Liu Yang
1978– · Chinese (Zhengzhou, Henan) · Modern Era
Known for: First Chinese woman in space—flew on Shenzhou-9 in 2012 and Shenzhou-14 in 2022
Liu Yang was a People's Liberation Army Air Force pilot selected from 15 candidates for China's first female spaceflight. She performed experiments and helped dock Shenzhou-9 with the Tiangong-1 space laboratory in 2012.
She was chosen partly for her psychological resilience—she once safely landed a plane after a bird strike. She received a congratulatory message from Valentina Tereshkova and flew again on Shenzhou-14 in 2022.
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