"In the blue sky shines stars, and on the ground stands many heroic men." This song praises Chinese astronauts and is a poem of endless love and admiration for them.
We humans have been looking up at the starry sky since the day of our birth, and finally on October 15, 2003, China's space journey began, starting from Yang Liwei, China gave birth to one excellent astronaut after another.
In the Chinese astronaut brigade, there is a unique space hero, he is known as a special astronaut, he has twice flown into the depths of the universe, witnessing two milestones in China's space history: the first spacewalk and a six-month residency mission. He is Major General Zhai Zhigang, a staunch aerospace dreamer.
However, Major General Zhai Zhigang is not a lone traveler, and behind him is a young man who looks almost exactly like him, and may also have the same dream of aeronautics.
This person is Zhai Tianxiong, the only son of Zhai Zhigang, who is ready to go like a seedling, inheriting the glory and mission of his ancestors, and inheriting the ideal of spaceflight.
There are stars in the sky and heroes on earth
Above the sea of stars, generations of aerospace pioneers have crossed like shooting stars, integrating into the magnificent epic of the Chinese nation. Major General Zhai Zhigang and Zhai Tianxiong were like stars in the night sky, shining with wisdom and courage.
They are the epitome of China's space industry and the praise of the sons and daughters of China for the way of space. If you want to go to space, it is a difficult thing, not only need to have an excellent physique, but also have a very strong psychology, everything that Zhai Zhigang has experienced is also a test for him and the motherland.
In 1998, Zhai Zhigang became the first astronaut on the mainland and officially participated in astronaut training, which is something that Zhai Zhigang does not dare to luxury, and it is also the result of his years of hard work. Who would have thought that many years ago, he was a child who couldn't eat enough.
It was October 10, 1966, Zhai Zhigang was born in the countryside of Longjiang County, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, he was a child of hardship, and his family was poor.
At that time, because his family was suffering from hardships and his father was bedridden for many years due to illness, all the burden fell on the shoulders of his strong mother.
If Zhai Zhigang has any dream since he was a child, it must be to let his family live a good life, at least a good life without worries about food and clothing. As for looking up at the starry sky, for Zhai Zhigang, it was a luxury.
Cosmonaut? It was something that Zhai Zhigang did not dare to think about at that time.
Zhai Zhigang's childhood was full of poverty, but his illiterate mother was full of determination for her children's education. "Everything is inferior, only reading is high", in those days, it was the only way out for reading.
Zhai Zhigang will always remember his mother's words: "Even if the Zhai family goes bankrupt, it will provide for your schooling." He always remembers his mother, who gave birth to gray hair due to years of hard work, who made a living by fried melon seeds, and used the meager income from selling melon seeds to help him complete primary and junior high school.
Zhai Zhigang felt sorry for his mother and had the idea of dropping out of school, but after being angrily reprimanded by his mother, he decided to complete his studies no matter how difficult it was. In high school, Zhai Zhigang was admitted to the flight academy, and his aerospace dream began to awaken.
Because the family was too difficult, his mother had to borrow money to provide for his education. In the same year, Zhai Zhigang, who successfully entered the university, joined the Chinese Communist Youth League.
Zhai Zhigang learned that his opportunity to change his fate was not easy to come by, during the school, he always studied very hard, participated in training, and achieved excellent results, and also served as a flight instructor at the Air Force Trial Training Center.
The 950 hours of safe flight were dazzling achievements for Zhai Zhigang, a first-class pilot in the Air Force who was a hot future star at the time. In his career as a pilot, it was not all smooth sailing. As a pilot, it is very dangerous, and every trip will encounter all kinds of accidents.
Zhai Zhigang has also encountered many emergencies, but he can always deal with it calmly and successfully complete the landing. In 1995, Zhai Zhigang encountered trouble during a flight training when he was on his way back when he suddenly encountered a strong air flow with a wind speed of more than 10 meters.
At that time, the people on the ground pinched the sweat for Zhai Zhigang, but fortunately, Zhai Zhigang finally flew with skillful skills and accurate instruments, safely landed the fighter on the ground, and showed extraordinary flying skills.
After this time, Zhai Zhigang not only successfully won the title of first-class pilot, but also won the third-class merit for this outstanding performance, and won the high praise of his comrades-in-arms.
The heart is to the nine skies, and the hand picks the stars
In 1996, the space program test began, and the selection of astronaut candidates began, and Zhai Zhigang was also on the list. However, astronaut candidates can not be selected casually, and must be selected with excellent comprehensive results.
After two years of continuous training, Zhai Zhigang finally became one of China's first astronauts in 1998.
Space is different from Earth's environment in that there is no oxygen, no sound, no gravity. Therefore, once out of the atmosphere, people in the spacecraft are in a weightless state.
Zhai Zhigang's training revolves around these, from a professional point of view, he must at least complete and pass the training project of dozens of subjects in 8 categories, and if there is a failure or unsatisfactory results, he will lose the astronaut spot.
In 2003, Zhai Zhigang became a member of China's first manned space flight astronaut echelon. After that, after another 5 years of hard work, Zhai Zhigang finally had the opportunity to enter space.
It was September 25, 2008, Shenzhou 7 was preparing to take off, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, Jing Haipeng three people wearing bulky spacesuits, sitting in the cabin, with Shenzhou 7 flew to outer space.
Zhai Zhigang's commander this time carries a heavy burden on his shoulders. To set foot in completely unknown territory is a very dangerous, yet very new thing.
On September 27, after making sufficient preparations, Zhai Zhigang decided to implement a spacewalk. However, the plan could not catch up with the change, and just as he was about to leave the hatch, the normally intact hatch failed, and he could not open it no matter how he operated.
At this time, Zhai Zhigang's mind flashed countless times to solve the dilemma in front of him. And his situation at this time also made the staff on the earth sweat.
The spacewalk was a task that had to be completed, and this was the only firm idea in Zhai Zhigang's mind. After calming his mind, Zhai Zhigang, with the help of Liu Boming, used a metal rod to pry open the hatch.
However, as soon as the hatch was pried open, the alarm was triggered, and as the shrill alarm sounded, the atmosphere began to become tense. But the hatch has been opened, and this step, Zhai Zhigang must take a step.
Afterwards, in an interview, Zhai Zhigang said that at that moment, he was ready to sacrifice.
"Shenzhou 7 reported for duty, I have left the cabin, I feel good, Shenzhou 7 greets the people of the whole country and the people of the world, please rest assured that the motherland will resolutely complete the task."
After Zhai Zhi just came out of the capsule, in space, the Chinese flag was displayed. At this moment, presumably in his heart, there was an unprecedented sense of pride. This not only indicates China's progress, but also the continuous progress of mankind.
After 14 minutes of space walking, Zhai Zhigang returned to the cabin, and this moment was 4:59 p.m. Beijing time on September 27, 2008, which was also an important moment in history.
The universe is vast, human beings are small, and it took us thousands of years to look up at the sky and then to tentacle space. From then on, the universe is no longer an expression of nothingness, but a new exploration of mankind.
After 13 years, Zhai Zhigang once again "went out" to space as a commander, this time with his teammates Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu.
The Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft took three people into space on October 16, 2021, this time, they plan to work in space for up to 183 days.
On November 7, Zhai Zhigang went out of the cabin; On December 26, he was released again. On April 16, 2022, Zhai Zhigang and others returned to Earth and landed safely, and among the people who greeted him, there was a special figure, this person has a very similar appearance to Zhai Zhigang, anyone who sees it will know that this is Zhai Zhigang's son.
Dream of the stars
After Zhai Zhigang was carried down the spiral ladder, his son Zhai Tianxiong was already in tears, and he had not seen him after half a year, he was worried about his father's body and proud of his father.
This time, Zhai Tianxiong came to pick up his father instead of his mother, which is also a very unusual memory for Zhai Tianxiong. In his memory, his father was a space hero, but he also knew how much sweat and effort there was behind the "heroic" son.
In fact, for Zhai Tianxiong, the public does not know much, his only two appearances, this is in 2008, and another time in 2022, to welcome his father back to Earth.
Many times, Zhai Tianxiong only appears in Zhai Zhigang's interviews. Zhai Tianxiong's mother is Zhang Shujing, who also works at China's Ministry of Space and is responsible for developing aerospace food.
From Zhai Zhigang's mouth, we know that because of the particularity of his work, he does not spend much time with his son, but Zhai Tianxiong seems to be more mature than other children, he understands the particularity of his parents' work, and he especially cherishes the time spent together as a family.
Zhai Zhigang was still childlike, every time he bought a toy for his son, he always played with enthusiasm first, took it home to his son, and by the way, he also served as a "toy coach" for his son.
In Zhai Tianxiong's psychology, his father can not only fly into space, but also control all the toys on the ground. His worship of his father came from his bloodline as well as from life.
Therefore, Zhai Tianxiong's ambition is always intentional or unintentional to move closer to his father, and the two "aerospace" people have already penetrated into the bones and blood of Zhai Tianxiong's family.
On September 26, 2008, Zhai Tianxiong was interviewed by Sina.com, at that time, he was still a 10-year-old child, childish, and very naïve between words.
"My dad is a very humorous person, I think my dad is a pure northeasterner, eating meat, gulping alcohol, in my memory my dad is very bold and informal."
Zhai Tianxiong always looks proud and excited when talking about his father, he told reporters that although his father is very busy with work, he will accompany him to play CS, accompany him to play chess, and tell him about aerospace.
Five days before the Shenzhou 7 was ready to launch, Zhai Tianxiong learned the news that his father was going to take off, and then he and his mother accompanied his father to Jiuquan, where he and his mother stayed in the hotel in Jiuquan, while his father was making final preparations.
Zhai Tianxiong told reporters: "At the last moment of departure, my father told me some very trivial household things."
At a young age, Zhai Tianxiong did not know what kind of unknown situation he would face in space, but his heart felt extremely nervous like the people around him.
At that time, although Zhai Tianxiong was still young, between words, he talked about his deep admiration and endless love for his father. He confessed that when he listened to his father's dialogue with the ground in space, he did not burst into tears like others, but was filled with pride and joy.
Although Zhai Tianxiong is young, he can understand what his father Zhai Zhigang means the moment he leaves the cabin, and he also knows what it means for a human being to appear in the infinite vastness.
He expressed affectionately, using the simplest words, the simplest emotions, how he felt every time he heard his father's resolute voice.
It can be imagined that perhaps at that time, his father had already inspired his soul and inspired his inner flame, and Zhai Tianxiong had lofty ideals in his heart since then, and longed to grow up to make outstanding contributions to the country like his father.
As his name implies, whether it is a "sky hero" or a "hero of the universe", Zhai Tianxiong is Zhai Zhigang's proud son.
Although we don't know if Zhai Tianxiong is determined to inherit the glorious tradition of his father's generation and become another bright star in the aerospace industry.
In our opinion, he can be the representative of that fearless generation, or the proud descendant of the space heroes, he is full of grace and spirit.
Perhaps in the future, he will write his own magnificent chapter of life, shine on the stage of the universe, and contribute his youth and dreams to the exploration and progress of mankind.
Zhai Tianxiong is low-key, he went to school in the People's Congress High School in his early years, which shows that he is likely to embark on the same career path as his father in the future.
Although we don't know what position he will hold when he grows up, maybe he will fight for China's space industry like his father, or maybe he will be an ordinary person.
Like Zhai Tianxiong, Zhai Zhigang's other family members, although they could not go to the scene, paid close attention to Zhai Zhigang's movements at any time. Zhai Zhigang's two brothers and three older sisters can usually only see Zhai Zhigang on the live broadcast, even if they are distressed, they can only hold it in their hearts.
What is it like to live in space? I am afraid that only a few astronauts know that as astronauts, they have never reported good news or bad news.
When Shenzhou 13 took off, the Zhai family gathered together neatly and paid attention to the launch. In a later interview, Zhai Zhigang's third sister told reporters that although it was early in the morning when the launch was launched, they were all very excited and could not sleep.
This is not the first time they have seen Zhai Zhigang go to space, every time, they are in good spirits, but they are worried, because living in space, there will definitely be damage to the human body, and Zhai Zhigang will never tell them this, but when they have the opportunity to connect, they will find that Zhai Zhigang's face is a little puffy.
Space is boundless, and the earth is like a speck of dust in front of it, but above this dust, there is much that we want, think, and think in our hearts.
The stars are brilliant, if out of it
And Zhai Zhigang, who is still fighting for his aerospace career, once said: "The party and the people have given us high honors, the motherland has entrusted us to fly into space, our only mission is to fight for the country, as long as the party orders to be ready to go to space at any time!" ”
After returning to Earth, Zhai Zhigang first underwent a series of physical examinations and recovery training to readjust to the gravity and environment on Earth.
After more than half a year in space, after returning to Earth, they need to learn to walk again, and they also have to participate in a three-level isolation system to prevent infection with pathogens.
These are actually no strangers to Zhai Zhigang, because he had already participated in such training when he returned to Earth in 2008.
This process generally takes 3-6 times to restore the body to its best state on earth. Now 57 years old, Zhai Zhigang is still not inferior to young people in physical strength after recovery.
Zhai Zhigang has had a deep relationship with aerospace since he was 18 years old, and as the first person in China to realize a space walk, his name will forever remain in the annals of history.
We are fortunate to be born in this era, fortunate to see the true face of space, and we have witnessed the glory of many astronauts together, which is a legend belonging to space heroes and a legend belonging to the motherland.
The names of Zhai Zhigang and others will be engraved in time, like the eternal dazzling light of stars, illuminating the infinite navigation of the future.