追梦24年10个月，邓清明终于圆梦!

The Shenzhou XV crewed spaceship will be launched at 11:08 pm Tuesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, announced the China Manned Space Agency on Monday.

为了这一刻，他经过了24年10个月的等待、坚守与奋斗。

After serving as a backup crew member for 24 years, Chinese taikonaut Deng Qingming's dream is finally coming true – he will perform his first space mission onboard the Shenzhou XV spaceship along with two other astronauts on Tuesday.

邓清明

Deng is the last one of the country's first group of 14 astronauts to be sent into space. The story of the veteran who relentlessly pursued his space dream despite serving as a backup for years moved many, and for which he was hailed as a "hidden hero".

"Being a backup doesn't mean you don't need to work. I must watch closely in the control center and offer all I know about the mission and the spacecraft in case of emergency," Deng said during a previous interview. "Only when the crew returns to Earth will my mission be complete".

In 2013, Deng discovered a tiny kidney stone. While this is not a condition of immediate concern under normal circumstances, it is different for astronauts, who must maintain a rigorous standard of personal health.

Deng underwent two surgeries, the first unsuccessful. After suffering from hematuria for almost 2 months with a tube placed inside his kidney, the stone was finally removed, reigniting his dream.

When training for Shenzhou XI, scheduled to be launched in 2016, Deng along with crew member Chen Dong were confined in a spacecraft simulator no bigger than 10 square meters for 33 days. They had no showers, ate space food exclusively and endured loud noise and piercing light as they tried to sleep.

On the day of the announcement, however, he was not selected. "The success of the mission comes before my personal wishes," said Deng, who still firmly believes he has a chance at a mission and works as hard as any of his teammates.