Jing Haipeng (; born 24 October 1966) is a major general of the

People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...

(PLAGF) in active service as a vice-commander of the

82nd Group Army The 82nd Group Army (), Unit 31677, formerly the 38th Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The 82nd Group Army is one of thirteen total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ...

. A

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

in the PLA Air Force (PLAAF), he was selected to be a PLA Astronaut Corps (PLAAC)

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

in 1998. He was the first Chinese astronaut to have flown on more than one mission and remains the only one to have flown on four (

Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement o ...

, Shenzhou 9, Shenzhou 11, Shenzhou 16). He also held the Chinese record for longest time spent in space from 2016 to 2021 (47 days) and again from 2023 (201 days), until his record was overtaken by Tang Hongbo in February 2024.

Career

Jing was one of the six trainees for the

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) ...

mission.

Shenzhou 7

Jing, along with Liu Boming and Zhai Zhigang were selected for the prime crew on

on 17 September 2008. On 25 September 2008, at 21:10 CST, they launched into space as the first three-man crew for China aboard China's third

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

mission.

Shenzhou 9

Jing was selected as commander of Shenzhou 9, becoming the first repeat traveller of the Chinese program. He commanded the first crewed mission to dock with the first Chinese space station, Tiangong 1, with the first female astronaut, Liu Yang. The third member of his crew was Liu Wang.SPACE.com
"China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch"
15 June 2012, Clara MoskowitzLondon Free Press
"China completes successful space docking"
, Reuters, 18 June 2012 The mission was launched on 16 June 2012, returning to Earth on 29 June 2012.

Shenzhou 11

On 15 October 2016, a press release indicated Jing Haipeng would be the commander of the Shenzhou 11 mission, that was slated for departure only two days later. The Shenzhou 11 launched at 07:30 on 17 October 2016 local time (23:30

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on 16 October 2016) from the

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility ( spacep ...

using a Long March 2F

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

. The crew landed successfully after the 33 day mission on 18 November 2016.The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

around 2.15 p.m (China time) after detaching from the space lab on 17 November 2016. After landing, Jing Haipeng held the record for the most cumulative time in space by a Chinese citizen with 47 days until 2021 when

Nie Haisheng Nie Haisheng (born 13 October 1964) is a major general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) in active service as an taikonaut and the third commander (unit chief) of the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Co ...

accumulated 111 days after the

Shenzhou 12 Shenzhou 12 () was a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched on 17 June 2021. It carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft. The mission was the seventh crewed ...

mission. In July 2017,

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

awarded Jing the Order of August First, the highest military award of

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Shenzhou 16

On 30 May 2023, Jing returned to space for the fourth time as the commander of Shenzhou 16. Shenzhou 16 successfully returned to Earth on 31 October 2023 after over 153 days in space, bringing Jing's cumulative time in space to over 201 days and allowing him to reclaim the Chinese record.

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Jing Haipeng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jing, Haipeng 1966 births Living people Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou program astronauts People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps People's Liberation Army Air Force generals People's Liberation Army generals from Shanxi