Major General Yáng Lìwěi is a military pilot and CMSEO astronaut. He was the first man sent into space by China, and his mission, Shenzhou 5, made the PRC the third country to independently send people into space. Yang was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1998 and was chosen from the final pool of 13 candidates to fly on China's first manned space mission. A former fighter pilot with more than 1350 flight hours, he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his mission. He was launched into space aboard his Shenzhou 5 spacecraft atop a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 15, 2003. Yang's craft landed in the grasslands of the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia October 16, 2003, having completed 14 orbits and travelled more than 600,000 km. In his current position, Yang leads the Chinese astronaut training program at the China Astronaut Training Center in Beijing.
Featured Panel – Why We Fly – Common Experience, Uncommon Perspectives
In addition to our symposium registrants...this special panel is being opened up to participants in our Thursday Teacher Liaison Workshop.
