China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch China has unveiled the three-person crew for its first manned docking spaceflight set to launch Saturday (June 16) — a mission that will send the country’s first female astronaut into orbit in the process. The crew of China’s Shenzhou 9 space docking mission met reporters today (June 15) at the country’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of Saturday’s planned launch at 6:37 p.m. local time (6:37 a.m. EDT or 1037 GMT). The three astronauts, or taikonauts as China’s spaceflyers are known, include male crewmembers Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and the country’s first woman to fly in space: the 34-year-old Liu Yang. “I am grateful to the motherland and the people,” Liu Yang said in a press conference according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. “I feel honored to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of female Chinese citizens.”

China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch

China has unveiled the three-person crew for its first manned docking spaceflight set to launch Saturday (June 16) — a mission that will send the country’s first female astronaut into orbit in the process.

The crew of China’s Shenzhou 9 space docking mission met reporters today (June 15) at the country’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of Saturday’s planned launch at 6:37 p.m. local time (6:37 a.m. EDT or 1037 GMT). The three astronauts, or taikonauts as China’s spaceflyers are known, include male crewmembers Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and the country’s first woman to fly in space: the 34-year-old Liu Yang.

“I am grateful to the motherland and the people,” Liu Yang said in a press conference according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. “I feel honored to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of female Chinese citizens.”