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 commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Liberation Army's Astronaut Corps, which was established in 1998.

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

China's first batch of 14 astronauts takes oath of their bravery and commitment on January 5, 1998. [Photo: China Plus]

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 vividly 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 Soviet 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 nausea. I was bathed in sweat, and was pale as a white sheet of paper," said Liu.

Eleven Chinese astronauts who have been to space revisit the oath on January 4, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

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 dwelling 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.