Source: Chinese military horn
Astronaut Li Guangsu: "It is my great happiness to go to space for the motherland"
Jiefangjun Daily reporter Li Youzhi and special correspondent Zhan Kang
"I'm looking forward to the upcoming half-year space life. It is my great happiness to go to space for my motherland. ”
On April 24, 2024, at the meeting between the Shenzhou-18 astronauts and Chinese and foreign reporters held at the Wentian Pavilion of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, 36-year-old astronaut Li Guangsu talked about his upcoming first flight.
Li Guangsu has an introverted and meticulous personality, and he does not speak slowly. His WeChat name is "Running Snail". He said that he was ordinary, like a snail, and he had to do his best on the way to the sea of stars.
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Pei County, Jiangsu Province, is the hometown of astronaut Zhu Yangzhu. In 1987, Li Guangsu was also born here.
In the eyes of his neighbors, Li Guangsu has been a sensible and filial child since he was a child. His father worked outside the home all the year round, and his mother farmed alone at home, and she had to take care of their three siblings. In addition to studying, Li Guangsu often helped his mother with farm work as much as he could.
Once, after spraying pesticides on rice, my mother suddenly collapsed in the rice field and became delirious. The siblings hurriedly called a neighbor to help send them to the hospital, and the mother was able to save her life.
The doctor told Li Guangsu that his mother was allergic to pesticides and caused poisoning. Later, the villagers often saw a small figure not as tall as rice appearing in the rice field with a pesticide bucket on his back, spraying pesticides like an adult. That thin figure is Li Guangsu.
Li Guangsu remembers that when he was a primary school student, a teacher asked him in class, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and he replied, "I want to be a scientist." At that time, Li Guangsu didn't know that there were still pilots and even astronauts in the world. He only knows that scientists can contribute to the motherland, which is both noble and admirable.
When Li Guangsu was in his third year of high school, the news that the Air Force was recruiting pilots spread throughout the school, providing a new opportunity for students who were sprinting towards the ivory tower. The students rushed to tell each other and signed up enthusiastically, and Li Guangsu also wanted to give it a try. After several rounds of selection, he was finally officially admitted to the Air Force Aviation University.
August 2, 2006, this day is deeply imprinted in Li Guangsu's memory. 19-year-old Li Guangsu packed his bags, bid farewell to his hometown, and officially started his military career. The mountain is high and the road is long, and the challenge is coming. When he first entered the school, there was a big gap in his physical performance. As a flight cadet, if you fail to pass any of the assessment subjects, you may be eliminated.
What is lacking and what is missing, Li Guangsu is not discouraged. He practiced push-ups, pull-ups, and strengthened arm strength exercises every day. In order to improve his sprint performance, he wakes up half an hour early every day and runs three kilometers in the early morning when the water is dripping into ice in the north, braving the biting cold wind and strapping sandbags on his legs.
Gradually, Li Guangsu's physical performance improved significantly, and most of the events reached excellent, but his sprint performance was always unsatisfactory.
Li Guangsu decided that he must solve this "old and difficult" problem. He asked the instructor for experience, strengthened targeted training, squatted barbells, climbed stairs, and ran fast steps...... No matter how hot or cold, it never stops. Once, he even ran and suffered heat stroke and fainted on the sports field. The hard work paid off, Li Guangsu finally broke through the bottleneck, and his sprint performance was excellent, and he was praised at the school-wide commendation meeting.
On June 28, 2023, Li Guangsu participated in the single training of sea lifesaving and survival training Photo by Kong Fangzhou
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Li Guangsu still remembers the scene when he first experienced flying -
Watching planes carrying new students taxiing off from the runway and soaring into the sky, Li Guangsu, who was waiting outside the tower, was both nervous and full of anticipation. When a comrade-in-arms got off the plane, all the trainees gathered around and asked, "What is it like to fly?"
The comrade-in-arms' face was full of excitement and pride: "It's so exciting, it's a great feeling!" Li Guangsu was deeply infected, and he couldn't wait to drive the plane to the sky for a spin.
But when Li Guangsu got on the plane with great anticipation, the turbulence of the plane in the air flow and the strong smell of gasoline in the cabin made him feel a feeling of nausea. He thought, "It's over, if you vomit at this point, you may face grounding." ”
Li Guangsu has been holding back the feeling of dizziness, trying to divert his attention, and he is holding back in a cold sweat. As soon as he got off the plane, he went straight to the bathroom and threw up.
In the days that followed, Li Guangsu was even more tormented to look back on - as long as the instructor did a horizontal roll during flight training, his stomach would be turned upside down. The instructor would occasionally repeat it a dozen or so times, and his stomach would roll with the plane.
Despite this, Li Guangsu did not flinch, but chose to insist on flying, and with strong perseverance, he finally slowly overcame the motion sickness.
Later, Li Guangsu was assigned to fly at a certain air base and officially became a fighter pilot.
Li Guangsu enjoyed the feeling of flying and was even more proud of his ability to serve the motherland. Whenever he pilots a fighter plane in the air, whether he is a long plane or a wingman, his heart is always full of happiness and a sense of mission.
Once, while flying at night, Li Guangsu saw the magnificent Milky Way. Since then, he has been full of yearning for the vast and mysterious space.
2024-03-15 Li Guangsu training underwater Photo by Xu Bu
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With the vigorous development of the manned space program, the country began to select the third batch of astronauts. Li Guangsu believes that becoming an astronaut and going to space for the motherland is a great hero and worth fighting. He actively applied for the name and passed one level after another, and the almost rigorous selection was passed. Thinking about it now, he still feels like a dream.
In September 2020, Li Guangsu became one of the mainland's third batch of 18 astronauts. Later, when Li Guangsu saw the heroes who had only appeared in TV cameras before, he suddenly felt a sense of pride in his heart when he thought of being able to fight side by side with them from now on.
Compared with the first and second batches of astronauts, the third group of astronauts was lucky, they caught up with the high-frequency space station missions. But at the same time, they are not under pressure. From joining the team to completing the assessment, a total of two years and three months will be completed, and more than 100 subjects in eight categories such as basic theory, physical training, aerospace environment endurance and adaptability training, and aerospace professional technology must be completed.
The theoretical study time is tight and the pace is fast. They have to learn new courses and prepare for exams that they have already completed. Li Guangsu was a liberal arts student when he was in high school, and the obscure formulas and symbols in science and engineering courses were like "heavenly books" to him. He was distressed, anxious, and anxious that he couldn't sleep at night.
What should I do? Li Guangsu decided to calm down and overcome the difficulty of theoretical study. He used his after-school time to break through the small knowledge points one by one, and "gnawed" little by little. He consulted his comrades-in-arms and repeatedly brushed the questions to consolidate them. After many sleepless nights, he finally conquered one esoteric knowledge point after another.
During the theoretical study, each astronaut did his best. Every late night, the apartment of the astronaut brigade is brightly lit, and the lights are basically not turned off before 12 o'clock.
Of course, Li Guangsu is not far behind. He believes that since the first day of entering the astronaut corps, his words and deeds should be on par with the standards of excellent astronauts, and every study and training must be perfect.
There is still a bit of a gap between the hand-controlled rendezvous and docking training results and the full score, so Li Guangsu asked the instructor to practice for him more, while repeatedly practicing on the desktop simulation trainer in the apartment, recording the results in detail and analyzing the results of each training, and finally achieved a full score.
The 72-hour psychological adaptation training in a confined environment requires three days and three nights without sleep in a closed room, and various assessments must be completed at the specified time. Over time, astronauts tend to become more tired and have lower levels of performance. Li Guangsu secretly reminded himself that every time he did the assessment, he had to work harder and pay more attention than the last time. As a result, his assessment results are getting better and better.
"Human potential is limitless, as long as we maintain a firm belief, we will be able to overcome all kinds of difficulties and challenges. Through experiments, he realized such a truth.
When participating in the 48-hour desert wilderness survival training, the maximum temperature in the tent reached 45°C during the day, and the surface temperature reached 75°C. During the night, the lowest temperature suddenly fell, and the wind swept through the sand like a beast and roared, and people were curled up in the cold. Li Guangsu and his comrades-in-arms overcame the harsh environment and survived with limited dry food and water.
Where the heart desires, it must be done. When Li Guangsu learned that he was selected for the Shenzhou 18 crew, his heart was very calm. Looking back on the road he has traveled, he has had the confusion of not knowing anything about the future when he first joined the team, the nervous state like preparing for the college entrance examination, the extreme challenge of 72 hours of sleepless in a small environment, the torment of enduring hunger and thirst in the desert and wild environment, and the perseverance of repacking and starting again......
Hardship shows courage and perseverance, and hard work leads to success. Li Guangsu constantly challenged himself, surpassed his limits, and finally knocked on the door of his dreams.
Li Guangsu is full of anticipation for the upcoming space journey - he looks forward to the speed and passion of 7.9 km/s, and looks forward to experiencing the wonderful feeling of flying without wings.
"In my spare time, I want to take a good look at the beautiful blue planet, take a look at the splendid mountains and rivers of the motherland, find a place that has raised and nurtured me along the way, and also want to see if the stars in the sky will blink for my lovely children. Li Guangsu said.