Nie Haisheng (born 13 October 1964) is a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of the Chinese

People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force The People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF; ) is the space, cyber, political, and electronic warfare force and the 5th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

(PLASSF) in active service as an

taikonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally ...

and the third commander (unit chief) of the PLA Astronaut Corps (PLAAC). He was a

PLA 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 ...

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

and director of navigation. Nie flew on

Shenzhou 6 Shenzhou 6 () was the second human spaceflight of the Chinese space program, launched on October 12, 2005 on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou spacecraft carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng (费俊龙) ...

and served as commander on both 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 ...

and Shenzhou 12 missions, the latter of which became the first crew to visit the Tiangong space station. In 2021, with a combined 111 days in space, he set a new record for longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut, becoming the first to exceed 100 days and is one of only two Chinese astronauts to have flown three times.

Air Force career

Nie was born on 08 September 1964 in Yangdang Town of

Zaoyang Zaoyang () is a city in the north of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north. Administratively, it is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangyang. At the 2010 census its population was 1,004, ...

County,

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

City,

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

Province. After graduating from high school he joined 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 ...

in June 1983, and became a

. He trained at the PLAAF's No. 7 Flying School and graduated in 1987. On 12 June 1989 while flying at 13,000 feet (4000 m) his plane suffered an explosion and he lost his engine. The plane began to spin to the ground and the cabin began to heat up. Trying to regain control, he waited until the plane was 1300 to 1700 feet (400 to 500 meters) before choosing to eject. For his handling of the situation he was honored with third-class merit. Prior to

, Nie had attained the rank of Major General.

Astronaut Corps career

In January 1998, he was selected for the Chinese spaceflight program and was one of three candidates who were part of the final group to train for the

Shenzhou 5 Shenzhou 5 (, see § Etymology) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flig ...

flight, China's first manned spaceflight.

Yang Liwei Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut at the People's Liberation Army. In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shen ...

was picked for the flight, with

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 ...

ranked second ahead of Nie. Nie went into orbit, along with

Fei Junlong Major general Fei Junlong (; born 5 May 1965) is a Chinese military pilot and an taikonaut. He was the commander of Shenzhou 6, the second crewed spaceflight of China's space program, and was selected as commander for the Shenzhou 15 mission to ...

(commander), as flight engineer of the

flight on 12 October 2005. The mission lasted just under five days. He was selected to be the commander of the backup crew for the

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 ...

mission. In 2013, Nie was selected to command the

second manned space mission to the Chinese prototype space station

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 ...

. He became the first officer to hold general rank at the time of their launch in the Chinese space program with the Shenzhou 10 mission. Nie was chosen in December 2019 for his third spaceflight, Shenzhou 12, which lifted off on 17 June 2021 on the first manned mission to the Tiangong space station. Nie conducted his first

spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA in ...

outside the station on 20 August 2021.

Personal

He is married to Nie Jielin () and they have a daughter named Nie Tianxiang (). During the Shenzhou 6 mission he celebrated his 41st birthday in space. The

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

9517 Niehaisheng was named after him.

References

External links

* * *
Niè Hǎishèng
at the

Encyclopedia Astronautica The ''Encyclopedia Astronautica'' is a reference web site on space travel. A comprehensive catalog of vehicles, technology, astronauts, and flights, it includes information from most countries that have had an active rocket research program, f ...

. Accessed 22 July 2005.
Spacefacts biography of Nie Haisheng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nie, Haisheng 1964 births Living people People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps Shenzhou program astronauts People from Xiangyang People's Liberation Army Air Force generals People's Liberation Army generals from Hubei PLA Air Force Aviation University alumni Spacewalkers

Air Force career

Astronaut Corps career

Personal

See also

References

External links