Yang liwei

Yang Liwei (杨利伟) (born June 21, 1965) is a Chinese fighter pilot, and also the first taikonaut (astronaut in Chinese) that China managed to send to outer space. China is thus the third country to accomplish this feat, after the Soviet Union and the United States.

The rocket, a Long March 2F launcher, lifted off on October 15, 2003 from the Jiuquan base, Inner Mongolia, in the Gobi desert. The landing took place 21 hours after takeoff, at a point close to the base.

During that time, the astronaut aboard the Shenzhou 5 capsule (divine ship), circled the Earth 14 times at an altitude of 340 kilometers.