Nationality Chinese Current occupation Astronaut Time in space 32d 06h 25m Space missions Shenzhou 11 Other occupation Fighter pilot | Status Active Rank Lt.Col.PLAAF Selection Chinese Group 2 First space flight Shenzhou 11 | |
 | ||
Born 12 December 1978 (age 38)
Luoyang, Henan ( 1978-12-12 ) Space agency China National Space Administration | ||
Chen Dong (simplified Chinese: 陈冬; traditional Chinese: 陳冬; pinyin: Chén Dōng; born 12 December 1978) is a Chinese pilot and astronaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program. A fighter pilot in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, he was selected to be a CNSA astronaut in 2010.
Contents
Early life
Chen was born in Luoyang, Henan on 12 December 1978 from a working-class family.
Military career
He joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in August 1997.
Astronaut career
Chen was selected for the second batch for Chinese astronauts in 2009 when he was a combat aircraft pilot. He was interviewed by Yang Liwei.
Shenzhou 11
He was selected to fly on the Shenzhou 11 mission in October 2016 with astronaut Jing Haipeng. The two underwent more than 3,000 hours of training before the launch of the spacecraft. On 17 October 2016 On 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT on 16 October), Chen lifted off with Shenzhou 11 for a 33-day space mission as his first spaceflight, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 2F launch rocket. The crew landed successfully after the 33 day mission on 18 November 2016.The reentry module of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia around 2.15 p.m(China time) after detaching from the space lab on 17 November.
Personal life
Chen has two twin sons.