(Yicai Global) Jan. 9 -- Yang Liwei, the first man China sent into space, said today that China has basically finished the selection of its third batch of astronauts, and 17-18 new space recruits are expected to report to the national space flight training center in the first half.

The new batch of astronauts' come from diverse backgrounds and, in addition to military aviators -- the traditional pipeline for the job -- also comprise civilian engineers and scientists, Yang said, China Daily reported.

Yang made history in October 2003, when he became China's first taikonaut after being picked from among 1,500 other candidates.

'Taikonaut' is a portmanteau of Chinese 'taikong' (space) and the Greek-derived suffix '-naut' (navigator).

Editor: Ben Armour