Chen Dong (astronaut)

Chen Dong
CNSA Astronaut
Nationality China Chinese
Status Active
Born 12 December 1978 (1978-12-12) (age 39)
Luoyang, Henan
Other occupation
 Fighter pilot
Current occupation
 Astronaut
Rank Lt.Col. PLASSF
Time in space
 32d 06h 25m [1]
Selection Chinese Group 2
Missions Shenzhou 11
Mission insignia

Chen Dong (simplified Chinese: 陈冬; traditional Chinese: 陳冬; pinyin: Chén Dōng; born 12 December 1978) is a Chinese pilot and astronaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program. A fighter pilot in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, he was selected to be a CNSA astronaut in 2010.[2]

Early life and education

Chen was born in Luoyang, Henan on 12 December 1978 from a working-class family.

He holds a Master degree in Engineering from Xi'an Jiaotong University.[3]

Military career

He joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in August 1997, achieving the rank of Colonel.[4]

Astronaut career

Chen was selected for the second batch for Chinese astronauts in 2009 when he was a combat aircraft pilot. He was interviewed by Yang Liwei.

Shenzhou 11

He was selected to fly on the Shenzhou 11 mission in October 2016 with astronaut Jing Haipeng.[5] The two underwent more than 3,000 hours of training before the launch of the spacecraft. On 17 October 2016 On 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT on 16 October), Chen lifted off with Shenzhou 11 for a 33-day space mission as his first spaceflight, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 2F launch rocket. [6] The crew landed successfully after the 33 day mission on 18 November 2016, marking China's longest manned space flight to date.[7] The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia around 2.15 p.m(China time) after detaching from the space lab on 17 November.[8]

Awards

For his achievements on the Shenzhou 11 mission, Chen was awarded the Spaceflight Merit Medal (Third Class) along with the honorary title of "hero astronaut" on 26 December 2016 by the Central Military Commission.[9]

Personal life

Chen has twin sons.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Biographies of Taikonauts (yuhangyuans)". spacefacts. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  2. ↑ 王建芬. "Astronaut Chen Dong: From naughty boy to inspiration". Chinadaily.
  3. ↑ "【治国理政新实践•陕西篇】陕西骄傲："神舟十一号"两航天员均为西安交大学子". CN West News.
  4. ↑ "陈冬：六年磨砺　一朝飞天-新华网". Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  5. ↑ 李江雪. ""神十一"航天员公布：景海鹏 陈冬_央广网". news.cnr.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  6. ↑ "China's Shenzhou 11 blasts off on space station mission". BBC News. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  7. ↑ "太空征戰33天 太空人景海鵬、陳冬凱旋 - 香港文匯網". news.wenweipo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  8. ↑ CNN, James Griffiths. "Shenzhou-11 astronauts return home after China's longest-ever space mission". CNN. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  9. ↑ "中共中央 国务院 中央军委 关于给景海鹏颁发"一级航天功勋奖章"授予陈冬"英雄航天员"荣誉称号并颁发"三级航天功勋奖章"的决定-新华网". news.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.