Liwei YANG

First Chinese Astronaut, China Manned Space Agency • Deputy Director General, Deputy Chief Designer, China Manned Space Engineering

Yang Liwei, Member of the International Academy of Astronautics, Special-Grade Astronaut, China’s first astronaut in space, currently serves as Deputy Chief Designer of the China Manned Space Program.

Yang Liwei is among China’s first-generation astronauts trained domestically and the first Chinese national to travel to space. Following his successful space mission, China became the world’s third country capable of conducting independent manned spaceflight activities.

In November 2003, the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission awarded him the honorary title of “Space Hero” and the Space Merit Medal.

In September 2014, he received the Leonov Award from the Association of Space Explorers (ASE).

In October 2017, he was conferred the UNESCO Space Science Medal. He won the Qian Xuesen Highest Achievement Award in 2024.

Events

77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026)

5 - 9 October 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

Participation:

The Global Space Exploration Conference 2017

6-8 June 2017

Beijing, China

Participation: