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  China's unflown, backup former taikonauts

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Author Topic:   China's unflown, backup former taikonauts
Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-23-2018 10:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In "No space for China's stay-at-home taikonauts," Xinhua (the state-run news agency) profiles the six members of China's first taikonaut class who never flew in space.
On an evening in November 2016, Deng Qingming went home to find his wife and his daughter had prepared a lavish spread of his favorite dishes and wine. He ran to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and, concealed by the sound of running water, cried like a baby.

Deng is a taikonaut who has never been to space. He was backup to commander Jing Haipeng in Shenzhou-11 mission.

He dried his face and returned to the table, where his wife raised her glass and toasted him: "You are my hero."

Deng, 52, was a backup crew member for both Shenzhou-10 and Shenzhou-11 missions. Of China's first batch of 14 trainees for the space program, six never made it onto the crew, including Deng.

Five of his peers retired in 2014 without a space flight, making Deng the last man standing, with his feet on the ground...

Delta7
Member

Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 01-23-2018 02:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Delta7   Click Here to Email Delta7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There are enough people "selected but never flown" from each nations' programs to form an Association of Never-Flown Space Explorers (ANFSE).

Gotta be a bitter pill to swallow, having got so close.

All times are CT (US)

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