Nie HaishengStatus: Active 10/13/1964 – Nationality: Chinese Type: Government First Flight: 10/12/2005 Last Flight: 6/11/2013Nie Haisheng is a Chinese military pilot and CNSA astronaut. In 1998, he was selected for the Chinese spaceflight program and was one of three candidates who were part of the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 flight, China’s first manned spaceflight. Yang Liwei was picked for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang ranked second ahead of Niè Hǎishèng. Nie went into orbit, along with Fei Junlong (commander), as flight engineer of the Shenzhou 6 flight on 12 October 2005. The mission lasted just under five days. He was selected to be the commander of the backup crew for the Shenzhou 9 mission. In 2013, Nie was selected to command the Shenzhou 10 second manned space mission to the first Chinese space station Tiangong 1. He became the first officer hold general rank at the time of their launch in the Chinese program with the Shenzhou 10 mission.LaunchesLong March 2F | Shenzhou-6Long March 2F | Shenzhou-10China National Space AdministrationType: Government Abbreviation: CNSA Administration: Administrator: Tang Dengjie Founded: 1993Spacecraft: Shenzhou Country: CHNThe China National Space Administration (CNSA) is the national space agency of the People’s Republic of China. It is responsible for the national space program and for planning and development of space activities. CNSA and China Aerospace Corporation (CASC) assumed the authority over space development efforts previously held by the Ministry of Aerospace Industry. The CNSA has many launch sites around China with their orbital sites located in Jiuquan, Xichang, Taiyuan and Wenchang.