Zhai Zhigang travelled a long road before boarding the Shenzhou VII spacecraft on Thursday for his much anticipated spacewalk today.
The 42-year-old pilot, a colonel in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, has waited more than a decade for his chance to fly in space.
Colonel Zhai was born into a poor family in a village in Heilongjiang's Longjiang county, and he might never have realised his dream if not for his mother, who sold toasted sunflower seeds to pay for his education.
Relatives, friends and one of his teachers say they were impressed by Colonel Zhai's character even when he was very young.
Li Haidong , a friend since the two boys were five years old, said that while Colonel Zhai loved to play, his family chores always came first. The young Zhigang was shy and had a low profile in high school but was very self-disciplined.
High school teacher Xu Dongsheng said Colonel Zhai had struck him as a hard-working and persistent student who never gave up in the face of difficulties.