Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Guoli, Mei Changwei People’s Daily reporter Yu Jianbin, Gu Yekai
Space, the territory of human dreams, is vast and deep.
This is an extremely shocking experience: looking at the earth from 343 kilometers away, the earth is well-defined and the coastline is clear and long, and the snowy sky on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau seems within reach;
This is a magnificent journey: one person, two people, three people … … The expedition of a few people is better than a thousand troops on the battlefield, and every time it marks the new height of Chinese’s exploration of the unknown;
This is a group of heroes who have been tempered: in the history of the Chinese nation’s endeavor, the flying warriors’ inquiry into the sky is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful pages. Today, they are writing a new chapter of Xinhua in the new era.
They are the heroic group of China astronauts.
On October 15th, 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei, who carried out China’s first manned space mission, waved before boarding the cabin. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gangshe
"Every inquiry into space is the beginning of the next exploration."
This is the glory of all astronauts.
July 28, 2017, Bayi Building. With bright eyes, solemn expression and tall and straight posture, Jing Haipeng, a 51-year-old astronaut, swaggered onto the front desk, and the shiny "August 1st Medal" clung to his chest, which made him feel surging after three times in space — — This is not only the highest honor awarded to the best soldiers, but also the highest merit awarded to the bravest soldiers by the great motherland.
The footsteps of China astronauts, accompanied by the drum beat of the country’s strengthening, are taking a new direction at the speed of "world attention" — —
At 8: 07 on June 26th, 2013, Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping successfully completed the first applied flight of China’s manned space flight. Wang Yaping stood on the "highest platform", a 40-minute space science class, sowing the seeds of science and dreams in the hearts of millions of teenagers;
At 13: 59 on November 18th, 2016, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong completed their 33-day stay in space, which laid a more solid foundation for the subsequent construction and operation of China Space Station.
The two flights in this short period of three years, the flight time is more than twice of the previous total, and the scientific experiments and technical experiments are more than the previous total.
Time and again, the pace of China’s flying leaves behind the eternal memory of the nation. Chinese came to space and has the confidence and ability to fly higher and further — —
At 6: 23 on October 16, 2003, Yang Liwei flew around the earth for 14 times and nearly 600,000 kilometers in 21 hours and 23 minutes in Shenzhou 5 spacecraft, and carved the number belonging to Chinese in the long journey of "walking out of the cradle of the earth". After just two years, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng carried out the Shenzhou VI mission with much higher risk and difficulty coefficient, realizing a major leap from "one person for one day" to "many people for many days";
At 16: 41 on September 27th, 2008, with the close cooperation of Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, Zhai Zhigang completed his first extravehicular walk in space, realizing the first direct handshake between Chinese and the universe in a space orbit of 343 kilometers, adding a touch of five-star red flag to the vast space.
On June 16th, 2012, the Shenzhou-9 astronaut’s expedition ceremony was held in Wentian Pavilion, the astronaut apartment of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Astronauts Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang (from right to left) waved to the farewell crowd. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gangshe
At 17: 04 on June 18th, 2012, Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang "floated" into Tiangong-1, and from then on, space became a real "China House". For the first time, hand-controlled rendezvous and docking, Liu Wang won the world applause with China precision of less than 7 minutes and an error of 18 mm & HELIP; …
During the 13 years from Shenzhou 5 to Shenzhou XI, China has become the third country in the world to independently master the technology of manned space shuttle, space extravehicular, rendezvous and docking.
"Every inquiry into space is the beginning of the next exploration." Take a good new journey into space in the new era, and this lofty ambition has always stirred in the hearts of astronauts.
"How high you fly, how high Chinese’s head can be."
Sometimes, dreams come quietly in an instant.
In 2003, when Yang Liwei flew into space, two young pilots were in different places and watched the moment when the rocket took off on TV. Chen Dong, 25, thought, "When can I fly into space like Yang Liwei and fly higher for my motherland?" Wang Yaping, 23, looked at the brilliant tail flame of the rocket, and a thought flashed in his mind: "China already has a male astronaut. When will there be a female astronaut?"
Hey! When the fairing was opened, the right porthole of Shenzhou XI spacecraft lit up, and the magnificent space once again amazed Jing Haipeng. A "cool!" Shouted out the shock of Chen Dong’s first sight of the blue planet, and also shouted out his hearty realization of his dream of flying.
After returning from the flight, some children asked Wang Yaping curiously, "Do you dream in space?" She smiled and replied, "In space, whether I dream or not, I am already in my own dream."
Every astronaut knows that flying dreams are not just his own dreams.
Manned spaceflight project is a grand systematic project. Every time there is a manned flight, more than 100,000 technicians unite and cooperate with each other like gears, and lift the heroes to the sky. Sun Jiadong, the founder of "two bombs and one satellite", described: "Without the collective strength, individuals will accomplish nothing."
Liu Yang told a short story that moved her. There is an escape chute for emergency evacuation on the launch tower, which is 52 meters high. Astronauts will train before performing the mission, and technicians will test it in advance. A young female space instructor told Liu Yang that when she tried to jump, she saw it was dark and her legs were shaking, but she was very happy when she thought it was a "sandbag" for astronauts.
"In space, the gravity of the earth becomes very small, but the gravity of the motherland is getting heavier and heavier." Astronauts have a common feeling: every time they fly over the motherland, their hearts will accelerate, they will involuntarily stare at the territory of the motherland, and they can’t help but want to touch it through the porthole, and they will burst into tears every time.
Fei Junlong said to his foreign counterparts, "You can share my happiness, but you can’t share my pride. Because behind me, there is a strong motherland and more than 1.3 billion people standing! "
There is a scene that Yang Liwei will never forget. In 2004, when he was visiting new york, he was invited to attend an activity of overseas Chinese. An old overseas Chinese, who is nearly eighty years old, took his hand, his tone was trembling, and his face was full of tears: "How high you fly, how high Chinese’s head can be!"
Liu Yang treasures a photo. In October 2012, she attended the 60th anniversary celebration of Beihang University. A retired female professor pushed her way through the crowd and took a photo with her. In May of the following year, when she came here again to talk with the teachers and students of the middle school attached to the school, a little boy handed her an envelope and said, "This is from my grandmother. I want to be an astronaut when I grow up." Liu Yang opened it and found a photo taken with the retired female professor last year. On the back, it read: Salute to those who have made contributions to the space industry!
Crossing the "ladder of heaven" has created a record of zero elimination rate in training, which is unique in the world aerospace industry.
On January 5, 1998, 14 carefully selected pilots from more than 1,500 outstanding air force pilots gathered in Beijing Aerospace City to become the first astronauts in China. They solemnly swore in the face of the five-star red flag: "I am willing to fight for the manned space cause for life!"
On this day, the China People’s Liberation Army Astronaut Brigade was born.
Since April 12, 1961, Soviet astronaut Gagarin soared into the sky, and human beings have carried out hundreds of manned space flights, with hundreds of people going into space. In the face of the unpredictable flying journey, we need to catch up on the ground.
Beijing Aerospace City, the doorpost of the apartment of the Astronaut Brigade is engraved with the team motto of "Cherish lofty honor and March into deeper space", witnessing the transformation of pilots to astronauts and the leap from the sky to space. The difference between sky and space is vividly called "the ladder of heaven" by Soviet astronaut Leonov.
When the 14 first astronauts entered the astronaut brigade, the youngest was 30 years old. After working for more than 10 years, books have been put on hold for more than 10 years. It is undoubtedly a severe test for everyone to suddenly pick up books and become a student. Therefore, it is also called "the first level to ascend to heaven". An old professor who came to class said, "It really stumbles me to finish teaching a year’s advanced mathematics course in three months."
On May 22nd, 2013, astronauts Wang Yaping (middle), Nie Haisheng (right) and Zhang Xiaoguang conducted space teaching training in the simulated Tiangong-1 complex. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhu Jiutong)
When Wang Yaping participated in the astronaut selection, he asked Yang Liwei, what is the most difficult thing to become an astronaut? Yang Liwei answered two words: "study." When she joined the astronaut brigade, she really realized the weight of the word "learning".
As a result, the astronauts returned to the classroom, taking classes and training during the day, reviewing and previewing at night, and the astronaut apartment became a "city that never sleeps".
Space environment adaptability training is the second hurdle, which includes many arduous trainings. Take the "overweight endurance" training as an example. When the spacecraft returns to Earth, people have to bear the pressure of several times their own weight, which can easily cause people’s breathing to be extremely difficult or stop, leading to loss of will, black vision and even direct life-threatening.
Liu Yang once said: "Although space has opened its affectionate arms to women, it has never been partial." When she first started the overweight training of centrifuges, in just a few tens of seconds, the load of six G’s had made her legs weak and exhausted like running 10,000 meters.
In a high-speed rotating centrifuge, ordinary people can only bear 3 to 4 g of gravity acceleration, but astronauts have to bear 8 times of gravity acceleration for 40 seconds. During the training, their facial features were squeezed and deformed, tears flew out unconsciously, their chests were extremely depressed, it was very difficult to breathe, and their arms could not be lifted. After watching it, the mother of an astronaut kept waving her hand while crying and said, "No, no!"
When doing this kind of training, astronauts have a red button at hand. Once they can’t stand it, they can immediately press the red button and ask for a pause. But for 20 years, no one has pressed this red button.
In space flight, every step and detail of the astronauts is directly related to the success or failure of the mission. The flight manual is a treasure trove of astronauts’ missions in space, and all instructions are collected in nine thick manuals with millions of words. In flight program training, their notes are stacked higher than the table, and tens of thousands of instructions become habitual actions and muscle memory. Everyone can operate the whole process accurately with their eyes closed.
In the end, after strict examination and evaluation, two batches of 21 astronauts successfully passed the examination, all of whom have the ability to independently carry out manned space missions, creating a record of zero elimination rate in astronaut training in the world, which is unique in the world aerospace industry.
"How can there be luck and miracles!" Facing the task, astronauts are always preparing for war.
After the Shenzhou-10 mission, Wang Yaping didn’t know until he returned to Earth that just over 40 minutes of teaching in space attracted great attention all over the world.
Teaching in space is a highlight of the Ten Tasks of God. It’s hard for people to stand still in weightlessness. If we have to teach, experiment and shoot, it’s a thousand times harder than the ground. Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping have been training on the ground for more than 200 hours.
In the water polo experiment in space teaching, the water polo made by Wang Yaping is round and big, which is particularly beautiful. Seeing that Wang Yaping continued to inject water into the swaying water polo, the heart of the ground support team was in the throats. When the perfect water polo was presented to everyone, everyone woke up and said excitedly, "This girl has definitely done her homework. She wants to surprise us!" "
Wang Yaping did his homework. The most difficult thing to do in space is the water polo experiment. If the movement is light and heavy, and the amount of water is too small, it may lead to the rupture of the water film. Every time he failed to do an experiment on the ground, Wang Yaping and his teammates scrutinized the reasons and kept trying to find out the tricks.
Hand-controlled rendezvous and docking is a very difficult space technology, which is called "space needle piercing", and puts forward high requirements for astronauts’ psychological stability, rapid response, accurate judgment and precise control. The world’s space powers will inevitably fail several times.
In order to master the "needle piercing" technology and ensure a 100% success rate, Liu Wang has devoted a lot of effort and sweat. During the training, Liu Wang insisted on being strict with himself with the highest standards. He also offered to extend the handle delay setting from 1 second to 2 seconds to improve the difficulty of operation control. More than 1500 trainings on the ground finally brought a success in space.
"How can there be luck and miracles!" Zhang Xiaoguang, who spent 15 years waiting for a 15-day space trip, said that astronauts are always selecting and preparing for the task.
"No matter ‘ Principal part ’ Or ‘ Backup ’ It is the duty of astronauts. "
Beijing Aerospace City, an empty simulator building, Deng Qingming in the spotlight looks calm — — For 20 years, he has never appeared in the spotlight.
"I am astronaut Deng Qingming. I am the only astronaut in the current astronaut brigade who has not performed flying missions and is still training. In the past 20 years, I have been selected into the task echelon three times and missed Feitian three times. To prepare for flying, I felt bored, bored and tired, but I never gave up. No matter ‘ Principal part ’ Or ‘ Backup ’ It is the duty of astronauts. " Deng Qingming’s voice is not big, but his tone is very firm.
All the 21 astronauts who have passed strict training are capable of carrying out space missions. However, due to the constraints of task density and conditions, it is impossible for everyone to have the opportunity to fly, and only the candidates can be determined according to the comprehensive evaluation results. Often, the difference between the first place and the last place is very small, as small as one or two points, or even just a few points. When the Shenzhou VII astronauts were selected, Liu Wang was 0.005 points short.
Most astronauts have been "backup", and some have even done it more than once. Zhai Zhigang was a "backup" at Shenwu, and he passed Feitian once again at Shenwu, but he stood behind his comrades-in-arms twice and smiled and went out for them. When the Shenzhou VII mission was selected, Chen Quan was defeated by a narrow margin. He said, "I will try my best to be a good ‘ Backup ’ Let the comrades fly higher and more practical in the sky. "
The day before the launch of the Shenzhou XI mission, it was decided that the final candidates for flying were Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, and Deng Qingming was still a "backup". This is the closest to my dream, once again stopping in front of the launch tower. When it was Deng Qingming’s turn to speak, he paused for a moment, turned to Jing Haipeng, hugged him tightly and said, "Haipeng, congratulations!" Jing Haipeng also said with deep affection, "Thank you!" Within a few minutes, the whole pavilion hall was silent, and many people present shed tears.
After the successful return of Shenzhou XI, the leader of the manned spaceflight project said to Deng Qingming: "You have completed this mission together with the Shenzhou XI crew. The success of the mission is your success, and the performance of the astronauts in the sky is your performance." Hearing the word "common", Deng Qingming shed tears with excitement.
March 13th, 2014, an ordinary day, was written into the history of China’s space flight because of the suspension of five astronauts.
Wu Jie, Li Qinglong, Chen Quan, Zhao Chuandong and Pan Zhanchun are the first astronauts in China. For more than ten years, they have been repeating "preparing for the expedition" day after day, accepting the selection of the motherland again and again, and missed flying again and again. Because they exceeded the golden flight period, they never had the opportunity to go to space for their motherland, but they still resolutely obeyed the organizational arrangements and retired from the active astronaut team as they did not hesitate to participate in the selection.
Stroking the astronaut medal, they are over half a year old, and it is still difficult to hold back the tears in their eyes.
Together with the glory of flying, their waiting constitutes the heaviest page in China’s space history.
"Flying is the mission, and space is the battlefield. No matter how difficult and dangerous it is, we can’t shake our determination to fight in space."
The desert in northwest China has given birth to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China’s space industry.
In November 2001, astronauts came here for the first time and stepped into the spiritual holy land of astronauts — — Dongfeng revolutionary martyrs cemetery. This immortal array of marshals, generals and soldiers deeply shocked them. Since then, before each mission, astronauts will come to pay tribute to more than 700 heroes who have devoted themselves to the great cause of space.
Manned spaceflight is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Twenty-seven people were killed while performing tasks and training.
The year 2003 was an eventful year in the world space history. At this time, China astronauts are preparing for the first manned mission. Worried about the impact of the haze of successive failures in world space, a symposium called astronauts to communicate. Unexpectedly, the symposium became an invitation to war. The astronauts’ ideas are surprisingly consistent: "Flying is the mission, and space is the battlefield. No matter how big the difficulties and dangers are, we can’t shake our determination to fight in space!"
At 9: 00 on October 15th, 2003, the Long March II F rocket escorted the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft into the sky. When they rose to the height of thirty or forty kilometers, the rockets and spacecraft suddenly began to vibrate sharply, resonating with the human body. Yang Liwei’s eyes were dark and he felt that his internal organs seemed to be broken and unbearable. After the resonance lasted for 26 seconds, it finally eased slowly. Yang Liwei, like a heavy burden, is reborn.
Later, someone commented: 26 seconds, which witnessed the China astronauts’ bravery and devotion to their country.
When Zhai Zhigang poked his head out and opened his eyes wide, he was instantly shocked by the desolation, vastness and depth of space. But he’s already a few minutes behind schedule. At the moment, the Shenzhou VII spacecraft is passing through the territory of the motherland at a speed of nearly 7.9 kilometers per second and a height of 343 kilometers. The time left for them to perform the extravehicular task is only ten minutes.
Just as Zhai Zhigang, who struggled to open the hatch, was preparing to leave the cabin, the alarm suddenly sounded: "The rail cabin is on fire! Orbital cabin fire! " The harsh voice kept repeating.
Spaceship fire is the most feared accident for astronauts all over the world in space. At the first time of the alarm, Liu Boming in the orbital module and Jing Haipeng in the return module checked all the equipment, and found no fire or short circuit. At this time, the orbital module is in a vacuum state, so it is impossible to have a fire. Although Zhai Zhigang and others judged that it was impossible to have a fire, the terrible alarm continued.
"Still can’t get out of the cabin?" Liu Boming asked.
"Out of the cabin!" Zhai Zhigang answered.
Zhai Zhigang climbed out of the hatch, and his whole body was in the bottomless universe. According to the plan, he will first send an experimental sample fixed outside the flight cabin back to the cabin, and then take out the five-star red flag from the cabin for spacewalk and extravehicular display. At the first time, Liu Boming handed out the national flag first, and Zhai Zhigang got the message, and the two temporarily changed the procedure for leaving the cabin.
At 16: 41 on September 27, 2008, Zhai Zhigang, dressed in Feitian extravehicular spacesuit, waved a bright five-star red flag and reported to the ground: "Shenzhou VII report: I have left the cabin and feel good. Shenzhou VII says hello to the people of the whole country and the whole world! Please rest assured that the motherland will resolutely complete the task! "
At that moment, people saw the five-star red flag flying outside the shenzhou spaceship cabin from the live TV broadcast, but they didn’t know the thrill at that time.
After returning to earth, someone asked, why should the national flag be displayed first? Zhai Zhigang said: "No matter what happens, we must complete the task and let the five-star red flag fly high in space." Liu Boming said: "Even if we can’t go back, we must let the five-star red flag fly in space."
Fortunately, after-the-fact analysis shows that the orbital module fire alarm is just a false alarm.
On September 28th, 2008, Shenzhou VII returned to Earth. Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng (from left to right) left the cabin and waved to the on-site search and rescue personnel. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jianmin photo
Someone once asked Nie Haisheng, who flew twice, and Jing Haipeng, who dreamed three times: "You have realized your long-cherished dream of flying. Are you going to take such a big risk in the future?"
"Space flight is our career, but also our life. In order to fly, we are always ready to go into space as long as the motherland needs it!" Nie Haisheng replied.
As a representative of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Jing Haipeng provided such an "answer" to Chinese and foreign journalists: "I am very eager to go to space again, be a pioneer again and win another battle, so that the vast space can once again witness the absolute loyalty and infinite loyalty of a space warrior to the party and the people!"
In the new era of dreaming, "there is only one wish, that is, to fly into space again."
On October 18th, 2017, the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was grandly opened in Beijing. "Building a space power" was written in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and China’s space industry stood at a new historical starting point.
The curtain of the space station era opens. In Beijing Aerospace City, astronauts began their first year of study and training on space station missions.
In the era of space station, it will be a daily work to assemble and maintain scientific equipment out of the cabin, and it will be an overload activity. Wang Yaping, who has been exercising upper limb strength and finger strength, didn’t have a specific concept at first. The experiment of the five-day extravehicular service completely subverted her imagination: after working for three or four hours in more than 120 kilograms of extravehicular service, her hands were shaking and she couldn’t hold the pen. In the future, the real extravehicular activity in space will be equivalent to seven or eight hours of continuous training on the ground.
Liu Boming, who is in his early fifties, looks leaner than when he took part in the Shenzhou VII mission 10 years ago. For the space station mission, he took the initiative to increase training and strengthen his physical fitness. Just after his physical examination, his lung capacity reached 6000 ml, which was better than when he was young.
"I am glad to catch up with the great times and have the honor to participate in the great cause." The motherland is getting stronger and stronger, and Liu Boming has personal feelings. Twenty years ago, China’s manned spaceflight project was just started. Twenty years later, foreign astronauts have chosen to come to China for life-saving training at sea. "Foreign astronauts still want to learn Chinese and want to join the astronaut team in China and exchange and cooperate with us."
"There is only one wish, that is, to fly into space again." Fei Junlong said.
In the new era, everyone has a dream.
