CHINESE astronaut Jing Haipeng became the first Chinese astronaut to go into space for a third time as the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft was launched yesterday.

    Jing was involved in the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008, when astronaut Zhai Zhigang completed China’s historic first spacewalk. In 2012, He was also the commander of Shenzhou-9, China’s first manned space docking mission.

    The 50-year-old astronaut is also about to set another two records: Clocking more than 45 days of spaceflight, making him the only Chinese astronaut to have traveled in space for this length of time.

    He and his partner will also fly higher than any other Chinese astronaut, as their rendezvous with Tiangong-2 will be around 393 kilometers above ground level.

    Born in a village in the northern province of Shanxi, Jing was named after a mythical bird that has wings like clouds. Jing first showed an interest in aviation when he was a teenager and told his father that he wanted to be a pilot.

    Jing registered for an aviation exam in 1984 but failed the recruitment process due to “physical reasons.” But this did not dissuade him. The following year, he enrolled with the People’s Liberation Army aviation school.

    (Xinhua)