Nie Haisheng

Nie Haisheng (born October 13, 1964) is a Chinese military pilot and CNSA astronaut (yuhangyuan).

Military career
Nie was born in Yangdang town of Zaoyang, Hubei Province. After graduating from high school he joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force and became a fighter pilot. During his training at the PLAAF's No. 7 Flying School he was:


 * Commander of a flight squadron
 * Deputy Commander of a group
 * Master navigator

Nie graduated in 1987 and continued his career in the PLAAF.

On 12 June 1989 while flying at 13,000 feet (4000 m) his plane suffered an explosion and he lost his engine. The plane began to spin to the ground and the cabin began to heat up. Trying to regain control he waited until the plane was 1300 to 1700 feet (400 to 500 meters) before choosing to eject. For his handling of the situation he was honored with third-class merit.

Prior to Shenzhou 10, Nie had attained the rank of Major General.

CNSA career
In 1998, he was selected for the Chinese spaceflight program and was one of three candidates who were part of the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 flight, China's first manned spaceflight. Yáng Lìwěi was picked for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang ranked second ahead of Niè Hǎishèng.

Nie went into orbit, along with Fèi Jùnlóng (commander), as flight engineer of the Shenzhou 6 flight on October 12, 2005. The mission lasted just under five days.

He was selected to be the commander of the backup crew for the Shenzhou 9 mission. In 2013, Nie was selected to command the Shenzhou 10 second manned space mission to the first Chinese space station Tiangong 1. He became the first officer hold general rank at the time of their launch in the Chinese program with the Shenzhou 10 mission.

Personal
He is married to Niè Jiélín (Simplified Chinese: 聂捷琳) and has a daughter born in 1994. During the Shenzhou 6 mission he celebrated his 41st birthday in space.

The asteroid 9517 Niehaisheng was named after him.