Major Liu, 34, was named a hero in 2003 for calmly landing a jet after its right engine was crippled by a bird strike.
On Saturday, she is expected to be named as one of the three-man crew of the Shenzhou 9 mission, China's first manned space flight since 2008.
The 13-day mission will see the astronauts dock with the Tiangong-1, a space laboratory module that was launched last September and is now orbiting Earth.
The team will test whether the module is functional, and whether it can efficiently recycle its oxygen and water.
On board, Major Liu will have her own private bedroom, according to the Chinese state media, and will be allowed an extra ration of water for cleaning.
"She will be able to take a sponge bath with more water than that for her male counterparts, according to international conventions, and even bring some specially made cosmetics into space," Pang Zhihao from the China Academy of Space Technology told the state media.
Her background, like the other female astronaut shortlisted for the mission, Captain Wang Yaping, has been kept mostly secret.
Their names were only confirmed last year when their autographs appeared on an envelope of a commemorative first edition astronaut stamp, together with their five male colleagues. They are rarely profiled in the Chinese media and make no public appearances.
Indeed, Major Liu's participation in the mission is not expected to be fully confirmed until a few hours before the Shenzhou mission launches on Saturday.
Born in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, her school friends told the China Daily newspaper she was a good student and a keen volleyball player. After leaving high school she enrolled in a military aviation school in Changchun and then became first a cargo and then a fighter pilot.
Her uncle Niu Zhenxi told the China Daily that she had been a filial daughter, and was a determined pilot. "We all believe that she could make a difference because she is good at overcoming various difficulties," he said.
Her father-in-law, Zhang Huaitang, said that as soon as her mission is complete, he would like to see her start a family. "Her biggest task right now is the spaceship, and next, we hope she can have a baby soon. She is 34 years old this year and is the only child in her family. Her parents must be yearning to see a new baby too. But of course, if that doesn't affect her work."
If the launch goes ahead as scheduled, it will be 49 years since the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, a Russian described by the New York Times at the time as a "heavy-set parachutist" made her historic flight. Women from eight different countries have become astronauts.
Additional reporting by Valentina Luo
