China’s first man in space Yang Liwei officially retires from active duty

South China Morning PostEN 1 min read 100% complete by Victoria BelaFebruary 16, 2026 at 11:00 AM

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Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut, has officially retired from active duty after being grounded in October along with the first group of Chinese astronauts. Despite retirement, Yang, who is now a deputy chief designer for China's crewed space program, remains prepared to return to space if needed. In 2003, Yang Liwei piloted the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft, launched on a Long March-2F rocket, spending 21 hours in orbit and circling the Earth 14 times. This mission, which began in 1992, marked a turning point for China's human spaceflight program, making China the third country to independently send humans into space.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Earth 40% CCTV 40% Long March-2F 50% China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) 60% Shenzhou-5 ×270% China ×280% Yang Liwei ×390%

Keywords

yang liwei 100% china 90% space program 90% human spaceflight 80% shenzhou-5 70% retirement 70% earth orbit 60% astronaut 60% long march-2f rocket 50%

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Positive

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South China Morning Post

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