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nowThe sky is the space with youNo. 2286Expect】

today

It's an old man's 103rd birthday

He is the first Chinese

Designer of the overall plan for the Long March 1 launch vehicle

He is the first Chinese

Chief Designer of Recoverable Satellite

He is one of the founders and organizers of my country's space technology.

He is the technical director of my country's first sounding rocket.

He is the overall designer of my country's first carrier rocket

He was the chief designer of my country's first recoverable satellite.

Winner of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite Medal of Merit"

Wang Xiji

Over the decades

He has always been committed to the research of aerospace technology

For the development of my country's aerospace industry

Made outstanding contributions

Let us wish this

Happy birthday to the legendary figure in the history of Chinese scientific research

The Bai ethnic group's talented young man's road to serving the country through industry

Wang Xiji was born in Kunming, Yunnan on July 26, 1921. Before graduating from junior high school, Wang Xiji caught a cold and took a half-year break from school. As soon as he recovered, he took the Kunming City Examination and his score wasFirst in the city.He graduated from junior high school in 1938, just as Southwest Associated University was recruiting students in Kunming. He took the exam with the idea of ​​giving it a try, and was admitted directly.

▲The former site of Southwest Associated University

In 1942, Wang Xiji entered an arsenal, during the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. After several years of working in an arsenal, he felt that China's industry was too backward, and that the country would face an endless crisis. So, with the ideal of "saving the country through industry", he was admitted to Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the United States in 1947 to study power and fuel. Two years later, Wang Xiji successfully obtained a master's degree.

When Wang Xiji was preparing to continue his doctoral studies, the People's Republic of China was founded. After hearing the good news, he quickly found the Association of Chinese Scientists in the United States and asked to return to China immediately. At that time, the US government proposed many favorable conditions to prevent Chinese students from returning to China. However, the students who returned to China could only enjoy 300 kilograms of millet each. Many classmates advised him to finish his doctorate before returning, and some even advised him to stay in the United States.

But Wang Xiji made up his mind to return to his motherland because of two photos. One of them was a photo of the People's Liberation Army sleeping on the streets of Shanghai after the liberation of Shanghai.

▲People's Liberation Army camping on the streets of Shanghai

In his later years, Wang Xiji once recalled:"When I was in China, I happened to see warlords fighting each other. It was the first time I saw such a photo. There were troops who could stay overnight under the eaves for the sake of the people. Such an army was truly an army that served the people and existed for the happiness of the people."

In this way, he resolutely gave up the good academic environment abroad and boarded the "President Cleveland" ship with a group of Chinese students to return to his motherland.

▲Wang Xiji on his way back to China in 1950

China's first steps into space

After Wang Xiji returned to China, he taught at several universities. In November 1958, he suddenly received a notice: to report to the confidential unit - Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Design Institute. Wang Xiji learned that the Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Design Institute was going to make carrier rockets and launch artificial satellites.

It is unbelievable that the man who made China's first rocket go into space had never been exposed to any knowledge in this field before he was ordered to develop rockets. He was just an expert in thermal power generation. But for the needs of the country, Wang Xiji nodded and agreed without hesitation.

The process of developing China's first sounding rocket was very difficult. Sometimes when encountering something new that he had never encountered before, Wang Xiji would often study the textbooks the night before and teach everyone the next day.Wang Xiji and his colleagues used a primitive method. Without electronic computers, they used hand-crank calculators and their hands to calculate big data. They worked in three shifts 24 hours a day and it took them about a month to calculate a trajectory.

How rudimentary are the conditions?Using rice fields as launch pads; No crane,Use a winch to lift the rocket onto the launch pad; Without the pressure pump,Use an air pump to pressurize the rocket and add fuel and propellantWithout an automatic telemetry antenna,Several people manually rotate the antenna to track the rocket.; There is no command post,Wang Xiji sitting in the "headquarters" made of sacks;Without a walkie-talkie or a phone, he just yelled at the top of his lungs...

▲A sounding rocket launch command post made of sacks

Hard work pays off. At 16:47 on February 19, 1960, this liquid propellant sounding rocket designed and developed by Wang Xiji and other researchers was successfully launched. Although its flight altitude was only 8 kilometers, Mao Zedong said excitedly when he visited Shanghai:"That's amazing! Even 8 kilometers is amazing! We'll keep doing this, 8 kilometers, 20 kilometers, 200 kilometers! We'll turn it upside down!"

Two months later, the "T-7" was successfully launched at the newly built launch site, and the flight altitude increased from 8 kilometers to 60 kilometers. The subsequent launch of the "T-7A" further increased the flight altitude to 115 kilometers.

Afterwards, Wang Xiji began to preside over the overall program demonstration and design work of China's first satellite carrier rocket "Long March 1".

Two years later, the design of the model of China's first recoverable satellite also fell on his shoulders.

This means that when victory is about to be achieved, Wang Xiji needs to leave his rocket career, enter a new research field, and once again accept new challenges.

▲ Wang Xiji conducts rocket engine test

After accepting the task, he led the scientific research staff to tackle the problem with all their strength. Everyone brainstormed and overcame difficult technical problems one by one. They quickly proposed several design plans. On this basis, after repeated deliberation and demonstration, they finally determined a plan that was based on my country's national conditions, combined feasibility with economy, and was based on the capabilities of the Long March carrier rocket.Ballistic return methodAfter dozens of experiments, China finally sent its first recoverable satellite into space, making my country the third country in the world to master this technology and causing a sensation in the global aerospace community.

▲In 1975, my country's first recoverable satellite was successfully recovered.

After 1980, Wang Xiji was responsible for the development and successful launch of six satellites, and was responsible for proposing the technical solutions for the second and third recoverable satellite models, and was responsible for completing the phased development work of these two models.China made a breakthrough in recoverable satellite technology, with Wang Xiji playing a key role.

The motherland will not forget

In 1993, Wang Xiji, who was already 72 years old, had white hair and a faltering gait. He could have given the opportunity to the young and enjoyed his old age. But the light of determination could still be seen in his eyes. He was determined to work tirelessly for technological innovation and national development. Wang Xiji participated in two new disciplines, uncontrolled rocket technology and recovery technology, and creatively combined sounding rocket technology and missile technology to propose the technical solution for the first satellite launch vehicle.

As a leader in the field of space re-entry technology and one of the pioneers of China's space industry, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993 and was awarded the "Two Bombs and One Satellite Medal of Merit" in 1999.

▲The second from the right in the picture is Wang Xiji

At that time, Wang Xiji, who was already 78 years old, suddenly had tears in his eyes.

He said: "The motherland has not forgotten me!"

The minority who uphold the truth

"On technical issues, we cannot let the minority obey the majority, but must respect objective laws."Wang Xiji has been a "minority" many times and has said many things that others "want to say but dare not say".

In the 1980s, when China's manned space program was launched, most people's opinion was to follow the international trend and develop reusable space shuttles. To this end, Wang Xiji wrote a long paper entitled "Reusable is not always economical", pointing out that the expensive space shuttle was not in line with China's national conditions. His views gradually led industry experts to develop manned spacecraft.

Wang Xiji, the "stubborn old man" who insisted on respecting objective laws all his life, won, and eventually led China's manned space program to start from spacecraft. That's why we have the Shenzhou series of spacecraft, and batches of astronauts such as Yang Liwei and Zhai Zhigang have successfully flown and traveled in space.

▲Wang Xiji and astronauts took a photo in front of the return capsule of the Shenzhou V spacecraft

In his 90s, he was still active in the office, still tirelessly thinking and researching for the development of China's aerospace industry, and still tirelessly offering suggestions for the development of China's aerospace industry. With a head full of white hair, he always had a small notebook with dense scientific research data recorded on it...

▲Wang Xiji spoke at the Shenzhou 8 manned spacecraft delivery review meeting

Wang Xiji once said, "We were able to succeed in these things, firstly, because of the superiority of a socialist country that concentrates its efforts on major tasks, and secondly, because of the spirit of 'two bombs and one satellite'." He spent his entire life studying and changed his career again and again, and his patriotic spirit, as well as his scientific and innovative spirit of not fearing hardships and studying hard... He worked hard all his life to make China's stars shine in the world's sky!

Wang Xiji participated in and witnessed China's space program

Every important moment

Accompanying China's space industry from scratch

From having to being strong!

today

Let us celebrate the 103-year-old Wang Xiji

Send the most sincere blessings

Happy birthday to you!

Source |Comprehensive China Aerospace News, Beiyang Home, Our Space

poster| Fan Hanwen

Editor | Fan Hanwen

Proofreading| Yang Yang

Editor-in-Chief | Zhang Wenjun

viceEditor-in-Chief|Ma Yujie

Email | [email protected]