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China has sent a female astronaut for a 6-month stay on its new space station
By SCOTT NEUMAN • 16 HOURS AGO
Wang Yaping is one of three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 13 spaceflight mission. She will be the first female astronaut to visit the latest Chinese space station, but she has the most space experience of the three.
XINHUA NEWS AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES
Updated October 15, 2021 at 12:51 PM ET
China's Tiangong space station will have its first female astronaut after a trio of spacefarers blasted off for a six-month stay aboard the orbital outpost.
Wang Yaping, 41, will be the first female "taikonaut" — the term China uses for its astronauts — to board the station. She and two male colleagues, commander Zhai Zhigang, 55, and Ye Guangfu, 41, are expected to set a new space endurance record for China.