Doubts over female astronaut Wang Yaping's age were caused by previous "inaccurate media reports", said Deng Yibing, director of the Chinese Astronaut Research and Training Center.

Deng reaffirmed that Wang was born in January 1980 - making her the nation's youngest astronaut in space and the first born in the 1980s.

Netizens and media outlets had cited a report by the PLA Daily years ago that said Wang was born in 1978.