Nie Haisheng

Nie Haisheng (simplified Chinese: 聂海胜; traditional Chinese: 聶海勝; pinyin: Niè Hǎishèng; born 13 October 1964) is a Chinese military pilot and CNSA astronaut.

Nie Haisheng
Born (1964-10-13) October 13, 1964
Zaoyang, Hubei
NationalityChinese
OccupationFighter pilot
Space career
CNSA Astronaut
RankMajor general, PLASSF
Time in space
19 days, 10 hours, 1 min
SelectionChinese Group 1
MissionsShenzhou 6, Shenzhou 10
Mission insignia
In this Chinese name, the family name is Nie.

Military career
Nie Haisheng in 2010

Nie was born on 13 October 1964 in Yangdang town of Zaoyang, Hubei Province. After graduating from high school he joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force and became a fighter pilot. 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 Shenzhou 10, Nie had attained the rank of Major General.[1]

CNSA career

In 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 flight, China's first manned spaceflight. Yang Liwei was picked for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang ranked second ahead of Niè Hǎishèng.

Nie went into orbit, along with Fei Junlong (commander), as flight engineer of the Shenzhou 6 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 mission.[2] In 2013, Nie was selected to command the Shenzhou 10 second manned space mission to the first Chinese space station Tiangong 1.[3] He became the first officer hold general rank at the time of their launch in the Chinese program with the Shenzhou 10 mission.[4]

Personal

He is married to Niè Jiélín (聂捷琳) and they have a daughter named Nie Tianxiang (聂天翔).[5] During the Shenzhou 6 mission he celebrated his 41st birthday in space.

The asteroid 9517 Niehaisheng was named after him.

See also

References
  1. "General ready for second space mission". SpaceDaily. 11 June 2013.
  2. Morris Jones (3 April 2013). "Shenzhou's Shadow Crew". Space Daily.
  3. "Astronauts of Shenzhou-10 mission meet press". Space Daily. 11 June 2013.
  4. "China's space dream crystallized with Shenzhou-10 launch". SpaceDaily. 16 June 2013.
  5. 10日神十17时发射 江西女婿聂海胜任指令长
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