Yang Liwei | |
|---|---|
| 杨利伟 | |
 Yang in September 2011 | |
| Born | 21 June 1965 |
| Status | Retired |
| Alma mater | Air Force Aviation University (BEng) Tsinghua University (PhD) |
| Space career | |
| PLAAC astronaut | |
Current occupation | Vice Chief Designer, China Manned Space Engineering |
Previous occupation |  PLAAF fighter pilot |
| Rank | Major general |
Time in space | 21 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds |
| Selection | Chinese Group 1 |
| Missions | Shenzhou 5 |
Yang Liwei (simplified Chinese: 杨利伟; traditional Chinese: 楊利偉; born 21 June 1965) is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut of the People's Liberation Army.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shenzhou 5, made China the third country to independently send humans into space. He is currently a vice chief designer of China Manned Space Engineering.