History
On 12 March 2012, it was announced that the initial crew selection roster for the mission included female astronauts. The crew were unveiled to the press on 15 June. China's first female astronaut would be Liu Yang. Liu was selected ahead of her fellow female astronaut prospect Wang Yaping. This mission also featured the first repeat astronaut, Jing Haipeng, the commander of the mission. Shenzhou 9 was the 9th flight in China's Shenzhou program and the fourth manned spaceflight. The mission's launch was 49 years to the day after that of the first woman in space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.
Read more about this topic: Shenzhou 9
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