Song Lingdong is a Chinese pilot and astronaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program. He enlisted in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in August 2008, and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in March 2013. He was a Sukhoi Su-35K fighter pilot prior to joining the astronaut corps.
The 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.