On April 24, 1970, the mainland's first artificial earth satellite "Dongfanghong No. 1" was successfully launched, which opened the prelude to Chinese's exploration of the mysteries of the universe, the peaceful use of space, and the benefit of mankind. This day was thus established as "China Aerospace Day". Over the past 54 years, the development of the mainland's aerospace industry has continued to create monuments, and China's astronauts have innovated independently and scaled new heights.
This year is the 9th "China Aerospace Day", and Southern Metropolis Daily has launched a series of reports on "Chasing Dreams in the Sky and Building Chains - Focusing on the Aerospace Power of the Bay Area" to explore the aerospace route for the development of new quality productivity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and explore the aerospace development of the Bay Area with aerospace experts, scholars and enterprises.
According to incomplete statistics from Nandu reporters, the mainland successfully launched a total of 203 satellites last year, and the number of satellites in orbit on the mainland has reached at least 871 so far. While China's satellite is accelerating networking, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is also accelerating the layout of "Bay Area Satellite". Spanning more than half a century, the exploration of the starry sky is bearing fruit.
Opening set-up
The "Dongfanghong No. 1" satellite was successfully launched and "Dongfanghong" was broadcast nationwide
If you have a dream of aerospace in your heart, you can pick the stars with your hands. From its development to its successful launch, the "Dongfanghong No. 1" has demonstrated the spirit of aerospace all the way.
"We're going to do Sputnik too." In 1958, Mao Zedong issued a call. As a result, China began the development of artificial earth satellites in the mid-60s of the last century.
In the process of developing the "Dongfanghong-1" satellite, the space team faced many difficulties, not only to solve a series of new technologies for the satellite itself, but also to start from scratch with the materials, components, instruments, and technical equipment used for verification tests. In December 1967, the National Defense Science and Technology Commission organized and convened the "Dongfanghong No. 1" satellite program demonstration and coordination meeting, and determined the overall technical plan of the 12-character satellite that "can be carried out, grasped, heard, and seen". It was also in this year that Qian Xuesen personally ordered the 38-year-old Sun Jiadong to serve as the technical director of "Dongfanghong No. 1". Subsequently, the Chinese Academy of Sciences began the planning of artificial satellites.
In 1968, the China Academy of Space Technology was formally established, with Qian Xuesen as the first president. The development of the "Dongfanghong-1" satellite has officially entered a period of rapid development with planning, step-by-step, organization, and leadership.
Among the various technical problems overcome by scientific researchers, one is impressive: let the satellite play "Dongfang Hong" in orbit, and all Chinese people can hear this music from space through the radio.
According to the China Academy of Space Technology, researchers have made a special music device, using electronic music to simulate the music of "Dongfang Hong", and let the music device broadcast the first eight bars of the music within 40 seconds, and use the next 20 seconds to transmit telemetry signals.
However, at the beginning of the experiment, the sound coming from the musical device surprised those present: the music had changed its pitch. Liu Chengxi, a member of the overall design team of the "Dongfanghong-1" satellite, decided to invite music experts to help solve this problem after a calm analysis. He went to Shanghai to find the master of the Guoguang harmonica factory, and the master told him to add harmonics, and the sound would be suppressed and frustrated, which would be better.
Solve the problem of pitch change, how can you let the people on the ground hear it?" Hu Qizheng, a member of the overall team of the Dongfanghong-1 satellite, recalled that the research and development team came up with the method of "relay transmission," in which the music played by the satellite was decoded through the ground receiving station and sent to the Central People's Broadcasting Station.
At 9:35 p.m. on April 24, 1970, the "Dongfanghong-1" satellite was launched by the Long March-1 carrier rocket, and at 10 o'clock, the command post of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission reported that the satellite was in orbit. For a time, the music of "Dongfanghong No. 1" broadcast by the "Dongfanghong No. 1" satellite spread all over the land of China and resounded throughout the world.
Sun Jiadong, who is known as the "father of artificial satellites," said: "I really can't say how excited I was, but you can imagine that China's conditions at that time were able to get the first satellite into the sky, and it was indeed China that made every screw by itself." It really feels like an eyebrow-raiser. ”
The successful launch of "Dongfanghong No. 1" opened the prelude to the Chinese's exploration of the mysteries of the universe, the peaceful use of space, and the benefit of mankind. The mainland has become the fifth country in the world to independently develop and launch an artificial earth satellite. This is the first milestone in the development of the mainland's aerospace industry, and it is a historic, pioneering and foundational event in the development of the mainland's aerospace industry. April 24 is the most representative and commemorative day of "China Space Day".
The stars twinkle
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area accelerates the layout of "Bay Area Star"
To this day, the "Dongfanghong No. 1" is still flying. Spanning more than half a century, the exploration of the starry sky is bearing fruit. According to incomplete statistics from reporters from Nandu, the mainland successfully launched a total of 203 satellites last year, and up to now the mainland has at least 871 satellites in orbit. So, how much is the content of "Bay Area stars" in the starry sky today?
01
Aoke No. 1
Codename: "Frontier Sentinel" Standing Guard in the Starry Sky
Introduction: The first scientific satellite jointly developed by the mainland and Macao is the world's first low-latitude earth magnetic field and space environment detection satellite, and it is also the satellite with the highest accuracy of the mainland's earth magnetic field detection, which can accurately measure the magnetic field signals in nature and provide data support for the fields of geomagnetic scientific research, resource exploration, magnetic field navigation, and space environment monitoring in the mainland and even around the world. Cooperative research agreements have been signed with 18 internationally renowned research institutions to share observed data, etc. The team of scientists is planning to lay out the "Aoke-2" satellite, which will cooperate with "Aoke-1" to form a constellation.
Deeds: In March this year, we accurately monitored and captured the strong temporal and spatial changes of the earth's magnetic field in the recent geomagnetic storm and the associated solar flares, which was the first time that the earth's magnetic field in the geomagnetic storm was truly observed in China.
Skill: Accurately predict catastrophic events that may occur
Length of service: 1 year (launch in 2023)
02
Shaoguan No. 1
Codename: The "good helper" of government governance
Introduction:A new generation of high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites, jointly built by Shaoguan Municipal People's Government and Changguang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., based on satellite remote sensing data, using artificial intelligence, spatio-temporal big data mining, Internet of Things, 5G, cloud computing and other high-tech, can be used in natural resources, ecological and environmental protection, emergency management, agriculture, forestry, water conservancy and other fields of business applications.
Skill: Monitoring
Deeds: "non-agricultural" monitoring of cultivated land, monitoring of illegal buildings, monitoring of pollution sources, monitoring of crop planting structure, monitoring of forest accumulation and carbon sink changes, monitoring of forest fires, monitoring of rivers and lakes, etc. Provide scientific and technological support for the improvement of the government governance system and governance capacity, so as to achieve "dynamic monitoring, comprehensive perception, and scientific control". At present, Shaoguan forestry, natural resources, water affairs and other departments have the intention to introduce satellite remote sensing technology in their daily business fields.
Length of service: 2 years (launch in 2022)
03
Foshan No. 1
Codename: "Tester" of new aerospace technology
Introduction: The world's first 100 kg 0.5 m resolution optical imaging satellite, designed and developed by Jihua Laboratory. At present, Foshan No. 1 has achieved the expected results, and its significance lies in the technical demonstration.
Skills: Verify space remote sensing and micro-nano satellite earth observation technology
Deeds: Different from other commercial satellites, the camera of "Foshan-1" satellite has achieved the optimal solution combination of the lowest weight, the smallest volume and the lowest cost under the same quality and imaging requirements, which has reduced the satellite launch cost by 5 to 10 times. It plays an important role in major national strategies such as land and resources survey, environmental protection, disaster prevention and mitigation, resource development and utilization, functional zoning, and regional informatization construction.
Length of service: 3 years (launch in 2021)
04
Asia-Pacific 6D satellite
Codename: "Data Transfer Master" in the Starry Sky
Introduction: It is the "Shenzhen Star", which is the world's first high-throughput satellite customized for satellite mobile communication services, and is operated and served by APTCOM.
Skill: Satellite communication support
Deeds: There is no network signal coverage at the Dongfeng landing site where the astronauts returned, satellite communication is the only means of communication at the landing site, and the satellite provides communication support for the recovery site to ensure the smooth development of on-site command and search and rescue work after the manned spacecraft lands, and has provided satellite communication service support for the Shenzhou spacecraft series, major national events, key tasks and critical moments for many times. At present, the communication support for the successful launch of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft is being carried out.
Length of service: 4 years (launch in 2020)
05
Weijing No. 1 02 stars
Codename: "Photographer" in the Starry Sky
Introduction: It is the first international commercial remote sensing satellite in Guangdong, developed by Shenzhen Dongfanghong, is a 15kg micro-nano optical remote sensing satellite, equipped with a video camera, which can realize area array imaging, sliding imaging, push frame imaging and video imaging, with optical remote sensing business capabilities, shooting tasks include large facilities such as cities and villages, ports, airports, glaciers, lakes, oceans, deserts, volcanoes and other terrain and landforms, as well as urban luminous sky, starry sky, etc.
Skill: Photographic imaging
Deeds: In October 2022, the satellite sent back a large amount of remote sensing data, and high-definition images of Qinghai Salt Pond, Arctic Glacier, Shiverluchi Volcano, and Africa Eye amazed the world. In addition, it is also committed to realizing automatic detection and early warning of emergencies, and plays a role in environmental monitoring, education, agricultural census, fire monitoring and urban planning.
Length of service: 5 years (launched in 2019)
06
Lyra One
Codename: The "Pacesetter" in Exploring the Blank Realm of Science
Introduction: It is the first technical test satellite for future gravitational wave space exploration approved by the state in mainland China, and is led by the team of Luo Jun of Sun Yat-sen University. Its successful launch represents an important step forward in China's nearly 20-year-old space gravitational wave detection program.
Skill: Detect gravitational waves
Deeds: Gravitational wave detection will likely drive the development of lasers, materials, optics, engineering, computer and many other disciplines. Tianqin-1 is responsible for three major scientific tasks, including on-orbit verification of space inertial sensors, on-orbit verification of micro-thrusters with micro-bull variable thrust, and on-orbit verification of no-drag control technology. In addition, Tianqin-1 will also carry out on-orbit verification of common key technologies for gravitational wave space detection, such as high-precision laser interferometry technology, high-precision centroid control technology, and high-stability temperature control technology.
Length of service: 5 years (launched in 2019)
07
"Zhuhai-1" satellite constellation
Codename: "Scout Team" sniping wildfires
Introduction: The first commercial remote sensing micro-nano satellite constellation launched and operated by a private listed company in mainland China. The entire constellation consists of 34 satellites distributed in different orbits, including video satellites, hyperspectral satellites, radar satellites, high-resolution optical satellites and infrared satellites. The launch is planned to be completed within three years, and the entire constellation will achieve no less than 8 re-entries per day for a specific region.
Skills: monitoring wildfires, crop yield estimation, mine management
Deeds: In the 2022 Chongqing wildfires, the wildfires were scattered and could not be extinguished, and the "Zhuhai-1" satellite constellation played an important role. The hyperspectral image of "Zhuhai No. 1" was used to extract the burned area of the Chongqing wildfire, and based on the difference of the burning area index before and after the fire, the coordinates of the center point were accurately locked and the burned area was effectively analyzed. This is one of the daily application scenarios of "Zhuhai-1" satellite big data
Length of service: 7 years (launched in 2017)
Nandu Survey No. 258
A series of reports on "Chasing Dreams in the Sky and Building Chains".
A08-11 edition
Director: Rong Mingchang, Liu Jiangtao
Producer: Tao Ran, Wang Jia, Tian Shuangyue
Planning: Chen Shifu Ke Guan Jianming
Executive planner: Ouyang Yunwei, Yang Honghui, Jiang Ying, Zhou Quan, Jin Guohua
Co-ordinator: Li Zhiqi, Pan Yingyu
Written by: Nandu reporter Li Zhiqi, Pan Yingyu, intern Gan Xiaolin
Design: Liu Yanyan, He Xin