China selects new astronauts - one third of them women

BEIJING - The preliminary selection for candidates of China’s second-batch of astronauts has been completed and candidates are 30 men and 15 women who are all air force pilots, authorities said Thursday.

Among them, five men and two women would be the final candidates to join the space programme.

It was the first time women have been selected in China’s space development programme, authorities said.

The 45 candidates, with an average age of 30, would undergo another round of tests, including physiological and psychological checks, an air force official said.

He said the male candidates were fighter aircraft pilots and the female candidates were aero-transport pilots.