Source: Chinese military horn
Astronaut Li Cong: "All the effort and dedication are worth it"
Jiefangjun Daily reporter He Yishu and special reporter Zhan Kang
On April 24, 2024, a young astronaut dressed in blue appeared at the Wentian Pavilion of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to meet the public for the first time. This astronaut with a handsome appearance and eyes like a crescent moon when he laughs is named Li Cong, and he is the youngest astronaut in the flight crew of the Shenzhou 18 mission. Commander Ye Guangfu praised him as "a person who lives up to his name, very intelligent".
From an ordinary rural child to an astronaut, what kind of efforts did Li Cong make? What kind of untold dream-chasing story is behind it? Today, let us listen to a story of a dream blossoming.
On February 24, 2023, Li Cong conducted a training on the operation of the subsystem of the manned spacecraft structure mechanism Photo by Wang Xiayang
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In the autumn of 1989, Li Cong was born in a small village in Handan City, Hebei Province. When he was in the fourth grade of elementary school, his grandfather became seriously ill, and his father quit his job and went home to take care of the elderly. Since he was a child, he was well aware of his parents' hardships and was determined to study hard.
During the high school entrance examination, Li Cong was admitted to the best local middle school. In the first semester of his junior year of high school, an Air Force recruitment lecture opened a new course in his life. When he saw the pilot wearing a blue flight suit, helmet and sunglasses in the promotional video, heroically piloting the fighter plane to soar into the sky, Li Cong felt that every cell in his body was ignited, and he did not hesitate to sign up.
When the news came that Li Cong had been admitted to the Air Force Aviation University, the whole village was boiling. The neighbors were full of praise for him, and the village party secretary came to offer condolences and congratulations. His father encouraged him: "Do a good job and don't live up to everyone's expectations!"
When he first reported to the Air Force Aviation University, Li Cong was elected as the captain of the cadet team because of his good performance. This is a challenging position for a rural child. The first time he gathered the team to comment, he was so nervous that he couldn't speak. In order to smoothly comment on the speech, he wrote down the content of his speech in a small notebook and read it word by word. Slowly, all he had to do was write down the outline of his speech in a small notebook. Later, he was able to speak without a script. "The experience of being a district captain has made me more cheerful and improved my expression, thinking and management skills. He said.
When Li Cong first entered the school, he encountered a long snow season. Heavy snowfall began in October of that year and continued to fall in April of the following year. In his words, "one week after another, one week after another".
Every day at 5 o'clock in the morning, Li Cong braved the cold to get up to check the snow situation, assigned a "responsibility area" to each class, and then took his comrades to clear the snow together. The work of the district captain took up a lot of his time, but he could not delay his studies in the slightest. He often flashlights at night and makes up lessons under the covers. Under the double pressure, his hair even turned a lot grayer. Effort always pays off. During his four years of college, he was rated as an "outstanding student" every year.
The feeling of flying is not as wonderful as I imagined. The first time he experienced flying, when the plane rushed into the sky, Li Cong suddenly felt dizzy, and his stomach was turned upside down. He held the joystick with both hands, and didn't dare to move. After getting off the plane, his confidence fell to the bottom: "Am I going to be eliminated? Am I not fit to be a pilot?"
That night, Li Cong tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. He thought of his family's expectations, and remembered his countless nights of fighting and studying hard. "I can't just give up so easily, I can do it!" he kept cheering himself up.
On the road to chasing dreams, even if the road ahead is full of thorns, the real brave will be fearless and still move forward.
Perhaps it was the psychological suggestion that played a role, and when the instructor took Li Cong to experience flying again, his previous discomfort disappeared. He can finally soar above the blue sky of his motherland with ease, overlooking the magnificent rivers and mountains.
Li Cong, who has regained his self-confidence, cherishes the opportunity to fly even more. He worked hard to improve his flying skills, and his results in the completion of the training of the first and higher training aircraft were the first among his comrades-in-arms.
On July 1, 2023, Li Cong (1st from right) participated in the comprehensive training of marine lifesaving and survival training Photo by Kong Fangzhou
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For those who love to fly, who doesn't aspire to fly higher and farther? However, Li Cong never imagined that he would one day really be able to touch the starry sky.
In 2003, Yang Liwei, as the first person to fly in China, fulfilled the millennium dream of Chinese children. At that time, Li Cong was still a junior high school student. Watching the space heroes on TV complete their missions and return smoothly, he felt extremely excited and proud.
Later, when he saw the news of the astronauts on the news, Li Cong occasionally couldn't help but think: Is there a chance for him to fly higher and farther?
When the selection of China's third batch of astronauts began, Li Cong did not hesitate to sign up. With his excellent comprehensive quality, he successfully passed the assessment and became a member of the third batch of astronauts.
When Li Cong told his father the news, his father was stunned for most of the day, and only said three words: "Got it." The simple father no longer knew how to express this joy in words.
"It is the strength of the motherland and the progress of the times that have given me such a historical opportunity. Li Cong secretly decided, "I must cherish this opportunity, be an excellent astronaut, and fly to space as soon as possible." ”
However, with the development of learning and training, Li Cong realized that behind the dazzling aura of the original astronauts was the unimaginable tempering and tempering of ordinary people.
Chasing dreams but not being able to realize them was once a regret faced by the first batch of astronauts on the mainland. With the completion of China's space station, astronauts also have more opportunities to carry out missions. Compared with the first two batches of astronauts, the third batch of astronauts was lucky.
"It used to be a task for people, but now it's a task for people. Li Cong said.
During the normal operation of the space station, astronauts have more opportunities to perform tasks and also need to learn more knowledge.
Since entering the astronaut corps, Li Cong and his comrades-in-arms have faced intense study, fierce competition and frequent selection exams. "Assessments are everywhere, all the time. Li Cong said that the astronauts' usual words and deeds are seen by the instructors and reflected in the evaluation. To this end, everyone is riveting, whether it is theoretical learning, operational skills assessment or physical exercise, everyone does their best to do their best.
For pilot-turned-astronauts, manned spaceflight is a completely new field, and aerospace theory, which involves a large number of basic disciplines, is even more difficult to bite. "If you want to fly well and fly well, theoretical learning is very important. Li Cong said.
Once, Li Cong started to solve a problem at 8 o'clock in the evening, and finally made the problem, and when he looked at his watch, it was almost 11 o'clock. He was unaware of the passage of time. But the sense of accomplishment that he finally got the answer after all the hardships is still unforgettable.
Centrifuge training is also a hurdle. When Li Cong first participated in the astronaut selection, he experienced the acceleration of 4 Gs, and it was not as difficult as he imagined. By the time the time the actual assessment came, the training standard was raised to 8 G's. "Although the value has only increased by a factor of 2, the difficulty level has increased exponentially. Li Cong recalled that at that time, his chest was like being trampled on by an elephant, and he was almost out of breath, and tears were thrown out. After many trainings, he finally figured out how to deal with it, and his results were up to par.
Underwater training is also a great challenge for Li Cong. The underwater training suit is pressurized like a humanoid spaceship, and it is the body. At first, he felt that he couldn't do it anymore, so he could only do it in a hurry. So, he asked astronauts who had experience in space capsule for experience. When he trains, he learns all of these experiences and finds what works for him. Now, he's also very comfortable training underwater.
Li Cong knows that the selection of astronauts is the best of the best, and if you want to realize your dream of flying as soon as possible, you must be excellent in all subjects. "If you want to do it, you have to do your best!" He demanded himself with such high standards, and took down the "obstacles" in the training process one by one.
On August 22, 2023, Shenzhou-18 astronaut Li Cong conducted a spacesuit test Photo by Xu Bu
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From the day he became an astronaut, flying into space has become Li Cong's goal.
In the desert, Li Cong followed his comrades to participate in wilderness survival training. At night, it was so cold that I couldn't sleep, everyone was on fire on their chests, and it was cold behind them. During the day, the heat was unbearable, their skin was scorched by the sun, and their lips were dry and peeling.
The experience of lifesaving training at sea was particularly memorable for Li Cong. The return capsule was airtight, as hot as a steamer, and he was wearing an airtight cabin pressure suit, and he almost suffered a heat stroke.
The 72-hour psychological adaptation training in a confined environment requires astronauts to spend 72 hours in the basement and complete the test. Li Cong and his teammates encouraged and reminded each other, and tried all kinds of ways to fight the sleepiness. With tenacious will and team help, they eventually survived. Recalling these experiences, Li Cong felt a sense of accomplishment.
Just because you get a ticket to space doesn't mean you get a "ticket" to a spaceship.
When watching the same batch of astronauts fly into space one after another, Li Cong was happy for his teammates, but also deeply reflected on his own gaps and shortcomings. He began to be more strict with himself, with 100 percent energy to prepare for every assessment, and conscientiously summed up the experience and shortcomings of training.
After a new round of training and selection, when Li Cong heard his name in the Shenzhou 18 crew list, he was both happy and calm. "All the hard work and dedication are worth it, and all the hardships and difficulties are unstoppable. He wrote this in his training notebook.
The faith is strong, and the farther the action. Li Cong is full of confidence in carrying out this mission. As he said at the meeting, "I believe that we will quickly adapt to the space environment, quickly enter the working state, complete the mission smoothly, efficiently and successfully, and make contributions to the great new era with practical actions." ”
On December 4, 2023, Li Cong was training in a swivel chair Photo by Kong Fangzhou