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Zhang Xiaoguan Chinese Pilot Yuhangyuan. . Personal: Male. Born in Liaoning, China. Astronaut Career Astronaut Group: China Group 1 - 1998. Active Entered space service: January 1998. Zhang, 172 cm tall and weighing 65.5 kg, was a lieutenant colonel, PLAAF squadron commander, and had accumulated 1000 flight-hours as of 2004.
Zhang Xiaoguan Chronology 19 November 1998 - China Astronaut Training Group 1 selected.. Selection of astronauts to fly the Project 921 / Shenzhou manned spacecraft began at the end of 1995. Only PLAAF pilots were considered. Review of service records identified 1504 candidates, further reduced to 886 after stricter screening. In the summer of 1996, 60 candidates passed initial testing at their home bases and were sent to Beijing for final tests and interviews. By April 1997 the candidate list had been pared down to 20, and the final 12 were selected at the end of 1997. The group was officially established in January 1998. In March, 1998, the two Chinese astronauts trained in Russia in 1996, who were also the trainers of this first group of 12 cosmonauts, joined the group officially as candidates for future spaceflights, bringing the total to 14.
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