"Two Bombs and One Star" Scientist Wang Xiji: The Hundred-Year-Old Life of Muxing Gengyu

Wang Xiji in his office (april 18, 2016). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Guolong

After hundreds of years of vicissitudes and a journey spanning centuries, he is one of the founders and organizers of Space Technology in China and a meritorious scientist of "two bombs and one satellite".

From studying at the Southwest United University to crossing the ocean to study in the United States, from participating in the founding of the new Chinese aerospace industry to devoting himself to the development of "two bombs and one satellite" in anonymity, from presiding over the development of China's retrievable satellites to planning the starship to shine in space... He constantly proposed new concepts of spaceflight and explored new spaces in the universe.

As a centenarian party member of the same age as the Communist Party of China, he has always regarded the development of aerospace technology as a grand cause to open up the frontier and benefit the Chinese nation and all mankind, and still thinks about the future of China's aerospace industry and contributes inexhaustible wisdom to the construction of a space power - he is Wang Xiji, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a technical adviser of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Manual computers, rice field launch sites... The first liquid sounding rocket in New China was born in this way

"Dear Academician Wang Xiji: On the occasion of your 100th birthday, all the cadres and workers of the Five Academies extend their highest respect and sincere wishes to you!"

On July 26, 2021, Academician Wang Xiji ushered in his 100th birthday. A batch of aerospace juniors who wang Xiji once guided and led sent birthday wishes to him. Congratulatory letters and flowers tell the achievements and glory of this centenarian.

More than 60 years ago, it was under the leadership of Wang Xiji and others that the first liquid sounding rocket of New China, T-7M, was successfully launched, which supported the new China's space dream.

In October 1958, Wang Xiji joined the Communist Party of China, and under the banner of the party, he solemnly promised to dedicate everything he had to the party and the motherland. At that time, he was about to be promoted to full professor and was preparing to go to East Germany to study exchanges. The relevant departments talked to him and hoped that he could go to work at the Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Design Institute.

In the face of the sudden changes, Wang Xiji said calmly: "As a party member, I unconditionally accept the organization's arrangements. In November 1958, Wang Xiji was transferred to the Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Design Institute as the chief engineer, becoming one of the organizers of China's early rocket and spacecraft technology research. Since then, he has regarded the strength of the country and the development of the nation as the primary goal of life.

On the bustling Huaihai Road in Shanghai, there is an old house called Huaizhong Building, which is the earliest station of the Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Design Institute. Many people who pass by there or hear the name have a hard time knowing what kind of unit it is. No one who works inside can reveal it to anyone outside the unit, not even their own family.

The computer is manual, in order to calculate a ballistic trajectory, several people work day and night for more than two months, the calculation paper is higher than the desk; there is no launch site, they use the rice field as a launch site, use a winches to lift the rocket to the launcher, use a pump to pressurize the rocket with incendiary agent, booster...

It was under such conditions that China's first completely independently designed and self-manufactured liquid sounding rocket T-7M took off with a single order and ran to the distant sky.

Flight altitude of 8 km! This sounding rocket, which carries the new Chinese aerospace dream, successfully made its first flight.

Subsequently, from the sounding rocket to the Long March 1 carrier rocket, for nearly a decade, Wang Xiji turned himself from a layman into a carrier rocket expert. Seeing the moment of victory, he wanted to leave the rocket business and enter a new field of research, once again accepting a new challenge. In the face of national strategy and personal interests, Wang Xiji did not hesitate to obey the needs of the state.

"Aerospace can only be subordinated to scientific laws and objective facts."

At 9:35 p.m. on April 24, 1970, the Long March 1 carrier rocket sent China's first artificial satellite "Dongfanghong" into space in a deafening rumble. After 15 minutes, good news came from the loudspeakers of the headquarters. My country became the fifth country to independently develop and launch satellites.

It was not until 1999, when Wang Xiji was awarded the "Two Bombs and One Star" Meritorious Scientist Medal, that people learned about the secret past at the beginning of the Republic and the solid foundation laid by Wang Xiji and others for the aerospace industry.

"Success does not have to be in me, success must have me", this is not only Wang Xiji, but also a true portrayal of a generation of astronauts.

Born in Kunming, Spring City, he graduated from Southwest United University. As early as his youth, Wang Xiji cherished the ideal of "industrial salvation of the country", and since then, even if he is honored, he will never stop and always maintain his pure heart.

As the chief designer of China's first retrievable satellite, Wang Xiji painstakingly and presided over the research and development of satellite return technology to reach the international advanced level, making China the third country in the world to master satellite return technology.

In The 1960s and 1970s, China's economy was weak and its technology was backward, and under such conditions, Wang Xiji led the team to create technology that could both make satellites go to the sky and make satellites return.

"We pioneered the return recovery technology, the sounding rocket was designed at the beginning of the design to carry out research on recovery technology, because there was no wireless technology at that time, there was no data transmission technology, to get the launch test data, you can only rely on the arrow body recovery, so in our country, the first time to carry out space technology recovery technology is us." Academician Fan Benyao, who worked with Wang Xiji, recalled.

The huge responsibility of the family and the country often makes Wang Xiji appear a little "stubborn" in the eyes of his colleagues. Behind this persistence is not only based on his full understanding of the development of technology at home and abroad, but also from his solid theoretical foundation and self-confidence.

Wang Xiji often said: "Aerospace can only be subordinated to scientific laws and objective facts. Design detours and development failures lose national interests. And what is the state? It is thousands of ordinary people. ”

It is precisely with this belief that Wang Xiji has always stood at the forefront of the tide of aerospace development, whether it is to take the lead in proposing new concepts such as space resources, space technology systems and space infrastructure, or to preside over the completion of the demonstration and compilation of the implementation plan of China's high-resolution Earth observation system project, Wang Xiji has always stood at the tide of aerospace development.

Since 2006, Wang Xiji has begun to pay attention to and actively promote the development of space solar power plants in China.

At the age of 95, Wang Xiji also personally studied the topic of "Internet + Space Action" of the Five Academies, deeply thinking and actively exploring the future of China's aerospace.

"Willing to dedicate a lifetime to cultivating a group of outstanding spacecraft designers"

History has fully proved that valuable spiritual wealth is the cornerstone and source of power for the development and growth of China's aerospace industry.

Wang Xiji has been working tirelessly for many years, and has written more than 10 books such as "Engineering Design", "Spacecraft Entry and Return Technology", "Space Technology", more than 40 papers such as "On Space Resources" and "Construction of China's Space Infrastructure", and more than 20 research reports such as "Discussion on the Development of China's Manned Spaceflight" and "Research on The Development and Countermeasures of Space Solar Power Plant Technology". He insisted on writing books and educating people, and once sincerely said: "I am willing to dedicate my life to the development of China's space cause and to cultivate a group of outstanding spacecraft designers." ”

"Elder Wang's hundred-year-old life is a magnificent year of Chinese spiritual pursuit, struggle, and struggle after the founding of the Communist Party of China, and it is a true portrayal of an astronaut who, under the guidance of the CPC's adherence to the principle of independence, self-reliance, and self-reliance, strives to be strong, has the courage to climb the ladder, and makes selfless dedication, thus casting a true portrayal of outstanding merits." Lin Yiming, president of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said.

In 2020, China Aerospace successfully completed a number of major space missions represented by Chang'e-5, Tianwen-1, and Beidou-3; in the first half of 2021, it achieved the complete success of missions such as the core module of the Tianhe Space Station, the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft, and the Tianwen-1 Mars exploration.

At present, China has made new achievements in building a space power and a world scientific and technological power, and has successfully completed the major aerospace projects represented by the construction of the space station. In the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, where Wang Xiji is located, groups of astronauts are going all out to take over the baton passed by their predecessors.

In the 508 Institutes of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, where Wang Xiji worked, wei Jiuzhe, a young employee, was most impressed by the spirit of Academician Wang Xiji's commitment to the country and his unremitting exploration.

"Academician Wang Xiji was born in the era of poverty and weakness, and when he was young, he was determined to fight for the rise of the motherland, and resolutely returned to China to devote himself to the aerospace industry, with enthusiasm and a mind to study to the end, this patriotic feeling of serving the country and the spirit of persistent scientific research deeply inspired me." In the new era, we young generation of astronauts should not forget the spirit of our predecessors, keep in mind the mission, study in a down-to-earth manner, and contribute to the construction of a space power. Wei Jiuzhe said.

"On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the party, Academician Wang Xiji has set a spiritual example and a model of action for each of our astronauts and every member of the Five Academies in the new era with his hundred-year-old life and unremitting struggle. On the new journey, we must take Academician Wang Xiji as an example, vigorously carry forward the spirit of 'two bombs and one satellite', strengthen the belief in serving the country in space, bravely climb the peak of science and technology, and make new and greater contributions to promoting the construction of a space power! Zhao Xiaojin, secretary of the Party Committee of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said. (Reporter Hu Zhe)

Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph