When former fighter pilot Colonel Fei Junlong began training to be an astronaut, he didn't tell his parents what he was up to.

"What are you doing?" his mother once asked. "Still flying, but much higher," Fei replied.

If she didn't know what her son was up to before yesterday morning, she does now as Fei is one of two astronauts aboard the Shenzhou VI spacecraft.

He is joined by Colonel Nie Haisheng, another former fighter pilot.

A native of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, 40-year-old Fei didn't dream about cruising into space as a child - he wanted to be a painter.

Fei's dreams of painting died in 1982, when the Air Force recruited trainees from the high school he was about to graduate from. Fei enrolled.

Two years later, he graduated from the Air Force Flight Training School with excellent marks. He initially served as flight trainer and later became a flight technology inspector and compiled an investigative report on flight accidents, titled "Warning Signal Tolling."

In January 1998, he was selected from more than 1,500 elite pilots to become a member of the astronaut brigade of the People's Liberation Army, together with Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut, and his current partner Nie Haisheng.

Fei recorded excellent marks in almost all training subjects, which cover everything from basic flight theory to endurance, flight procedures and mission simulations.

Fei's partner Nie, 41, hails from Zaoyang City, Hubei Province. He was among the final candidates for China's first manned spaceflight and saw Yang Liwei off at the launch pad two years ago. Twenty-four months later, Yang saw him off.

The sixth child of a poor family with eight children, Nie cultivated patience and diligence at a young age, according to those who know him.

In 1984, Nie entered the Air force Flight Training School.

On June 12, 1989, he was in an independent flight for the first time and the only engine of the plane came to a halt suddenly more than 4,000 meters above the ground.

The plane dived fast, and ground control ordered Nie to abandon the vehicle and escape by parachute.

But Nie risked his life managing to bring the plane back safely until it dropped to a height of 400-500 meters from the ground.

Though selected as one of the final three candidates for the Shenzhou V mission two years ago, Nie had to go through strict screening procedures before he was given a seat on yesterday's mission.

"We should never relax our efforts to explore the mysteries of space," Nie said.

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