Liu Yang
Liu Yang (刘洋) is a Chinese pilot who was selected on June 15, 2012, as the only female astronaut among the three-person crew on the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft.
Born in Henan Province in central China in 1978, Liu is an only child. In 1997, she enrolled at the Changchun Air Force Aviation College and became one of the first female air force pilots from Henan Province since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 2001, she was assigned to an air force aviation division in the Guangzhou Military Region, which is known as the "Cradle of female Pilots."
Liu holds the rank of Air Force Major. She has more than eleven years of aviation experience and is trained to pilot four types of aircraft.
The Shenzhou 9, atop an upgraded Long March-2F carrier rocket, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 6:37 p.m. June 16, 2012 and accurately entered its orbit. .
