Zhai Zhigang (Chinese: 翟志刚; pinyin: Zhái Zhìgāng; born 11 October 1966[2]) 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 in 2008, he became the first Chinese citizen to carry out a spacewalk.[3] He was a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter pilot.
Zhai Zhigang | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 翟志刚 | |||||||
 Zhai in 2008 | |||||||
| Born | 11 October 1966 | ||||||
| Status | Active | ||||||
| Alma mater | PLA Air Force Aviation University | ||||||
| Space career | |||||||
| PLAAC Taikonaut | |||||||
Previous occupation | Fighter pilot, PLAAF | ||||||
| Rank | Major General, PLASSF | ||||||
Time in space | 185 days, 5 hours and 59 minutes | ||||||
| Selection | Chinese Group 1 | ||||||
Total EVAs | 3 | ||||||
Total EVA time | 12 hours 58 minutes[1] | ||||||
| Missions | Shenzhou 7, Shenzhou 13 | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 翟志刚 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 翟志剛 | ||||||
| |||||||
Early life and education
editZhai was born in a rural village in Longjiang County, Heilongjiang Province, on October 11, 1966.[4] He is the youngest of six children.[4] He attended Longjiang County No. 2 High School.[4] He enrolled at the PLA Air Force Aviation University and studied to be a fighter pilot and then as a squadron leader.
Air Force career
editZhai became a lieutenant colonel and pilot trainer in the PLAAF after logging 1000 hours of flying time.[5]
Astronaut Corps career
editIn 1996, Zhai was selected as a candidate for the taikonaut program and was selected to be the first group of fourteen in 1998. He was one of three members of the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 flight. Yang Liwei was picked for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang ranked second ahead of Nie Haisheng. Zhai was one of the six taikonauts in the final training for Shenzhou 6 Ta Kung Pao newspaper had reported that Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng were the leading pair, after having been in the final group of three for Shenzhou 5. However, Zhai had been paired with Wu Jie during training. Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng flew the flight.
Shenzhou 7
editZhai, along with Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng was selected for prime crew on Shenzhou 7, with Zhai as commander, on 17 September 2008. On 25 September 2008, at 21:10 CST, they launched into space as the first three-man crew for China, China's third human spaceflight mission.[6][7] On 27 September 2008, Zhai became the first Chinese astronaut to spacewalk, completely outside the craft. Fellow crew member Liu Boming stood by at the airlock and could be seen straddling the portal. Zhai successfully completed his spacewalk at 18:25 CST.[8] Zhai wore the Chinese developed Feitian space suit, while Liu wore the Russian derived Orlan-M space suit.
Shenzhou 13
editZhai was selected as commander to fly on the Shenzhou 13 alongside Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu as his second spaceflight mission to the Tiangong space station.[9] On 7 November 2021, Zhai carried out his second spacewalk alongside Wang who became China's first woman to perform a spacewalk.[10] On 26 December 2021, Zhai carried out his third spacewalk with Ye.[11]
Personal life
editZhai's favourite pastimes are calligraphy, dancing and gadgets. He is married to Zhang Shujing and has one son.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Zhai Zhigang - EVA experience". Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ @yangyuguang1 (11 October 2022). "Happy birthday to Mr. Zhai Zhigang, the first space walker of China! He is also a member of @ASE_Astronauts" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Chinese astronaut takes historic walk in space". Reuters. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ a b c Yang Xueyi (杨雪义) (2022). 翟志刚落地了，我们的心也跟着落地了 [Zhai Zhigang has landed, and our hearts have also landed with him]. Youth Digest (in Chinese). 368. Beijing: China Youth Press: 12–13. ISSN 1673-4955.
- ^ 航天英雄翟志刚刘伯明天津杨村起飞. 人民网·天津视窗 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ CCTV1 live telecast
- ^ "Shenzhou VII launched for 1st spacewalk".
- ^ CCTV4 live telecast
- ^ "China unveils Shenzhou-13 crew for six-month space station mission".
- ^ "China's Shenzhou 13 crew takes its first spacewalk, the country's 1st by a female astronaut". Space.com. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Shenzhou-13 crew conducts second spacewalk of mission". Nasaspaceflight.com. 26 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
External links
edit
- "We want to fly higher for China: stories of Zhai Zhigang". PLA Daily. 22 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2 March 2006.
- Zhai Zhigang at the Encyclopedia Astronautica. Accessed 22 July 2005.
- Spacefacts biography of Zhai Zhigang