2018年CRI Chinese military marks 20th anniversary of its astronaut corps

 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of China astronaut training program. 

All 11 Chinese astronauts who have been to space are revisiting the oath of bravery and commitment they took years before.

The move is to commemorate¹ the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Liberation Army's Astronaut Corps², which was established in 1998.

At its launch, the Corps recruited 14 of the Air Force's best pilots.

China's first man in space, Yang Liwei, was one of them.

Now the head of the country's Manned Space Program, Yang Liwei can still vividly³ recall his first space mission back in 2003.

"It has been around 14 years since the first manned spaceflight which made China's space dream come true. The feeling of weightlessness dawned on me when I was sent into space after the rocket separated from the spacecraft. At that moment, I really was proud of my country," said Yang.

That moment made China just the third nation in the world, behind only the former Soviet⁴ Union and the United States, to independenly develop space flights.

Liu Yang was China's first female astronaut.

She, along with two other astronauts, completed China's first manned space docking with the experimental Tiangong-1 space lab.

Liu Yang admits the training for her was rigourous.

"I can still remember the first time I went through G-force testing in the spinning chair. After the first five minutes, I was gripped in dizziness and nausea⁵. I was bathed in sweat, and was pale as a white sheet of paper," said Liu.

Jing Haipeng is China's only astronaut to complete three space missions.

"I would throw myself into consideration after the end of each space mission. I needed to focus on the next dream and new mission, not just dwelling⁶ on my last journey through space. I was ready for the new task and challenges," Jing said.

China's Astronaut Corps has completed six manned spaceflights, conducted over 100 scientific experiments and orbited the earth for 68 days.

A new generation of Chinese astronauts is now in the process of being selected, with recruiters also looking outside the military this time in the search for experts in various fields.

This comes as preparations continue to establish China's first permanent space station by around 2020.

1 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

6 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。