Zheng Mingqiang, deputy chief designer of "Lijian-1": a pioneer in the Gobi Desert who beats time and cold waves

"Gobi Pioneer", this is what Zheng Mingqiang calls himself and the launch site and capacity building team that fights alongside him.

When industry experts had asserted that it was impossible, Zheng Mingqiang and his team beat time and the cold wave, and built a dedicated launch station for Lijian-1 deep in the uninhabited Jiuquan Gobi Desert in three months, delivering a perfect answer sheet for escorting Lijian-1 into space.

The construction of the dedicated launch station for Lijian-1 started in mid-August, when the hot air of Jiuquan was rising in the sky. By the time the project was completed, the Gobi Desert had become bone-chillingly cold. In the alternation of scorching heat and bitter cold, night and day, Zheng Mingqiang and his team patiently persevered, following a hard road, laying the groundwork for the successful maiden flight of Lijian-1.

For 22 years, the country's heavy rockets have repeatedly explored the sky, and the development team of Lijian-1 is full of veterans of the aerospace industry with outstanding achievements like Zheng Mingqiang. The aerospace personnel of this era have their own ideals and beliefs, sincerity and passion. They have tacitly walked down this path and subtly passed on this spirit of the predecessors, which can be called brave and fearless, to the young successors.

On July 27, 2022, Zheng Mingqiang witnessed the ignition and takeoff of the Lijian-1 rocket from the launch station, and it instantly disappeared into the vast sky. When he heard the command for the separation of the third and fourth stages, he knew that this battle had been won. He and his colleague Hu Xiaowei, who has also devoted himself to the aerospace industry for more than 20 years, both shed tears. "I secretly glanced at Lao Hu, and I think the surging emotions in our hearts at that moment should be the same."

From Dangyang to Beijing

Going far into the bigger world

Zheng Mingqiang was born in Dangyang, Hubei in 1977. 1,800 years ago, Guan Yu, holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, was defeated in Maicheng, making Dangyang, a famous county throughout history, famous and the birthplace of Guan Gong's spirit of "loyalty, righteousness, benevolence, courage, wisdom and trustworthiness". Born and raised here, Zheng Mingqiang has a down-to-earth, hard-working and fearless character.

Zheng Mingqiang had the idea of ​​working in technology research and development when he was in high school. Hubei is a province with a large number of college entrance examination candidates, and the academic pressure in high school was very high. Although he was already a top student in the class, he still insisted on studying hard. He set the first aerospace university in China, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as his goal. "I would rather choose something that I can reach by tiptoeing, and not set the goal too low. It's like climbing a mountain. If you work hard, you will always meet at a higher place." After three years of hard work, in the summer of 1996, he received an admission letter from the Department of Aircraft Design and Applied Mechanics of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Beihang University has a pragmatic style of study and rigorous scholarship. In the first few years after entering the university, Zheng Mingqiang did not live the easy university life that his high school teachers talked about. "The lecturers are all experienced and senior teachers with a long teaching career, and the daily exams are also very strict." Zheng Mingqiang was deeply impressed by the old professor who taught him at the time. Although the professor was very old, he was never vague in his blackboard writing in class, and he strived to be rigorous in everything from words, numbers to symbols and formulas. The six years of training in Beihang University for undergraduate and master's degrees cultivated Zheng Mingqiang's rigorous and pragmatic work style, which also made him meticulous and strive for excellence in his later aerospace work.

In 2002, Zheng Mingqiang graduated from Beihang University with a master's degree. He caught up with the good times of China's aerospace industry. With the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Chinese aerospace workers have marked a series of miracles in space. Working in related positions for more than 20 years, Zheng Mingqiang has participated in the construction of many major national aerospace projects such as Shenzhou VI, Tiangong 1, and Chang'e 1, and has accumulated rich experience in rocket testing and launch and launch site system development and construction.

During the interview, recalling his experiences along the way, Zheng Mingqiang said: "I am very grateful to myself for stepping into the aerospace field with all my strength. My life has more possibilities because of this." In 2020, Zheng Mingqiang received the task of building a dedicated launch station for the Lijian-1 carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Facing the new stage, he also bloomed with new brilliance.

In the cold Gobi

Outrunning time and cold waves

At the beginning of the launch ground system project of Lijian-1, Zheng Mingqiang and his team submitted the overall technical plan for the launch station of Lijian-1 in combination with the rocket development plan. In the early stage of the demonstration, almost no one believed that a startup team could build a mature launch station in three months, let alone in a desert with insufficient resources and a harsh construction environment.

Zheng Mingqiang's heart is always filled with a fighting spirit of not admitting defeat. According to the actual progress of rocket development, he led the team to revise, review and improve the construction plan again and again. On the premise of ensuring the safety of the launch, he designed an extremely simple technical solution for the launch site system, which laid a solid foundation for commercial launch while achieving high reliability and low cost. The first level of the solution problem has been solved. Next, Zheng Mingqiang needs to lead the team to put the solution into practice. How to complete the overall construction of the launch station in the Jiuquan Gobi Desert has become the second mountain in front of him.

In June 2021, the higher authorities approved the construction of the launch station. At that time, the rocket development process was nearing completion, and there was less than half a year left before the original first flight. For Zheng Mingqiang and his team, the most urgent task was to quickly build this barren gravel land into a launch station that could meet the needs of rocket launches. Jiuquan's winter weather conditions are harsh and construction is impossible, so they must complete the construction of the launch station before the cold wave arrives.

The time is short and the task is heavy. The launch site is located deep in the Gobi Desert. There is almost no infrastructure such as water and electricity. The launch center closest to the launch site is also five kilometers away. "We are the pioneers of this Gobi Desert." Zheng Mingqiang described himself and his team. From the start of construction in August to the end of October, the night temperature in Jiuquan had dropped below zero, which greatly hindered the completion of the project on time.

In order to complete the project before the cold wave hit, the team started working 24/7. Zheng Mingqiang and the construction workers worked overtime day and night, always standing at the forefront of launch support, resonating with the team. The cold wind in the desert stung their faces. When it was extremely cold at night, they lit a bonfire in the desert to keep warm and looked up at the stars to relieve their fatigue. Faced with the huge pressure of lack of building materials, the launch center extended a helping hand to the team and provided them with a lot of help. With the joint efforts of all parties, Zheng Mingqiang and his team completed the progress before the cold wave hit in November, and the entire main construction was completed, ensuring the planned nodes.

On the morning of July 27, 2022, the day of the first flight, Zheng Mingqiang made a final inspection of the equipment deployed at the launch station. After ensuring that all units were operating normally, he retreated from the launch pad to the viewing area 5 kilometers away, quietly waiting for the first show of the Force-1 rocket. "When there were 3 minutes left before the launch, I really felt very nervous. This new model embodies everyone's hard work over the past few years and also shoulders the expectations of too many people," said Zheng Mingqiang.

The rocket began to count down to ignition, and Zheng Mingqiang's eyes were fixed on the Lijian-1 in the vast Gobi Desert. The rocket ignited and took off, and soon disappeared from sight. "The image of the rocket disappeared soon after takeoff. We could only sit under the dispatch broadcast and listen to the dispatch commands coming from the loudspeaker. The flight was normal and the tracking was normal."

Zheng Mingqiang was very excited, but he tried to stay calm until the third and fourth stages separated, the most critical step in the rocket flight, and then the next steps of the rocket-satellite separation and the satellite's orbital entry were completed. "I couldn't help but shed tears at that time. The pressure accumulated over the past few years was released at the moment of confirmation of complete success."

Zheng Mingqiang and the entire Lijian-1 development team knew that this rocket launch not only represented three years of hard work, but also a decisive battle. As a team that had just started, our entire system and operating model were very different from the past, and we needed such a victory to prove that our choice and persistence were correct.

To seek development, construction must come first

Less than a year after the successful maiden flight, the Lijian-1 Y2 carrier rocket set a new record for my country's multiple satellite launches with 26 satellites launched in one rocket. After a brief moment of joy, everything went back to zero. Zheng Mingqiang regarded the past as a prologue and took over the new appointment as deputy chief designer of the Lijian-2 liquid carrier rocket. In September 2023, he and his team began planning to build a liquid rocket launch station and technical plant in Jiuquan.

"Our plant and workstations are about to start construction. This is the first general-purpose integrated technical plant in China that can be used for both solid and liquid rockets and satellites. It can simultaneously meet the requirements of rocket and satellite assembly and testing, satellite-rocket docking, and overall transportation. It is a comprehensive, multifunctional, and general-purpose technical plant." Zheng Mingqiang introduced. By coordinating needs, unifying standards, optimizing processes, and making reasonable layouts, all assembly and testing work for rockets and satellites will be highly integrated in the same facility to ensure high intensiveness, safety, efficiency, and scientific suitability. On the premise of optimizing the test environment and ensuring personnel safety, the construction scale and investment will be reduced by about one third.

To seek development, construction must come first. After the completion of the general-purpose technical plant, it will be possible to "launch as soon as it leaves the factory", greatly shortening the rocket's assembly and testing cycle, and improving the high-density launch capability of the Lijian-1 rocket. In addition, the completion of the liquid rocket launch station will also become a milestone in the development of China's aerospace industry. "We will have our own dedicated launch stations for medium and large liquid rockets, which do not require the conversion of technical status, ensuring the stability and continuity of the technical status, which will be of great benefit to improving the launch safety and reliability of the Lijian-2 liquid carrier rocket."

At the same time, in order to fully sprint the new journey of the first flight of liquid rockets, the China Aerospace Liquid Propulsion System Test Center located in Conghua, Guangzhou is also under construction in full swing, and the main structure construction is expected to be completed in August this year. In order to keep a close eye on the progress of the project, Zheng Mingqiang travels between Jiuquan and Guangzhou. "For us, the biggest challenge at present is the technical status. The rockets and engines are in the process of development, and the conditions for construction cannot wait. The technology is complex, there are many interfaces, and the whole system is advancing in parallel. Any negligence in any link or node will have an unignorable impact on the investment cost, construction cycle, model progress, etc. We are very cautious in every step."

To this end, Zheng Mingqiang has maintained close communication with relevant manufacturers and construction units. With his rich experience in the development and construction of large and complex systems over the years, Zheng Mingqiang can better judge and warn of possible conflicts between systems, between equipment and engineering, and between hardware and software, avoiding a large number of work repetitions, subversions and errors, greatly improving the efficiency of development and construction, and ensuring the smooth implementation of the project.

The Liquid Propulsion System Test Center is built on the mountain in Aotou Town, Conghua District, Guangzhou. It is relatively remote, with high terrain and poor signal, and the working conditions of the team are very difficult. As a key project of Guangdong Province in 2023, after the completion of the test bench, it will have the professional testing capabilities of 200-ton liquid rocket engines and comprehensive testing capabilities of 400-ton liquid rocket propulsion systems, which will play a strong role in promoting the development of key technologies for commercial rocket recovery. The heavy rainfall in Guangdong since the beginning of this year has had a great impact on the development progress of the entire project. "But as long as the working conditions are met, no matter it is night or heat, we will seize every opportunity to advance with all our strength. No matter how difficult it is, we must complete the task with quality and quantity."

The road to success is never smooth. Facing difficulties, Zheng Mingqiang and his team overcame obstacles again and again, and welcomed the dawn of victory in the brave confrontation. Zheng Mingqiang made a metaphor, saying that working in aerospace is like sowing seeds, which may not sprout immediately. It may take a long time, face environmental changes, and experience the test of scorching sun and storms, but it will eventually grow out. From a lonely young bud to a towering tree with luxuriant branches and leaves, the birth and growth trajectory of Lijian-1 is also the same.

On January 23, 2024, the Lijian-1 Y3 carrier rocket was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The three victories in three battles marked that Lijian-1 has entered the stage of fast node delivery and high-density launch. Behind the achievements, there are many aerospace people who, like Zheng Mingqiang, adhere to the craftsmanship and courage to dedicate themselves. They have gone through difficult roads, shouldered the mission of the country, and supported the extraordinary with the ordinary, contributing to the aerospace dream and the Chinese dream.

Column introduction: On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China, the Science Popularization Department of the China Association for Science and Technology, in conjunction with Xinhuanet, relevant associations and societies, mobilized central enterprises, state-owned enterprises, research institutes and other social forces to review the glorious 75-year journey, and specially invited academicians and experts to talk about the achievements in building a manufacturing power. With the concept of "popularizing science to strengthen the country", it presents the powerful momentum of scientific and technological innovation in my country's construction of a strong country, and contributes to the accelerated realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.

Text: Lan Simin, China Aerospace Science and Technology

Audit expert: Cong Nan from China Aerospace Science and Technology