All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
Preface
April 24, 2024, is the ninth "China Aerospace Day", with the theme of "Polar Eyes Chutian, Together with Xinghan".
On this gratifying day, Ye Guangfu led two new teammates to the Chinese space station for the first time as the commander.
This expedition is only 2 years after his first dream comes true.
Together with Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping, he set a new record for the duration of continuous in-orbit flight of Chinese astronauts, which can be described as vivid.
He also won the honorary title of "Heroic Astronaut".
But what few people know is that compared with Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping, there are not many people who are familiar with Ye Guangfu.
This excellent astronaut, known as the "pride of the sky", has not been easy along the way.
lost his father at an early age, and his mother supported a family, and he scraped together 50 yuan, so that he could go out of the mountains and become a leader among Chinese astronauts...
"The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold"
As the saying goes, a woman is weak, a mother is strong, and a woman can do anything for her children to live a good life.
For example, Ye Guangfu's mother - Liu Shaolin.
The poverty of Daliang Mountain in Sichuan is famous throughout the country, but everyone says that Sichuan is a treasure land of feng shui and has produced many celebrities.
There are celebrities who have opened up territories for the mainland, as well as many successful business people, and of course, our proud astronaut Ye Guangfu.
Ye Guangfu was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, to farmers and already had a daughter before him.
With his arrival, the family made up a "good" word, and his parents were naturally full of joy, and the family was happy.
But there are unforeseen circumstances, how can everything go well, when Ye Guangfu was 8 years old, an illness took away his father.
Middle-aged widowed, and shouldering the burden of raising two young children, the family's economic conditions are not well-off.
One can imagine how hard it is for Ye Guangfu's mother to face this kind of pressure.
Although women are often seen as weak, Ye Guangfu's mother shows a strong side.
Despite the loss of a pillar of support in her family, she did not bask in grief.
Despite the difficulties in life, the young Liu Shaolin chose to support the whole family alone and did not choose to remarry.
She chooses to deal with difficulties bravely, firmly believes that knowledge changes fate, and uses her own hands to provide children with education and get ahead.
Liu Shaolin worked hard, taking care of poultry in addition to farm work, and had little to no rest.
In the face of tremendous pressure, she had many emotional breakdowns, but each time she was able to adjust herself and tell herself not to fall.
Ye Guangfu looked at his mother's hard work and was determined to study hard in order to make his mother live a good life.
He believes that learning can change his fate, so he spends almost all his time studying.
"50 yuan" almost broke his "wings"
It is often said that the children of poor families are in charge of the family at an early age.
In order to alleviate the family's poverty, they raised a sow and more than a dozen chickens.
Liu Shaolin never bought fodder, but let his children go to the mountains to collect pigweed or rice in the fields.
Although some villagers raise rabbits, Ye Guangfu also wants to try, but the family is really poor, and there is no extra money to buy rabbit seedlings.
They had to rely on the siblings to go to the mountains at night to tie up the bamboos, and then pull them on bicycles in the morning to sell them at the market more than 10 miles away.
It is these efforts that allow the siblings to raise enough money to go to school.
Of course, this also includes the positive energy of their mother Liu Shaolin in life, which gives them motivation and inspires them to face difficulties bravely.
In 1992, Ye Guangfu lived up to expectations and was admitted to the top class of the local middle school and became "someone else's child".
In school, he excelled in his grades and showed maturity and steadiness that surpassed his peers.
He has a special love for physics and likes to ask questions until he understands.
The small electrical appliances at home often become his "experimental subjects", and he is always curious about the parts and ponders them repeatedly.
When he was in high school, Ye Guangfu became interested in gravity and asked what the first speed of the universe was.
It is estimated that the teacher at that time could never have imagined that this little boy would become a space explorer in the future.
In fact, the reason why Ye Guangfu has such a strong interest is all related to his desire when he was a child.
As a child, in an adobe house in the countryside, Ye Guangfu and his sister often leaned on a stone slab in front of their home and looked up at the planes in the sky.
At that time, Ye Guangfu often said to his sister: "When I grow up, I want to be a pilot, and I will take you and my mother to soar in the blue sky." ”
When he applied for the flight academy in high school, Ye Guangfu made it difficult because of the 50 yuan fare and food expenses during the physical examination.
His mother, Liu Shaolin, scraped together to borrow 50 yuan from a neighbor, and it was this 50 yuan that laid the groundwork for him to become an astronaut in the future.
Don't forget the original intention of the "aerospace dream"
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has made tremendous progress in the field of science and technology and made many major achievements.
However, in some complex areas such as aerospace, China has not been able to make a breakthrough due to technical limitations.
Space exploration, in particular, has always been the dream of Chinese builders.
In 1992, China officially launched its manned space program, marking a new hope for China's science and technology.
The China Astronaut Center has once again taken on the important task of sending Chinese into space.
After more than 30 years of hard work and leapfrog development, China's space station has been fully put into operation, achieving the "three-step" goal of manned spaceflight.
Behind all this is inseparable from many unsung heroes, and astronauts regard space exploration as a more important cause than the sky.
In 1998, China launched a manned space program and set up a special astronaut training center to train aerospace talents.
After layers of selection, 14 astronauts stood out from more than 1,500 aspiring young people and entered space training and preparation.
Among them, Ye Guangfu was also among them, and quickly became a pilot after entering the Changchun Flight Academy of the Air Force, which was ten years.
Although there is only one word difference between pilots and astronauts, it is a difficult process to transform from pilots to astronauts, and it is like climbing the ladder.
For Ye Guangfu, one of the most challenging trainings was the underwater out-of-cabin activity training.
Wearing heavy training clothes, working underwater for up to five or six hours, overcoming the resistance of the water and the pressure of 40 kilopascals.
After each training session, Ye Guangfu's gloves and underwear were soaked, but he completed dozens of such trainings.
But what few people know is that what Ye Guangfu has today is very hard-won.
In the third year of high school that year, the news of the Air Force recruiting came from the school, and this news was like a beam of light for him to illuminate his dream.
In addition to being excited, he learned that he needed to pay 50 yuan to participate in Zhaofei, which made his mood plummet.
Faced with this large expense, he knew that his mother would help him make up for it, but he also realized that it would be a burden for her.
However, instead of blaming him, his mother encouraged him to prepare actively, and his mother borrowed money from everywhere and finally raised 50 yuan for him.
Seeing that his mother had raised his hands, he was grateful.
So he participated in the selection, went through a rigorous test, and was finally admitted to Changchun Flight Academy with talent and hard work.
When the news reached his hometown, his mother cried tears of joy and was proud of him.
It lives up to expectations and deserves its name
In 2016, 36-year-old Ye Guangfu traveled to Sardinia, Italy, to participate in the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cave Training (CAVES).
This is the first time that Chinese astronauts have trained with astronauts from many countries, and the media has reported on it, bringing Ye Guangfu, who has not yet flown a mission, into the public eye.
However, Ye Guangfu is also one of the most mysterious astronauts, and since it was revealed five years ago, there has been very little information about him on the Internet.
During the European Space Agency's cave training, Ye Guangfu shook hands with astronauts from other countries and said: "I hope we will meet again in space next time." ”
In 2021, 41-year-old Ye Guangfu will take the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft after 11 years of training for the flying dream.
This is not only to sail into space with the expectations and dreams of Chinese, but also the first time he has realized his dream of space.
At the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Tiangong Dialogue on New Year's Day held on January 1, 2022, Ye Guangfu sent a message to young students from Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau.
As an astronaut, he knows that the road to heaven is difficult, from a student to a pilot, and then from a pilot to an astronaut, and to perform flight missions, every stage is not easy, every step needs to go through strict selection and hard training, some people may have to wait for a few years, more than ten years, or even a lifetime can not be achieved. ”
Just like the seedlings must have experienced the deep accumulation and tenacity of the harsh winter before they broke free from the soil in the spring breeze.
In June 2022, Ye Guangfu was awarded the title of "Heroic Astronaut" by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission.
and won the third-class aerospace meritorious service medal, which is the pride of Ye Guangfu and his family, which makes him very proud.
After passing the comprehensive assessment, Ye Guangfu was selected as the crew of the 2024 Shenzhou 18 manned mission and served as the commander.
His wife, mother, and parents-in-law will continue to firmly support Ye Guangfu and let him concentrate on completing all the challenges in the flying mission.
epilogue
"Before the seedlings break the ground, they must have experienced the savings of a long winter."
This is not so much a summary of Ye Guangfu's personal struggle, but rather the struggle of many astronauts on the mainland.
The development process from rural children to pilots to astronauts is the story of the vigorous development of China's aerospace industry.
The aerospace industry is one of the leading industries of the national economy due to its technology-intensive and highly comprehensive characteristics.
At the same time, it is also an important symbol of the country's comprehensive strength, and manned spaceflight is its shining pearl.
Over the past 60 years, China's aerospace industry has developed by leaps and bounds from scratch, from small to large, and from weak to strong.
From astronaut Yang Liwei's first 21-hour flight into space to Shenzhou-13's 183-day in-orbit record,
and then Ye Guangfu served as the commander of the Shenzhou 18 mission.
All this shows that China's aerospace technology is becoming more and more sophisticated, and it will surely become a high-profile space power in the world!
What do you think about this?
Resources
Xinhuanet--2016-07-27-What to practice in CAVES-Ye Guangfu, the second batch of Chinese astronauts, explained in detail the cave training he participated in
Jimu News--2021-10-14--The most "mysterious" astronaut Ye Guangfu: Formerly an Air Force pilot, he went to Europe to participate in training and realized his dream of space for the first time
2024-04-24-Beiqing.com--After 2 years, "business trip" to space Commander Ye Guangfu: Please rest assured that the motherland and the people will be assured!
Zhejiang Daily2024-04-24 -- China's first post-80s commander! Ye Guangfu once almost "broke his wings" because of 50 yuan of travel expenses
China Youth Network2021-10-19——The 50 yuan borrowed by his mother is the starting point of his flight......
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