Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Dec. 21, 2023 shows Shenzhou-17 astronaut Tang Hongbo (L) opening the hatch of space station lab module Wentian's airlock cabin. (Xinhua/Li Jie)

Tang Hongbo, a crew member on China's space station, has become the Chinese astronaut with the most spaceflight time, with a total of 215 days in orbit as of Monday.

Tang was launched into space via the Shenzhou-17 spaceship, together with Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, on Oct. 26, 2023.

He completed a 92-day manned mission in 2021 via the Shenzhou-12 spaceship.

Of the 20 Chinese astronauts on the country's space missions, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong have also racked up in-orbit stays of more than 200 days. 

Tang was born into a rural family in Hunan’s Xiangtan, the birthplace of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, whose outstanding achievements inspired Tang from childhood to become a hero.

Tang joined the People's Liberation Army in 1995 and clocked more than 1,000 safe flight hours. He was included in the second candidate pool of Chinese astronauts in 2010, and secured his first spaceflight mission after 11 years of strenuous learning, training and testing.

He was awarded the third-class medal and the honorary title "heroic astronaut" for his service to China's space endeavors.

In October 2023, he was selected as the commander to carry out the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceflight mission together with Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin. He was the first space traveler who has revisited China's Tiangong space station.

Source: Xinhua, Enghunan