A photograph of the Earth taken by a satellite infrared camera, with a circular pattern in the middle being a distorted blind spot of the lens. Sun Shujian provided
Zhongxin Network Hangzhou April 12 Title: Zhejiang University "post-90s" astronauts: be a good "back wave" today, do a good job of the "front wave" of the future generations
Author Tong Xiaoyu
R&D, testing, business trip, science popularization. This is the daily work of Sun Shujian, a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Zhejiang University. As a "post-90s" astronaut, he has many goals: the more recent is to complete the launch target of 15 satellites this year, and in the longer term, to let China's micro-satellite technology lead the world and bring space knowledge to all walks of life.
But consistently, there is a simple belief: overcome more difficulties. "We will all become 'front waves' after all." Sun Shujian said that the aerospace industry needs to be passed on from generation to generation, and the pressure and difficulties of this generation will be carried first, and the next generation will follow.
April 12 is World Space Day, and reporters visit the story behind this "post-90s" astronaut.
The moment he answered the phone, the young astronaut had been on a business trip in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, for nearly a month. On March 30, the Balance-2 B and C satellites, of which he served as the overall chief designer and the chief designer of the control system, carried the Long March 11 carrier rocket and successfully entered the predetermined orbit.
These are two tiny satellites weighing kilograms, mainly used for ground radar equipment calibration and RCS measurements, supporting ground optical equipment imaging tests and low orbit space environment detection and monitoring tests, and providing services for atmospheric space environment measurement and orbit forecast model correction.
Sun Shujian, postdoctoral fellow at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhejiang University. Sun Shujian provided
In fact, since joining the Microsatellite Research Center of Zhejiang University in 2013, Sun Shujian has participated in the development and demonstration of 20 satellites. The Pixing-2 satellite of Zhejiang University is the first full-star development mission in which he has fully participated.
According to the requirements, the development cycle of Pixing-2 is only 11 months. Previously, a ground device with the same effect took 13 years to design.
He remembers that at that time, the entire team reached full capacity during the development phase. The whole team of 82 teachers and students worked 335 days a year, with a total of 2106 people working all night. I was also often called back to the lab by a phone call in the early hours of the morning, and it was common to stay overnight, with the longest continuous test lasting four days and four nights.
"Unlike other industries, the aerospace industry is a team project with no individual heroes." Sun Shujian said that many problems need to be solved by the team, "one person's backwardness may lead to the whole team standing still or backward." ”
It is also because of his exposure to this project that he understands that it is necessary to have full enthusiasm for the aerospace industry, and many problems cannot be solved simply by taking time, but must be studied.
However, after the difficulties, the joy of the satellite smoothly entering the predetermined orbit is something that ordinary people cannot experience. "At the moment of the rocket launch, the teachers and students of the team were all in tears of excitement, saying that it was like sending their children into space." Sun Shujian said.
Now, in his circle of friends, you can also see the record of two children as an "old father". On March 30, he wrote: "The vast expanse of space remembers you, two little ones, cheers on orbit; on April 1, he released a black-and-white photo of The Earth, the first photo taken with an infrared camera after the satellite entered orbit. The words are full of the relief of the "old father": when you are still worried about its state, the satellite will always give you a little surprise.
From an explorer to a sticker, Sun Shujian not only forged ahead in technical research, but also kept pace in aerospace science.
In 2016, he was invited by a non-profit organization to start a live broadcast of aerospace science on the Internet. "Nearly 20 science popularization activities are held every year to explain the basics to children in remote mountainous areas." He said that aerospace science popularization is a cause worth practicing for life.
Now more and more "post-90s" have joined the aerospace industry, and the media frequently compare these young people to "after the wave". But in Sun Shujian's view, they will all become "front waves" after all. He said that the research and development of microsatellites still has a long way to go for China. They must not only be the "back wave" of today, but also the "front wave" of the next generation. (End)