Li Cong (taikonaut)

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.

Li Cong (Chinese: 李聪; born October 1989) is a Chinese fighter pilot and People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut.^[1][2] Li launched on the Shenzhou 18 mission to the Tiangong space station.^[3][4]

Li Cong
李聪
Born	October 1989 (age 35) Handan, Hebei, China
Status	Active
Nationality	Chinese
Alma mater	PLA Air Force Aviation University
Space career
PLAAC astronaut
Previous occupation	Fighter pilot, PLAAF
Rank	Lieutenant colonel, PLAAF
Time in space	192 days, 4 hours and 26 minutes
Selection	List of astronauts by year of selection
Missions	Shenzhou 18
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	李聪
Traditional Chinese	李聰
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Cōng

Biography

Li Cong was born in a rural village in Fengfeng Mining District in Handan, Hebei in October 1989.^[5] His family moved to the mining area when he was 5 years old.^[6][7][8]

He applied for recruitment of Air Force Aviation University when he was in third year of high school. He graduated^[when?] from the People's Liberation Army Air Force Aviation University.^{[7][3][9][10]} He was enlisted in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in September 2009, , and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in June 2011.^{[7][11][12][4][13]}

Li once served as the lieutenant colonel of a flying brigade of the Air Force Aviation Brigade and was second class pilot in the People's Liberation Army Air Force.^{[14][15][16][4]} He participated in the astronaut selection in May 2018 and was selected as a fourth grade astronaut into the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps in September 2020.^[7][17][8]

In 2024, he was selected as a crew member of Shenzhou 18.^{[4][18][5][12]}

References

1. "Astronauts of China's Shenzhou XVIII mission meet press". Chinadaily.com. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
2. "China unveils Shenzhou-18 crew for space station mission". xinhuanet.com. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
3. "Astronauts of China's Shenzhou-18 mission meet press-Xinhua". english.news.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
4. Wong, Andy; Mistreanu, Simina. "China to send three astronauts to Tiangong space station, part of its ambitious program". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
5. 明天，河北小伙李聪，出征太空！. thepaper (in Chinese). 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
6. Zhang Xiaopei (张晓培) (24 April 2024). 徐州籍航天员李广苏父亲喊话儿子：放心执行任务. thepaper (in Chinese). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
7. Zhan Kang (占康) (24 April 2024). 神十八航天员李广苏：越努力，越幸运. bjd.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
8. "李聪：期待首飞完美呈现 身临其境去感受太空家园 – 时政 – 中工网". www.workercn.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
9. "China to send fresh crew to Tiangong space station » Borneo Bulletin Online". China to send fresh crew to Tiangong space station. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
10. "China unveils Shenzhou-18 crew for space station mission-Xinhua". english.news.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
11. "China unveils Shenzhou-18 crew for space station mission- China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
12. "李聪：农村娃拿到飞天"船票"——中国青年网". t.m.youth.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
13. Qiu Lifang (邱丽芳) (24 April 2024). 神十八航天员李聪简历. news.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 26 April 2024. 李聪，男，汉族，籍贯河北邯郸，学士学位。1989年10月出生，2009年9月入伍，2011年6月加入中国共产党，现为中国人民解放军航天员大队四级航天员，空军中校军衔。
14. "China reveals Shenzhou-18 crew for next space station mission". South China Morning Post. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
15. "China to launch Shenzhou XVIII crewed spaceship on April 25". www.xhby.net. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
16. "China to launch Shenzhou XVIII crewed spaceship on April 25". m.cnhubei.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
17. "China to launch Shenzhou-18 crewed spaceship on April 25 | english.scio.gov.cn". english.scio.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
18. BAKER, GREG (2024-04-24). "Astronauts for China's Shenzhou-18 space mission (L-R) Li Guangsu, Ye Guangfu, and Li Cong leave a press conference". Hiawatha World Online. Retrieved 2024-04-24.

See also

• Spaceflight portal
• China portal

• List of Chinese astronauts
• Tiangong space station