Commander takes place in China's space history

Major General Nie Haisheng will become the second Chinese astronaut involved in three spaceflights, after his peer Jing Haipeng, as the country is set to launch its seventh manned space mission on Thursday morning.

Nie is commander of the three-member crew of the Shenzhou XII mission, which will be lifted into orbit by a Long March 2F carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert.

Born in September 1964, Nie is the sixth child of a large farming family in Yangdang township in Hubei province.

Having six sisters and one younger brother, he grew up in a poor village house and witnessed his parents struggle to work their farmland to make ends meet.

Nie recalls that his parents often worried when the time came to pay for their son's primary school tuition, and it was not uncommon for them to borrow the money from relatives or neighbors. He also remembers that one time his parents could not borrow the fee and had no choice but to tell him to give a rabbit to the teacher in place of the tuition money.

Nie's father died of disease when he was 14. As the eldest son, he had to leave school and start farming as he was obliged to help his mother and older sisters support the family.

Fortunately, the schoolmaster and his class teacher came to Nie's family after hearing about the boy's difficulties. They managed to persuade the family to allow him to continue with his studies and told the boy that his tuition fees would be reduced and the school would provide him with some used textbooks.

The hardships Nie underwent in childhood and adolescence taught him diligence, fortitude, caring and gratefulness, he said.

When Nie studied at a local high school, he would find part-time jobs during summer and winter vacations, such as carrying timber or packing tea, to earn the tuition fees for the next semester.

When he was about to graduate from high school in the summer of 1983, the People's Liberation Army Air Force opened its annual recruitment drive for trainee pilots. He applied and was admitted to an Air Force flight academy.

After four years of hard training, he graduated with outstanding scores and was deployed to a fighter jet unit.

During his 10 years with the unit, Nie flew a total of 1,480 hours in three types of fighter jets and was decorated for his good skills and service performance.

In the winter of 1995, three years after China's top leadership approved the country's current manned space program, the Central Military Commission decided to start selecting astronaut candidates. Military authorities stipulated that the candidates should be chosen from the ranks of veteran Air Force pilots with at least 600 flight hours in fighter jets or attack aircraft. More than 1,500 pilots applied for the positions and after several rounds of strict tests, only 14 passed the final selection process.

In January 1998, Nie and his 13 male comrades became the founding members of the PLA Astronaut Division.

He has already taken part in two spaceflights－the Shenzhou VI in October 2005 and Shenzhou X in June 2013.

Nie said he felt honored when President Xi Jinping came to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center before Shenzhou X was launched to wish the crew a safe, smooth journey.

Another unforgettable moment took place during the mission when Xi came to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center to speak with Nie and his crew members. The president encouraged the crew to complete their tasks with full success and wished for their safe return, according to the astronaut.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn