The picture shows Wang Shuqun Courtesy of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Title: Industrial Workers in Big Country Heavy Equipment: From Building "Space Brand" Refrigerators to Assembling "China's First Space Red Lady Lock"
Reporter Zheng Yingying
Born in 1970, Wang Shuqun is the leader of the assembly group of the docking agency of the 149 factory of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, and for more than 30 years, he has successively participated in the development and production of a series of aerospace equipment such as "Shenzhou", "Tiangong", "Tianzhou" and "Chang'e", rooted in the front line of aerospace production, grown from a technical school student to a big country craftsman, and witnessed the take-off of China's aerospace industry in the "small parts" over the years.
In 1989, the year Wang Shuqun graduated, China's aerospace industry was still at a low ebb. When he entered the factory that year, he may not have expected that the docking mechanism of his team could one day help China become the third country in the world to independently master rendezvous and docking technology, and also let the Chinese space station have the key "red lady lock" of "space building blocks".
"Space brand refrigerator" in the off-season
Wang Shuqun still remembers that when he first joined the work, the task of Shanghai aerospace was not heavy, about three years to produce two launch vehicles for launch, "that period was still relatively difficult, the unit was still producing space brand refrigerators, old Shanghai people may know the space brand refrigerator, which was still very tight in the market at that time." ”
With the development and adjustment of the industry, after the 1990s, especially after the manned space project and the lunar exploration project were launched, wang Shuqun and these front-line workers ushered in opportunities.
In 2011, the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and the Tiangong-1 target vehicle carried a docking mechanism equipped by Wang Shuqun's team and successfully docked and assembled in space, making China the third country in the world to independently master rendezvous and docking technology after the United States and Russia.
Rendezvous and docking is the technology of two spacecraft meeting in space orbit and joining them structurally into a whole. The docking mechanism is like a "red lady lock", which assembles two spacecraft. What Wang Shuqun did was to equip the debugging docking mechanism.
Since its debut in 2011, China's aerospace rendezvous and docking technology has gone through a full 10 years. In the past 10 years, from "Shenzhou No. 8" to "Shenzhou No. 13", from "Tiangong Series" and "Tianzhou Series" to "Tianhe Core Module", China has successfully implemented 15 accurate and reliable docking tasks, and experienced innovative breakthroughs in docking from unmanned to manned, automatic to manual control, a few days to 6.5 hours, and axial to radial.
The picture shows "post-70s" Wang Shuqun (right) and his "post-90s" apprentice Zhao Jie Courtesy of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
"China's Speed" in the Aerospace Industry
In 1995, the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation launched the development of docking institutions. In the absence of reference materials, a group of astronauts used thousands of experiments and tens of thousands of data accumulation to work hard for 16 years, and finally succeeded in 2011.
In Wang Shuqun's view, behind the "16 years of grinding a sword", both the hard work of astronauts, but also shows that the ability of astronauts is not enough to support the rapid development of model tasks, "When we first entered the unit, the master taught a craft, you can go all over the world without fear, but now learn a craft, may not be able to keep up with the demand for model tasks." Today's aerospace products are developing very fast, our knowledge structure is rapidly depreciating, and our skills are rapidly zeroing out. ”
Wang Shuqun said that in recent years, China's space is in a state of high-density launch missions, if you look at the milestone events, from the launch of Dongfanghong I in 1970, to Yang Liwei's first entry into space, and then to China's first Mars exploration, (Chang'e 5) lunar sample return, China's space station construction, the time interval between milestone events is getting shorter and shorter, from this point of view, the country's ability requirements for astronauts are also getting higher and higher, "may not give us 16 years to do a thing, And only give us 3 or 5 years to do one thing, so the construction of talent team is the top priority. ”
Xu Jianming, deputy secretary of the party committee of the 149 factory of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, also said that the factory was a team of two or three thousand people a few years ago, launching 14 rockets a year, and now there are about 1400 people, and the annual launch volume has reached 28 rounds, the task is getting heavier and heavier, but the personnel are being streamlined.
"Precision Aerospace" in Small Parts
In 1989, Wang Shuqun came to work in the factory and was assigned to work in the assembly and maintenance of tooling abrasives. One day shortly after the work, Master Shan Peilin asked Wang Shuqun to process a complex part. As an excellent graduate of a technical school, he felt that this was not difficult. After receiving the task, he began to draw the line, and Shan Peilin observed from the side, and when he saw Wang Shuqun finish drawing the line, he stopped him. Without saying a word, Master Shan used the tool to re-draw the line. At first glance, the two dashes are no different. However, looking closely, Wang Shuqun found that these were two different lines, and there was a difference of a millimeter between them. Master Shan told him that when the error accumulated, it might cause a gap of 1 mm in the processed parts. Since then, Wang Shuqun has understood a truth: Aerospace cannot tolerate sloppiness.
When Wang Shuqun became a master himself, he handed over the baton. "Post-90s" Zhao Jie is the general installer of the final assembly team of the docking agency, and also the apprentice of Wang Shuqun. Zhao Jie still remembers that when he first entered the factory more than 10 years ago, the master's strict education for himself, "Your product assembly is high-precision assembly, if the work surface is messy, how to reflect the details of your assembly?" ”
In addition, the products they assemble are relatively small, and sometimes there may be small parts falling in, "After we can't find it on the spot, we may also take the process to take the process, and the process should be processed, but the master will ask us to find it repeatedly on the spot, that is, spend half a day or even a day to find out." One is to be afraid that parts and components will fall into other products and affect the quality of other products, and the other is to let us develop good working habits, because it is not appropriate to drop something, and it is difficult to devote ourselves to the follow-up work. Zhao Jie said. (End)
Source: China News Network