Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao will be a part of a three-membered Shenzhou-16 mission as China plans to send its first civilian to space, several media outlets reported Monday citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft will launch on Tuesday at 9:31 AM. It is the first manned spaceflight mission at the China Space Station, The Global Times reported. The crew consists of three types of taikonauts – a space pilot, a flight engineer, and a payload expert.
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Jing Haipeng will lead the mission. It is the 56-year-old’s fourth space visit. He is a major general of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The taikonaut is also a fighter pilot in the PLA Air Force (PLAAF).
Zhu Yangzhu will serve as the flight engineer.
Gui Haichao will become the first Chinese civilian to go to space. He is the mission’s payload expert.
Haichao is a professor of Spacecraft Dynamics and Control at Beihang University. The 36-year-old received his bachelor’s and PhD degrees in aerospace engineering from Beihang University in 2009 and 2014. He then went to York University before moving to Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. He only returned to his alma mater in 2017.
“He is also the first payload expert to visit the space station. He’s tasked with carrying out scientific experiments during his stay,” CGTN Global Watch reported on Twitter.
“As the first manned spaceflight mission at the #ChinaSpaceStation application and development stage, Shenzhou-16 mission will include two dockings and two evacuation returns,” a CMSA spokesperson said, as per The Global Times.
