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In 2003, Yang Liwei heard a mysterious knock on the door in outer space, and after leaving the cabin, there was still blood on the corner of his mouth.
This bizarre event happened on October 15, when Shenzhou 5 sailed into space, at first, everything was normal, but when he lifted 30 kilometers into the air, Yang Liwei felt a dull pain.
Immediately after arriving in outer space, there was a knock outside the hatch, according to Yang Liwei's recollection, the knock was low and long, almost every once in a while, as if someone was knocking on the hatch with a wooden hammer.
In empty outer space, how can anyone knock on the door? What exactly did Yang Liwei hear in space?
Follow the dots and uncover the mysterious knock of 2003.
Abnormalities on takeoff
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin successfully entered space, he was the first person in space for all mankind, and at this time, the continent could not even build a spacecraft.
Just a month later, the United States on the other side of the ocean launched another manned spacecraft, and with the launch of American astronauts, the gap between the mainland and the United States and the Soviet Union became wider and wider.
In order to catch up with this journey, the mainland suffered a lot in the eighties and nineties.
In order to achieve manned spaceflight, there are two main problems.
Shenzhou V
First, the technology is far behind, in the blockade of Western powers, the mainland even has problems with the manufacture of computers, let alone the research of manned spacecraft.
Second, talent is limited. Manned spaceflight is dangerous, and until today, countries around the world have tried more than 200 manned spaceflight, of which 22 astronauts have died.
Some are suffocated by the vacuum, some are killed by fire, and some are in danger of the disintegration of high-altitude spacecraft.
In addition to the risk factor of aerospace engineering, the selection of astronauts is also a major problem. Height, weight, vision, health are the most basic requirements, after that, astronauts must also pass physiological function indicators, clinical medicine, organ function, psychological quality and other assessments.
On the one hand, aerospace is extremely dangerous, on the other hand, there are extremely strict tests, and there are very few qualified candidates, and Yang Liwei just meets all the requirements of manned spaceflight.
In 1996, Yang Liwei received a notice that it was an expedited test from the Ministry of Defense:
The state will select a reserve astronaut team among the pilots.
Yang Liwei
The base of active pilots is huge, but after some selection, only 14 people entered the reserve.
This also means that these 14 people carry the heavy responsibility of the continent's first manned spaceflight, which is an honor, but the price behind it is also extremely heavy.
Before this, no one had tried to board the spacecraft and sail into space, and various instruments and vacuum environments on the way were quite harmful to the human body, and no one was sure whether they could come back alive.
But even if the task is so cruel, Yang Liwei did not hesitate at all, in order to help the mainland take the first step in manned spaceflight, Yang Liwei received 6 years of training.
From the age of 32 to 38, in these 6 years, Yang Liwei learned a lot of theoretical knowledge, once on the spacecraft, all accidents must be dealt with alone, for this he must master astronomy, medicine, engines, aerodynamics and other fields.
In addition, Yang Liwei needs physical training every day, and only a strong physique can bear the weight of this mission.
In 2003, Yang Liwei's opportunity came, he stood out from the group of reserve astronauts and successfully served as the chief astronaut.
Yang Liwei
In July of the same year, the Shenzhou V test was completed, and after confirming that the noise and vibration tests were correct, the Shenzhou V officially entered the launch site.
Fast forward to October 15, an exciting day, Yang Liwei will fly around the ground 14 times in space aboard Shenzhou 5. As long as Yang Liwei successfully returns to Earth, this voyage will break the history of continental manned spaceflight.
Yang Liwei knows that the task is heavy, and he has already memorized various operational procedures from boarding to waiting for launch.
After Yang Liwei was ready, Shenzhou 5 also ushered in the official launch.
At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was boiling, and in the countdown of everyone, the booster and engine were starting, and with a loud "boom", Shenzhou 5 rushed straight up.
Shenzhou V launched
At that moment, the experts on the ground burst into tears, and the audience in front of the TV were all enthusiastic.
However, what everyone never expected was that just 30 kilometers after Shenzhou 5 was lifted into the air, Yang Liwei would usher in the first crisis.
Strange "knock"
With the help of the booster, Shenzhou 5 soared, and soon, the spacecraft reached an altitude of 30 kilometers, and from the camera footage, ground experts could clearly see Yang Liwei's reaction.
At the beginning, Yang Liwei did not have any abnormalities, and the launch center could also contact the spacecraft, but as soon as he arrived 30 kilometers away, the connection was suddenly disconnected, and Yang Liwei's expression suddenly became distorted.
Seeing Yang Liwei's facial pain, the experts on the ground desperately contacted, but at this time the spacecraft was in a lost state, no matter how they called, Yang Liwei could not respond.
Yang Liwei
As for Yang Liwei, his body was greatly oppressed at that moment, and the entire spacecraft began to vibrate, along with all the facilities in the spaceship. In this process, the load on Yang Liwei's body continued to increase, and at a vibration frequency of 10 hertz, Yang Liwei felt that his internal organs were on the verge of exploding.
This vibration lasted for 26 seconds, and once it was a few more seconds, Yang Liwei's fate was not guaranteed, and even Yang Liwei himself described that he felt that he was about to die.
Fortunately, after 26 seconds, the spacecraft stopped vibrating, and in the anxious waiting on the ground, Yang Liwei blinked slightly.
After getting Yang Liwei's reply, the ground expert relaxed his heart a little.
At 10 a.m., Shenzhou 5 flew 300 kilometers away, an altitude where you can already see the full picture of the earth. Next, Yang Liwei is about to complete 14 circles of flying around the ground.
Recording
Before the flight, Yang Liwei checked the spacecraft, and after confirming that it was correct, he sat quietly in the cabin and prepared to fly around the ground, but at this moment, Yang Liwei's body became unwell again.
It turned out that the spacecraft traveled into space, up and down, left and right were all upside down, and Yang Liwei was upside down for a long time, his body was confused, and space movement diseases were sudden, which led to Yang Liwei's dizziness, vomiting, nausea and other symptoms one after another.
At this time, the outer space was empty, and no one could help Yang Liwei, in order to overcome this problem, Yang Liwei could only endure the discomfort.
Fortunately, the designer of Shenzhou V is quite experienced, and he sprayed different colors on the floor and ceiling as logos, so that Yang Liwei could distinguish between upper and lower by color identification, and because of these differences, Yang Liwei's dizziness gradually decreased.
After adapting to the space environment, the flight around the ground slowly started, and at about 10:30 a.m., the first circle was about to end, and Yang Liwei breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, accidents also happened.
Just as Yang Liwei was observing the earth, he suddenly heard a "knock knock" knocking sound, at first, Yang Liwei thought it was an alarm in the spacecraft, but he observed it and did not find the source of the sound.
Before Yang Liwei could find out the source, the knocking sound stopped abruptly. Yang Liwei also thought that he was too nervous to hear it wrong, so he did not take this matter to heart.
But it wasn't that simple, and as the ship was in the middle of its second lap, the knock came to mind again, this time more urgent and dull.
Yang Liwei's hair was covered in sweat, and he carefully distinguished the sound, which sounded like someone was hitting the spaceship with an iron hammer.
But at this time, there was only Yang Liwei alone in space, and there was no second person who could knock on the spacecraft!
Yang Liwei, who was in shock, could only divert his attention, and the priority was to complete the detour and successfully return to the ground, but he never imagined that a strange knock on the door would come again.
Yang Liwei
It was when the ship was traveling to the fifth lap, and the spacecraft sounded "knock knock" again.
This time Yang Liwei no longer hesitated, at the moment when the sound sounded, he quickly followed the source of the sound, and this walk, he actually came to the cabin door.
Yang Liwei leaned over to listen, and this hearing directly made Yang Liwei sweat coldly.
A strange knock on the door turned out to be from outside the hatch! That is, in the vast space, someone is knocking on the hatch of Shenzhou V!
Yang Liwei's face was pale, this strange knock on the door would sound every once in a while, there was no regularity, what was knocking on the door?
Yang Liwei did not dare to think deeply, the experts on the ground were watching the spacecraft, in order not to cause confusion to the experts, Yang Liwei checked the spacecraft once, and after confirming that there was no omission, he did not report this "strange" knock.
This strange thing has always been hidden by Yang Liwei in his heart, and it was not until 10 years later that the true face of the knock was revealed.
The truth 10 years later
According to the plan, Yang Liwei will circle the ground 14 times on Shenzhou 5, and from 10 a.m. on October 15 to 5 a.m. on the 16th, Yang Liwei successfully completed the mission.
Yang Liwei
However, during this period, he heard several knocks on the door, and Yang Liwei recorded this situation, including the vibration problem when the spacecraft took off, as long as it landed on the ground, mainland experts would get these valuable feedback.
However, during the return period, Yang Liwei will also experience a moment of life and death.
The anomaly occurred during the landing, at 6 a.m., when Shenzhou 5 arrived in the atmosphere.
At this time, the return module will fall sharply to the ground, and at high speed, the spacecraft and the atmosphere will have strong friction, and its temperature can reach several thousand degrees, this process is also known as "black barrier".
It has to be said that the "black barrier" stage is the most dangerous part of manned spaceflight, and a total of 22 astronauts have been sacrificed in manned spaceflight, of which 11 have fallen in the process.
Just 6 months before Yang Liwei took off, the American "Columbia" was returning home, passing through the atmosphere, the left wing of the spacecraft was ignited by high temperature, and then the space shuttle quickly disintegrated and exploded, killing all 7 astronauts on board.
Therefore, when the Shenzhou 5 returned home, Yang Liwei still did not dare to take it lightly.
Shuttling through the atmosphere, he could clearly see the high temperature outside the cabin, and through a layer of glass, the air outside was gurgling.
At this moment, Yang Liwei was shocked in his heart, he actually found a crack on the glass, and the crack was not just one, but covered with the entire glass, the crack was dyed orange red by the high temperature, and at this time, there was nearly half an hour before landing on the ground.
The outside of the glass is thousands of degrees of high temperature, and this broken glass will definitely not last for half an hour, thinking of this, Yang Liwei is almost ready to sacrifice.
At this moment, Yang Liwei turned his head and saw the glass on the other side, and saw that this glass was also covered with cracks.
The glass on both sides was broken, and Yang Liwei should have been desperate, but at this time he was unexpectedly relieved.
For the quality of mainland engineering, Yang Liwei has great trust. Even if the glass is not resistant to high temperatures, resulting in cracks on one side, this will never occur on both sides, and now the glass on both sides is full of cracks, which proves that cracks are normal.
Sure enough, the glass of the return cabin carried thousands of degrees of high temperature and returned smoothly with Yang Liwei.
At 6:23 a.m. on October 16, 2003, Yang Liwei landed in Inner Mongolia.
Then, amid flowers and applause, he slowly walked out of the hatch.
People with sharp eyes saw that Yang Liwei had a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and Yang Liwei had tried to wipe it secretly.
For this situation, Yang Liwei personally explained, the reason was that when he returned home, he accidentally hit the microphone, and in order not to worry everyone, he wanted to wipe off the blood.
Then Yang Liwei took out the record book, which mentioned two strange things.
One is the vibration during takeoff, and the other is the strange noise when flying around the ground.
landing
For the first question, some experts have conducted a walkthrough, and after a lot of testing, they gave the answer:
An overload of the rocket booster will cause the liquid rocket to vibrate.
According to this result, mainland scientists have perfected the follow-up spacecraft, and since Shenzhou 7, the continental spacecraft has perfectly avoided this problem.
However, after the stilt problem was solved, the strange noise in space has not been answered.
From 2003 to 2013, a full 10 years passed, and it was not until after the birth of "Moon Palace No. 1" that mainland scientists uncovered the mystery.
It turns out that the temperature difference in space is large, the high is thousands of degrees high, and the low is hundreds of degrees below zero. In the temperature difference, some equipment of the spacecraft will be squeezed and deformed due to pressure changes, and with the deformation, strange noises will also come.
After 10 years, the problems that have plagued Yang Liwei for many years have finally been solved.
Fortunately, the "Shenzhou V" landed smoothly and Yang Liwei also arrived safely, which also means that the mainland has taken the first step in manned spaceflight, and after the Soviet Union and the United States, the mainland has become the third manned spaceflight country in the world.
Yang Liwei
This honor was not easily awarded, tens of thousands of workers spilled their blood, thousands of experts worked day and night, and Yang Liwei sacrificed his health for the mainland's aerospace industry.
Now Yang Liwei has become an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics, and the mainland also successfully launched Shenzhou 16 at the end of May this year.
At present and in the future, the continental manned space project will also move forward steadily!
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