![Wang Yaping at Shenzhou-13 launch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Wang_Yaping_at_Shenzhou-13_launch.jpg)
Wang Yaping (; born 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 People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC; ), also known as the Chinese Astronaut Corps (), is a Beijing-based sub-corps-level People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) unit directly under the PLASSF Space Systems Depar ...
, the second
Chinese woman in space, and the first Chinese woman to perform a
spacewalk
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...
.
In April 2022, she set a new record for longest stay in space by a female Chinese astronaut with a cumulative 197 days in space.
Early life
Wang was born in the prefecture of
Yantai
Yantai, Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of ...
, in
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
province. Her mother and father are farmers, and she was reported to have two sisters.
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
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...
and joined the force in August 1997. Wang was from the seventh batch of female military pilots in China,
one of 37 members, and graduated from Aviation University and flight school in 2001 with the rank of First Lieutenant.
As a pilot with the Air Force's
transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes:
* Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service
* Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...
crew in Wuhan, she has participated in tasks such as combat readiness exercises, the
Wenchuan Earthquake relief effort, and cloud seeding and weather modification
for the
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
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.
She was a candidate for the space mission
Shenzhou 9
Shenzhou 9 () was the fourth crewed spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first crewed mission and expedition to dock with the Tiangong-1 ...
in 2012. However,
Liu Yang was selected over her for the historic mission of the first Chinese female space traveller.
[Space.com]
"China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch"
15 June 2012, Clara Moskowitz Wang was a member of the backup crew for SZ-9.
Wang became the second Chinese female spacefarer as a member of the
Shenzhou 10
Shenzhou 10 () was a crewed spaceflight of China's Shenzhou program that was launched on 11 June 2013. It was China's fifth crewed space mission. The mission had a crew of three astronauts: Nie Haisheng, who was mission commander and previous ...
spaceship crew, which orbited the Earth in June 2013, and of the
Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during its ...
orbiting space station with which it docked.
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.
[ Wang Yaping was one of two women in space on the 50th anniversary of ]Vostok 6
Vostok 6 (russian: Восток-6, ''Orient 6'' or ''East 6'') was the first human spaceflight to carry a woman, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, into space.
Mission
The spacecraft was launched on 16 June 1963. While Vostok 5 had been delayed by ...
, the first spaceflight by a woman, Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ( rus, Валентина Владимировна Терешкова, links=no, p=vɐlʲɪnʲˈtʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə tʲɪrʲɪʂˈkovə, a=Valentina Tereshkova.ogg; born 6 March 1937) is an engine ...
. The other woman in space on 16 June 2013 was Karen Nyberg
Karen LuJean Nyberg (born October 7, 1969) is an American mechanical engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Nyberg became the 50th woman in space on her first mission in 2008.
Nyberg started her space career in 1991 and spent a total of 180 days ...
, an American astronaut aboard the International Space Station. While aboard Tiangong-1, Wang conducted scientific experiments and taught a physics lesson to Chinese students by live television broadcast. In 2018, she held the rank of Air Force Colonel, and had trained to fly four aircraft models.
In March 2018, Wang was elected for a five-year-term as a deputy to the National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
.
In October 2021, it was announced that Wang was selected as one of the three crew members to fly on Shenzhou 13
Shenzhou 13 () was a Chinese spaceflight launched on 15 October 2021 at 16:23 UTC. The flight marked the eighth crewed Chinese spaceflight and the thirteenth flight of the Shenzhou program. The spacecraft carried three People's Liberation Army ...
to the Tiangong space station, marking her second spaceflight and the first time a Chinese woman would travel to space twice. She was to be the first female astronaut to board the Tiangong space station and to perform an extravehicular activity. The mission would be China's longest crewed space mission.
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
China Manned Space Agency or CMSA () is an agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program.
Name
The native name of the organization (') was in ...
announced that a spacewalk was underway and it was being performed by astronauts Zhai Zhigang
Zhai Zhigang (; born 11 October 1966) is a Chinese major general of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) in active service as a People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut. During the Shenzhou 7 mission ...
, the Shenzhou 13 mission commander, and Wang Yaping, who was now China's first female spacewalker. 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, the entire operation having lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes. Wang wore a new spacesuit, delivered to the station by the Tianzhou 3
Tianzhou 3 () was a mission of the Tianzhou-class uncrewed cargo spacecraft, launched on 20 September 2021, at 07:10:11 UTC. Like previous Tianzhou missions, the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, China o ...
cargo resupply craft in September. According to Chinese state media, this suit was optimized for her shorter height.
Personal life
Wang is married to Zhao Peng, a PLAAF pilot. She has one daughter. She is studying for a doctoral degree in psychology at Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
.
See also
* Women in space
Women have flown and worked in outer space since almost the beginning of human spaceflight. A considerable number of women from a range of countries have worked in space, though overall women are still significantly less often chosen to go ...
** List of female astronauts
The following is a list of women who have traveled into space, sorted by date of first flight. This list includes Russian cosmonauts, who were the first women in outer space travelers. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go to space ...
** Chinese women in space
*** Liu Yang (first)
References
External links
Spacefacts biography of Wang Yaping
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Yaping
1980 births
Living people
People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps
Women astronauts
Shenzhou program astronauts
People's Liberation Army Air Force personnel
Spacewalkers
Peking University alumni