Leroy Chiao

Leroy Chiao (born August 28, 1960) is an American engineer, former NASA astronaut, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and engineering consultant. Chiao flew on three shuttle flights, and was the commander of Expedition 10, where he lived on board the International Space Station from October 13, 2004 to April 24, 2005. He is also a co-author and researcher for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Project.

Early life

Chiao was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in Danville, California. Chiao graduated from Monte Vista High School in Danville in 1978. In 1983, he received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, where he became a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. He earned a Master of Science and then a Doctor of Philosophy in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1985 and 1987, respectively.

Chiao’s father (Tsu Tao Chiao) grew up in Shandong, China; his mother, Dr. Cherry Chiao, was born in Qingdao, Shandong and grew up in Suzhou. After World War II, they both fled to Taiwan, where they met and married. His parents immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. Chiao's call sign is "Shandong".

Shenzhou 9

Shenzhou 9 was a manned spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first manned spacecraft to dock with the Tiangong 1 space station, which took place on 18 June. The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft landed at 10:01:16 CST (02:01:16 UTC) on 29 June in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The mission's crew included the first Chinese female astronaut, Liu Yang. The next planned mission was Shenzhou 10, which launched on 11 June 2013.

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.