Jing Haipeng, first Chinese astronaut to enter space four times

Jing Haipeng, one of the three Chinese taikonauts who will carry out the Shenzhou-16 spaceflight mission, meets the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China May 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

JIUQUAN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Jing Haipeng is about to become the first Chinese astronaut to go into space for a fourth time, as he was selected to be the commander of the upcoming Shenzhou-16 manned space mission.

Jing will spend about five months working with his fellow crewmates Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao in the country's Tiangong space station.

ALWAYS READY TO FLY

Jing Haipeng, born in 1966, has visited space more times than any other Chinese astronaut. Soon, he will break his own record.

"Frankly speaking, I feel quite calm right now. Because as an astronaut, it is our main responsibility to go to space," he said when the crew met the press on Monday.

The veteran astronaut caught the nation's attention in September 2008. He was enlisted as one of three crew members for the Shenzhou-7 mission and travelled in space for more than two days, during which the crew completed China's first space walk.

In June 2012, Jing became the commander of the Shenzhou-9 mission. He worked with Liu Wang and Liu Yang in space for 13 days, completing China's first manned space docking.

In October 2016, Jing was selected as the commander of Shenzhou-11 mission, during which he and Chen Dong spent 33 days in space, laying a solid base for the subsequent construction and operation of the Chinese space station.

With his upcoming five-month stay in space, each of Jing's space trips have lasted longer than the previous one.

NEVER STOP DREAMING

Born in a village in north China's Shanxi Province, Jing first showed an interest in aviation when he was a teenager and found inspiration from a picture of a pilot.

Jing registered for an aviation exam in 1984 but failed the recruitment process due to "physical reasons."

But he did not give up. The following year, he was enrolled with an aviation school. Upon graduation, he was relocated to a training base in Jiangsu Province. He had clocked 1,200 hours of safe flight time while working as a pilot.

After fulfilling his dream of becoming a pilot, Jing gave himself a new target. He wanted to fly even higher and become an astronaut. In 1998, he was selected to be one of China's first astronauts, and was among six candidates trained in 2005 for the Shenzhou-6 mission.

Jing believes that life is made up of different dreams at different stages of time. "We should set up goals one after another, and work hard to realize our dreams."

PERSIST IN PERFECTION

Known for his calm demeanor, Jing is often described by his colleagues as a hard worker, while he admits he is a perfectionist.

For him, there is a world of difference between 99.99 points and 100 when it comes to the manned space career, thus every training program should be completed to the utmost.

In the ten years prior to his first flight, Jing had undergone hundreds of professional skills training courses, such as underwater training simulating weightlessness, hypoxia training, abnormal situation management. He challenged his physiological and psychological limits with amazing perseverance.

"Persist, persist, and persist. There are no shortcuts, and persistence is the only way," he said.

As commander of the Shenzhou-16 mission, which is expected to be launched on Tuesday, Jing is well prepared.

He said 600 push-ups, 600 sit-ups, and jumping ropes have become his daily routine, and he has memorized every word of the flight manuals and operation guides.

He also led the crew in the careful preparation of space science experiments, extravehicular activities, space station maintenance and repair, long-term flight health protection, as well as emergency handling and troubleshooting.

"After more than one year's training together, we have tacit cooperation, understanding each other's every expression, move and look," said the commander.

"We have the determination, confidence and ability to complete this mission," he added.