Power grid engineering expert Li Licheng has signed a contract with a Chinese private commercial crewed space flight company, booking a seat on a space tourism voyage – at the age of 84.
Li, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, booked a seat on the inaugural flight, which will depart in 2028, according to a post on Beijing Interstellor Human Spaceflight Technology’s social media account on April 17.
The post said the signing “refreshed” the public’s preconceived notion of an age limit for space travel.
“I will go into space three times, once a year, and I’ll only be 89 years old after three trips into space,” the engineer was quoted as saying.
Li, director of the expert committee of China Southern Power Grid in the city of Guangzhou, is a leading figure in China’s electricity industry.
Born in July 1941 in the eastern province of Jiangsu, Li graduated from Tsinghua University in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
