Nie Haisheng

Colonel Niè Hǎishèng is a military pilot and astronaut .

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 . 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. He has reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

On 12 June 1989 while flying at 13,000 feet 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 before choosing to . For his handling of the situation he was honored with third-class merit.

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 , as flight engineer of the ''Shenzhou 6'' flight on October 12 2005. The mission lasted just under five days.

Personal

He is married to Niè Jiélín and has an 11 year old daughter as of 2005. During the ''Shenzhou 6'' mission he celebrated his 41st birthday in space

The asteroid 9517 Niehaisheng was named after him.