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Among them, Lu Xiaowei was the oldest, followed by Zhang Liping, both nearing the age of retirement.
Typically, astronauts must undergo more than three years of training before they can carry out space missions. Both Lu Xiaowei and Zhang Liping had trained for seven years, which was not continuous but rather three and a half years at the start and another three and a half years later.
Since they couldn't become astronauts performing space missions at the optimal age, they could only quietly wait for retirement.
This was quite regrettable.
However, the establishment of Yixing Company offered them an opportunity. Both Lu Xiaowei and Zhang Liping chose to retire early and signed directly with Yixing Company, hoping to have the chance to travel to space and become real astronauts in the future.