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The People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC; ), also known as the Chinese Astronaut Corps (), is a
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
-based deputy-corps grade
People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force The People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force () is an arm of the People's Liberation Army. It was established on 19 April 2024. It is one of two independent space forces in the world. History The PLA Aerospace Force was established on 19 Apr ...
(PLAASF) and is responsible for the selection and training of the
astronaut corps 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 ...
for
Project 921 The China Manned Space Program (CMS; ), also known as Project 921 () is a space program developed by the People's Republic of China and run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) under the Equipment Development Department of the Central Militar ...
, the Chinese manned space program.


History

In October 1992, a
Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense The Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND; ) was a civilian commission within the State Council of the People's Republic of China, responsible for setting policy for defense procurement. It was consid ...
-
PLAAF The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
joint task force started the preliminary selection for astronauts; 1,506 pilots were identified and twelve were chosen as candidates. The Astronaut Corps was established on January 5, 1998 and the twelve along with two PLAAF trainees sent to
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility responsible for tra ...
in 1996 forms Chinese Group 1. Seven pilots entered the Astronaut Corps in May 2010 as Group 2. In 2014, Group 1 astronauts
Wu Jie Wu Jie () is a Chinese military pilot and taikonaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program. Biography Wu Jie was born in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. In 1987 he graduated from the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Engineering ...
,
Li Qinglong Li Qinglong (; born August 1962) is a Chinese pilot selected as part of the Shenzhou program. Biography Li Qinglong was born in Dingyuan, Anhui province, China. In 1987 he graduated from the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Missile C ...
,
Chen Quan Chen Quan (; born December 1963) is a Chinese pilot selected as part of the Shenzhou program. Chen was born in Suining, Sichuan, China. He joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force and became a fighter interceptor pilot and later as a reg ...
, Zhao Chuandong, and
Pan Zhanchun Pan Zhanchun () is a Chinese pilot selected as part of the Shenzhou program. He was a fighter pilot in the People's Liberation Army Air Force and was selected to be an astronaut in 1998. Pan Zhanchun retired from the Astronaut Corps in 2014. ...
retired from the Astronaut Corps due to age; none of them had flown in a mission. The Astronaut Corps was part of the
General Armaments Department People's Liberation Army General Armaments Department (GAD; ) was in charge of equipping and arming the People's Liberation Army of China, as well as overseeing and improving military technology. Founded in April 1998, it was one of the four "gener ...
until GAD was disbanded in January 2016. As part of the 2015 military reform, it became part of the Strategic Support Force. In January and March 2018,
China Manned Space Agency China Manned Space Agency (abbreviated as CMSA) is a government agency of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program. The agency is under the Equipment Development Department ...
vice director, astronaut
Yang Liwei Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut of the People's Liberation Army. In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This missi ...
stated that Group 3 selection was expected to begin in 2018 and would include engineers and mission specialists. Yang also stated that Group 3 would include civilians from industry and research institutions.


See also

*Other astronaut corps: **
Canadian Astronaut Corps The Canadian Astronaut Corps is a unit of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has four active members, able to serve on the International Spa ...
**
European Astronaut Corps The European Astronaut Corps is a unit of the European Space Agency (ESA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members on U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has 13 active members, able to serve on the International Space St ...
**
NASA Astronaut Corps The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...
(United States) ** ISRO Astronaut Corps (India) **
JAXA Astronaut Corps The JAXA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and Russian space missions. , the corps has seven active members. History The first Japan ...
(Japan) **
Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps The Cosmonaut Corps () is a unit of the Russia's Roscosmos state corporation that selects, trains, and provides cosmonauts as crew members for the Russian Federation and international space missions. It is part of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Tra ...
(Russia) *
List of Chinese astronauts This is a list of Chinese astronauts. Although they are sometimes referred to as taikonauts in the media, this term is not officially used in China. The official designation in English is simply astronauts (Chinese: 航天员 hángtiānyuán). Th ...
*
List of astronauts by selection This is a list of astronauts by year of selection: people selected to train for a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. Until recently, astronauts were sponso ...
*
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 ...
*
History of spaceflight Spaceflight began in the 20th century following theoretical and practical breakthroughs by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert H. Goddard, and Hermann Oberth, each of whom published works proposing rockets as the means for spaceflight. The first su ...


References

{{Authority control 1998 establishments in China People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force Space units and formations Space program of the People's Republic of China Chinese astronauts Military units and formations established in 1998 Corps deputy grade units of the armed forces of China