Today's prosperity is what you wish for! Tribute to the older generation of aerospace people

As the bright Chinese space station passed through the sky, we were impressed by the rapid development of China's manned space program, and we also sincerely admired the astronauts who devoted themselves to the project and made selfless contributions. It was they who made this great national device from scratch and helped the Chinese people stand up straight. Now that the project has gone through 30 years, let us look back on this unforgettable story and say to the older generation of astronauts who participated in the construction of the project: This prosperous era is what you wish for!

"No hesitation, go against the will of heaven"

The spirit of scientific and technological personnel of that era was to resolve their problems without hesitation for the needs of the country.

After deciding on the plan to build a new manned space launch site, the first generation of astronauts immediately went to the Badain Jaran Desert, which is also known as "Hell", and set up tents and stoves in this uninhabited desert, and immediately started the construction. They must build the first space city of New China on the ancient and desolate "blank paper" . It can be said that the task is arduous, the situation is severe, and the time is tight!

The members of the survey team who came to select the site spent the night in the Gobi Desert, staying in an unfinished adobe house in Green Park. When they woke up in the morning, everyone was covered with a thick layer of quicksand, and even the corners of their eyes and ears were filled with sand. Because the desert area is very windy and sandy, the workers worked during the day, and when they came back at night, they often found that the tents, beddings, and luggage had been blown away by the strong wind, and not even a single oil drum was left.

It was the climax of the construction of the Qingshui return section of the railway. One afternoon, everyone was working hard at their workstations. Suddenly, someone discovered that a yellow-black cloud wall had erected on the Gobi Desert dozens of kilometers away in the northwest, which was several feet high and swept towards the construction site at a very fast speed. In the blink of an eye, the sky was dark, sand and rocks were flying, and everyone quickly chose large rocks, ditches and other favorable terrains to hide. Those who didn't have time to hide were directly swept away by the wind, and the sand and stones swirled in the strong wind.

The sky was getting darker and darker. Everyone huddled together, with the smell of blood in their mouths and noses, the sand on their bodies growing thicker and thicker, and their ears filled with the howling of the wind, the long whistle, the rolling sound of stones in the strong wind, the hitting of sand and stones on the rails, and the clanging of cranes.

After a long 40 minutes, the wind gradually died down and the sky was bright. All construction units urgently counted and found that all tools on site were gone. Many personnel were also blown away. Fortunately, they were all found in the end, but three people were sent to the hospital by helicopter due to shock. It is said that countless local livestock were lost that day, and all trains on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway were forced to stop. It seems that it was from that black wind that the new term "sandstorm" appeared in the news media. It was in such an extremely harsh environment that the older generation of astronauts "went against the sky" and overcame many difficulties that ordinary people could not bear. With extremely firm ambitions to serve the country and strong willpower, they made the manned space launch site rise from the desert Gobi, and the manned space project started steadily from here.

"Protect the rocket like a baby"

Since the implementation of the manned space program, the vast majority of astronauts have kept their mission in mind and lived up to their trust, and have demonstrated the spirit of manned space flight to the extreme through their own actions.

On the eve of a launch, the temperature dropped below -20°C, which posed a huge challenge to the safety of spacecraft and rocket testing. Many elderly people in Dongfeng Aerospace City said that after spending their entire lives in the Gobi Desert, this was the first time they had seen such a cold day and such heavy snow. In order to lay the test cable, researchers braved the severe cold, stepped on 10 centimeters of snow, and used their hands and feet to crawl slowly forward on the 14-meter-long cable more than 50 meters above the ground, biting the cable. If people were not careful, they would be in danger of falling. The severe cold turned the steel body of the tower into a weapon that hurt people. When the researchers recovered a little, they found that a layer of skin had been stuck to their palms by the cold swing rod.

In order to keep the ship-rocket combination more than 70 meters high warm, considering that the rocket tank body dissipates heat quickly, the rescue team decided to use a simple method and cover all the places that needed insulation with quilts. That night, hundreds of quilts were transported to the launch site. The rescue team sewed more than a hundred quilts into a huge bag overnight, tied it to the bottom layer of the rocket platform, and then used ropes to hang it in the air to cover all the insulation places. Under the launch pad, these young men who were usually clumsy even sewing a quilt picked up needles and threads in a serious manner.

In addition to covering with quilts, other measures were taken, such as using air conditioners, wearing cold-proof clothing, using foam plastics, and using incandescent lamps. Almost every method that could be thought of was used. In the middle of the night, the spacecraft set sail safely in the biting cold wind, not only breaking the record of low-temperature launch in my country's space history, but also creating a miracle of ultra-low-temperature launch in the world's space history.

It was the older generation of astronauts who were not afraid of difficulties and obstacles and had the courage to climb that created the immortal glorious scenes in the history of the development of manned space engineering. The "four special" manned space spirit always shines in the hearts of every astronaut, leading them to greater victories.

"99% of them are failing, and they will never go to heaven with any questions"

If manned space flight is a project that involves human lives, then going into space without any problems is the solemn commitment of astronauts to this cause.

Just when the preparations for the first flight mission were basically ready, the staff discovered that there were still some residual risks in the reliability of the ignition of the landing cushion engine of the spacecraft system's return capsule. Although its reliability has reached 0.9985, in order to ensure the absolute safety of astronauts, the risk must be minimized . Two days before the spacecraft entered the field, the project leader made a decisive decision and was determined to develop an improved seat cushion mechanism, which was completed in less than 70 days before the spacecraft was refueled. In the small space of the spacecraft, under such difficult conditions, the research and test workers of the spacecraft system and cooperative units turned the thrill into a surprise in just over a month.

The successful maiden flight fully proves that the Shenzhou V spacecraft and the launch vehicle are of very high quality, and no quality problems occurred during the entire mission. After the maiden flight astronaut Yang Liwei returned safely, he said with great emotion and pride: " I feel very comfortable in space, the cabin air is fresh, our spacecraft and rocket are really good ships and arrows, and I want to fly on them next time! "

The reason why China's manned space program has been able to achieve remarkable achievements and brilliance is inseparable from the ultimate pursuit of rigor, prudence, meticulousness and practicality by every astronaut. Only by doing everything down-to-earth, completing every task and fulfilling every responsibility can the pace of space exploration go further and more steadily.

Over the past 30 years, generations of astronauts have continuously inherited and carried forward the spirit of manned space flight. From the establishment of the project to the completion of the construction of the space station, the face of China's manned space flight has undergone earth-shaking changes, but the original intention of astronauts has remained unchanged. Let us pay tribute to the older generation of astronauts while looking up at the stars and pursuing our dreams, so as to live up to the youth of these times.

(China's manned space flight)