Wang Yaping facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wang Yaping
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| Born | January 1980 (age 45) |
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| Status | Active | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Changchun Flight College | ||||||||
| Space career | |||||||||
| PLAAC Taikonaut | |||||||||
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Previous occupation
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Military transport pilot, PLAAF | ||||||||
| Rank | Senior Colonel, PLASSF | ||||||||
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Time in space
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197 days and 1 minute | ||||||||
| Selection | Chinese Group 2 | ||||||||
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Total EVAs
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1 | ||||||||
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Total EVA time
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6 hours, 25 minutes | ||||||||
| Missions | Shenzhou 10, Shenzhou 13 | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 王亞平 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 王亚平 | ||||||||
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Wang Yaping (Chinese: 王亚平; pinyin: Wáng Yàpíng; born January 1980) is a brave Chinese military transport pilot and taikonaut. A taikonaut is what Chinese astronauts are called. Wang was the second female taikonaut chosen for the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps. She became the second Chinese woman to go into space, and she was the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.
In April 2022, Wang set a new record. She spent a total of 197 days in space, which is the longest time for any female Chinese astronaut.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Wang Yaping was born in Yantai, a city in the Shandong province of China. Her parents were farmers.
She started junior high school in Yantai in 1991. Then, in 1994, she went to Yantai Yizhong High School and finished in 1997. After high school, she was accepted into the Changchun Flight College. This college is part of the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
Air Force Career
Wang joined the air force in August 1997. She was part of the seventh group of female military pilots in China, one of 37 women. She graduated from flight school in 2001 as a First Lieutenant.
As a pilot, she flew military transport aircraft in Wuhan. She helped with important tasks like training exercises and disaster relief. For example, she flew during the Wenchuan Earthquake relief effort. She also helped with weather control for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. She would fly to make sure there wasn't too much rain.
Wang flew safely for 1600 hours, which is a lot! Because of her skill, she was named an Air Force Class II pilot. In May 2010, she officially became the second female astronaut for China. At that time, she was a captain in the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
Spaceflight Career
Wang Yaping was considered for the Shenzhou 9 space mission in 2012. However, another astronaut named Liu Yang was chosen. Liu Yang became the first Chinese woman to travel to space. Wang was a backup crew member for that mission.
Shenzhou 10 Mission
Wang became the second Chinese female astronaut to go to space on the Shenzhou 10 mission. This spaceship orbited Earth in June 2013. It also connected with the Tiangong-1 orbiting space station. People sometimes called her the "Goddess II."
She was the first crew member announced for the mission in April. The rest of the crew was announced in June. On June 16, 2013, Wang Yaping was one of two women in space. This was special because it was the 50th anniversary of Vostok 6. Vostok 6 was the first spaceflight by a woman, Valentina Tereshkova. The other woman in space that day was Karen Nyberg, an American astronaut on the International Space Station.
While she was on Tiangong-1, Wang did science experiments. She also taught a physics lesson to Chinese students. This lesson was broadcast live on television! By 2018, she was an Air Force Colonel. She had also trained to fly four different types of aircraft.
In March 2018, Wang was chosen to be a deputy for the National People's Congress. This is an important role in China's government.
Shenzhou 13 Mission
In October 2021, it was announced that Wang would fly on Shenzhou 13. She was one of three crew members going to the Tiangong space station. This was her second trip to space. It also made her the first Chinese woman to travel to space twice. She was also the first female astronaut to go to the Tiangong space station. Most importantly, she was the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk! This mission was China's longest space mission with a crew.
On October 15, 2021, the three Shenzhou 13 crew members arrived at the Tianhe space station module. They got there just hours after their launch.
On November 7, the China Manned Space Agency announced a spacewalk was happening. Astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping were performing it. Zhai was the mission commander. Wang Yaping became China's first female spacewalker! The spacewalk started at 6:21 p.m. Wang left the station's node cabin at 8:28 p.m. Zhai and Wang finished their spacewalk and returned to Tianhe by 1:16 a.m. on November 8. The whole spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes. Wang wore a new spacesuit during her spacewalk. This suit was brought to the station by the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship in September. Chinese state media said this suit was made to fit her shorter height.
Personal Life
Wang is married to Zhao Peng, who is also a pilot in the PLAAF. They have one daughter. Wang is currently studying to get a special degree in psychology from Peking University.
See also
In Spanish: Wang Yaping para niños
- List of Chinese astronauts
- Chinese space programme
- Women in space
