceremony in October 2021
Born (1980-01-27) 27 January 1980 (age 41)
Yantai, Shandong, China
StatusActive
Alma materChangchun Flight College
Space career
PLAAC Taikonaut
Previous occupation
Military transport pilot, PLAAF
RankSenior Colonel, PLASSF
Time in space
Currently in space
SelectionChinese Group 2[1]
Total EVAs
1
Total EVA time
6 hours, 25 minutes[2]
MissionsShenzhou 10, Shenzhou 13
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese王亞平
Simplified Chinese王亚平

Wang Yaping (Chinese: 王亚平; pinyin: Wáng Yàpíng; born 27 January 1980) is a Chinese military transport pilot and taikonaut. Wang was the second female taikonaut selected to the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps, the second Chinese woman in space, and the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.[3]

Early life[]

Wang was born in the prefecture of Yantai, in Shandong province. Her mother and father are farmers, and she was reported to have two sisters.[4]

Career[]

In September 1991, she entered junior high school in Yantai, and in 1994 entered Yantai Yizhong High School, graduating in 1997. She was admitted to the Changchun Flight College of the People's Liberation Army Air Force and joined the force in August 1997. Wang was from the seventh batch of female military pilots in China,[5] one of 37 members, and graduated from Aviation University and flight school in 2001 with the rank of First Lieutenant.[4] As a pilot with the Wuhan Air Force transport aircraft crew, she has participated in tasks such as combat readiness exercises, the Wenchuan Earthquake relief effort, and cloud seeding and weather modification[4] for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to eliminate clouds and reduce rain. After accumulating safe flights for 1600 hours, she was named Air Force Class II pilot. In May 2010 she officially became the second female astronaut of China. At that time Wang was a captain in the People's Liberation Army Air Force.[5]

She was a candidate for the space mission Shenzhou 9 in 2012.[6] However, Liu Yang was selected over her for the historic mission of the first Chinese female space traveller.[7] Wang was a member of the backup crew for SZ-9.[8]

Wang became the second Chinese female spacefarer as a member of the Shenzhou 10 spaceship crew, which orbited the Earth in June 2013,[9] and of the Tiangong-1 orbiting space station with which it docked.[10] She was known as the “Goddess II”. She was the first member of the crew announced, in April, while the remainder of the crew were announced in June.[8] Wang Yaping was one of two women in space on the 50th anniversary of Vostok 6, the first spaceflight by a woman, Valentina Tereshkova. The other woman in space on 16 June 2013 was Karen Nyberg, an American astronaut aboard the International Space Station.[11] While aboard Tiangong-1, Wang conducted scientific experiments and taught a physics lesson to Chinese students by live television broadcast.[12] In 2018, she held the rank of Air Force Colonel, and had trained to fly four aircraft models.[13]

In March 2018, Wang was elected for a five-year-term as a deputy to the National People's Congress.[14]

In October 2021, it was announced that Wang was selected as one of the three crew members to fly on Shenzhou 13 to the Tiangong space station, marking her second spaceflight and the first time a Chinese woman would travel to space twice.[15] She was to be the first female astronaut to board the Tiangong space station.[16] and to perform an extravehicular activity.

On 15 October 2021, the three Shenzhou 13 crewmembers arrived at the Tianhe space station module, hours after launch. On 7 November, the China Manned Space Agency announced that a spacewalk was underway and it was being performed by astonauts Zhai Zhigang, the Shenzhou 13 mission commander, and Wang Yaping, who was now China's first female spacewalker.[3] EVA operations started at 6:21 p.m.. Wang exited from the node cabin of the Tianhe Core Module at 8:28 p.m.. Zhai and Wang completed their EVAs and returned to Tianhe by 1:16 a.m. on 8 November,[17] the entire operation having lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes.[2] Wang wore a new spacesuit, delivered to the station by the Tianzhou 3 cargo resupply craft in September. According to Chinese state media, this suit was optimized for her shorter height.[18]

Personal life[]

Wang is married.[19] Chinese media reported in 2010 that she was married to Zhao Peng, a PLAAF pilot. Tony Quine of NasaSpaceFlight noted that she probably has a child, "as Chinese officials have previously said that only women who have already given birth would be considered for the taikonaut program."[4] A former official claimed that it was due to concerns that spaceflight could potentially harm women's fertility.[20][7] However, this requirement has been officially denied by the director of the China Astronaut Center, stating that this is a preference but not a strict limitation.[19][21]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "China mulls over sending female "taikonauts" into space". Xinhua. 31 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b "China's Shenzhou-13 taikonauts complete first extravehicular mission". Xinhua News. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b Andrew Jones (7 November 2021). "China's Shenzhou 13 crew takes its first spacewalk, the country's 1st by a female astronaut". Space.com. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Quine, Tony (14 November 2010). "Indentity of one of the Chinese female taikonaut candidates revealed". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Becker, Joachim. "Taikonaut (yuhangyuan) Biography: Wang Yaping". Spacefacts.de. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  6. ^ "China readies three taikonauts for station visit". Planetary Society.
  7. ^ a b Space.com, "China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch", 15 June 2012, Clara Moskowitz
  8. ^ a b Morris Jones (3 April 2013). "Shenzhou's Shadow Crew". Space Daily.
  9. ^ William Harwood (25 June 2013). "Chinese astronauts complete space mission, return to Earth". CBS News. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  10. ^ "China to launch Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft on June 11". Xinhua. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  11. ^ Ken Kremer (16 June 2013). "Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova; 1st Woman in Space 50 Years Ago! Ready for Mars". Universe Today.
  12. ^ Clark, Stephen (11 June 2013). "Successful start for China's fifth human spaceflight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  13. ^ "航天员张晓光晋升少将，至此，我国已有7名航天员成为将军" [Astronaut Zhang Xiaoguang was promoted to major general. So far, 7 astronauts in my country have become generals]. xw.qq.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  14. ^ Andrew Jones. "Space exploration requires the 'efforts of generations' says Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping". GB Times.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  15. ^ "China unveils Shenzhou-13 crew for six-month space station mission".
  16. ^ Neuman, Scott (15 October 2021). "China has sent a female astronaut for a 6-month stay on its new space station". NPR. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Shenzhou-13 Crew Conducts First Extravehicular Activities, Wang Yaping Becomes First Female Chinese Astronaut to Spacewalk". . 8 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  18. ^ Navin, Joseph (7 November 2021). "Wang Yaping becomes the first Chinese woman to walk in space". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  19. ^ a b "For Liu Yang, sexism is still the final frontier". Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  20. ^ Brenhouse, Hillary (25 March 2010). "China's Female Astronauts: Must Be a Married Mom". TIME.
  21. ^ "Exclusive interview: Astronauts selection process". CCTV News. CNTV. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2012.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""