Tang Hongbo
Tang in 2023
BornOctober 1975 (age 48)
Xiangtan County, Hunan
StatusActive
NationalityChina Chinese
Alma mater PLA Air Force Changchun Flight College
Space career
PLAAC Astronaut
Previous occupation
 Fighter pilot, PLAAF
RankSenior colonel, PLASSF
Time in space
Currently in space
SelectionList of astronauts by year of selection
Total EVAs
2
Total EVA time
14 hours 16 minutes[1]
MissionsShenzhou 12, Shenzhou 17
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese汤洪波
Traditional Chinese湯洪波

Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo (Chinese: 汤洪波; born October 1975) is a Chinese fighter pilot and People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut. He flew on his first spaceflight to the Tiangong space station as a part of the Shenzhou 12 mission, the first to visit the station. He is the commander of the Shenzhou 17 mission, making him the first taikonaut to visit Tiangong twice.

Biography

He was born into a family of farming background in the town of Yunhuqiao, Xiangtan County, Hunan in October 1975.[2][3] He has a younger brother.[2]

Awarded the rank Senior Colonel, he joined the PLA Air Force in September 1995. Where he was promoted to the post of group commander at a fighter jet regiment. He was selected for the second group of astronauts at Nie's division in May 2010 then was chosen in May 2016 as an alternate for the two-member crew of the Shenzhou 11 mission.[4]

A pilot in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, he was selected into the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps in 2010.[5] He was part of the backup crew for Shenzhou 11, and flew as one of three crew members on Shenzhou 12, the first manned mission to the Tiangong space station.[6]

On 4 July 2021, Tang and Liu Boming, another crew member of Shenzhou 12, completed the first extravehicular activity of Tiangong space station.[7]

Later he flew again to Tiangong on the second mission and first as the Commander on Shenzhou 17 with Jiang Xinlin and Tang Shengjie on 26 October 2023.[8] On 21 December 2023, he carried out his second spacewalk, which lasted for 7 hours and 25 minutes.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tang Hongbo - EVA experience". 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b 神舟十二号载人飞船明天发射，这个湖南湘潭伢子要飞向太空啦！. qq.com. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  3. ^ Wang Mengmeng (王萌萌) (16 June 2021). 汤洪波同志简历. xinhuanet.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  4. ^ Jiang (江), Wei (巍). "Biographies of Shenzhou XII astronauts". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Cosmonaut Selection: China". spacefacts.de. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  6. ^ "China unveils Shenzhou-12 astronauts for space station construction". 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Shenzhou XII crew successfully conclude first spacewalk". China Daily. 4 July 2021. Archived from the original on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  8. ^ "China unveils Shenzhou-17 crew for space station mission-Xinhua". english.news.cn. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Shenzhou-17 crew completes first spacewalk - China Military". eng.chinamil.com.cn. Retrieved 22 December 2023.

External links


China Manned Space Program
Chinese space program
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