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"Me and My Party Branch"
Today, we bring you the "Party Branch of the Underwater Engineering Research and Development Department of the 702 Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry: Deep Diving, Toward the Deepest Part of the Ocean" produced by Hunan Radio and Wuxi News Comprehensive Broadcasting and other 100 radio stations across the country.
In Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, on the shore of Taihu Lake, there is a deep-sea equipment development main force and national team that integrates submersible research and development, testing and supporting facilities, which is the 702nd Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the 702nd Institute).
Here, the three generations of scientific researchers of the old, middle and young generations have continued to struggle, and after nearly 20 years of efforts, they have achieved a comprehensive leader in the field of manned deep diving in China.
Today we know Jiang Xuyin, a young party member, and the party branch of the underwater engineering research and development department of the 702 Institute where he works.
The Challenger Abyss of the Mariana Trench in the Western Pacific Ocean, up to 10,000 meters deep, the sun cannot penetrate the thick sea water here, the darkness is cold and silent.
At 8:12 on November 10, 2020, a deep submersible that resembled a fathead fish carried three submariners, creating a new record for Chinese manned deep diving of 10,909 meters here.
The "Strivers" all-sea deep manned submersible successfully completed the 10,000-meter sea test and returned home victoriously on the 28th. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent a congratulatory letter, extending warm congratulations and sincere greetings to all scientific researchers who are committed to the research and development of deep-sea equipment and abyss scientific research.
▲ The report of the "News Network"
From the "Jiaolong", the "Deep Sea Warrior" to the "Strivers", the Chinese manned deep diving team has been sharpening a sword for twenty years, always concentrating on the research and development of deep-sea equipment, delving into the science of the abyss, conquering the depth of 10,000 meters through countless waves, and strengthening the confidence of Chinese to pursue the dream of deep blue.
After the 80s, Jiang Xuyin is a senior engineer in the underwater engineering research and development department of the 702 Institute and a member of the party branch of the underwater engineering research and development department.
In this deep-sea equipment construction main force and national team that integrates submersible research and development, testing and supporting equipment, Jiang Xuyin has grown rapidly, successively participated in the design of "Deep Sea Warrior" and "Strivers", and participated in the 10,000-meter sea trial of "Strivers" as a sea test team member, witnessing the birth of a new record of 10,909 meters of Chinese manned deep diving.
▲Jiang Xuyin
The vast resources contained in the vast deep sea are treasures that all countries in the world must compete for. To enter the deep sea, humans must rely on manned submersibles.
In 2010, Jiang Xuyin, who had just graduated from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, was sent to the 702 Institute for graduate school and had the opportunity to meet the jiaolong, the first large-depth manned submersible that was preparing for sea trials in the workshop.
The beautiful arc created by the brim of its first part and the design of the tail "x" tail wing left a deep impression on Jiang Xuyin.
At the first sight of it, Jiang Xuyin remembered what the university teacher had said: the appearance is cool, dazzling, beautiful, and its performance is mostly excellent.
Facts have proved that the "Jiaolong" has not only the appearance but also the strength. Soon after, in June 2012, in the Mariana Trench, it successfully dived to 7,062 meters, setting a deep diving record at that time.
In fact, ten years before Jiang Xuyin saw the Jiaolong, China's deep-sea exploration had just begun. At that time, foreign technology was blockaded, and domestic talents were scarce. Researcher Xu Qiannan, who has been retired for six years, was invited to serve as the chief designer of the "Jiaolong".
▲Xu Qiannan
The elderly suffer from heart disease and high blood pressure, and the family strongly discourages it: why drag such a sick body to challenge a task with uncertain outcomes?
But Xu Qiannan, who has been dealing with the ocean all his life, always has an unfulfilled wish in his heart: to see the large-depth manned submersible independently developed by the Chinese touch the deep sea. He resolutely ended his leisurely retirement and settled his home in the unit guest house.
Jiang Xuyin has heard his companions say more than once that at the scene of the "Jiaolong" sea trial, the then 74-year-old Xu Qiannan dragged a trolley box filled with drugs, oxygen machines, blood pressure monitors and other medical equipment, and the scientific research team stuck to the mother ship to witness the "Chinese depth" created by the "Jiaolong".
For this deep-diving predecessor who works on the same floor, Jiang Xuyin sincerely admires: he starts working before eight o'clock every day, and often works overtime with young people until late at night to help them solve technical problems. This respectable old academician and old party member is not afraid of difficulties and has become a model for young people to learn from.
Conquering a depth of seven thousand meters means that the submersible can reach 99.8% of the world's waters, while the 10,000-meter level can achieve full sea depth. The "Strivers", which was established in 2016, aimed at the 10,000-meter deep sea.
Such extreme depths are a huge challenge to the structure, materials, communications, and control of the submersible. For example, the pressure of the 10,000-meter deep sea is equivalent to more than 2,000 African elephants stepping on a person's back.
▲ Ye Cong, chief designer of the "Strivers"
Ye Cong, the chief submarine who has successfully dived the Jiaolong 38 times, served as the chief designer of the "Strivers". Jiang Xuyin also became a member of the team, serving as the chief designer of the structural system of the "Strivers" manned submersible, responsible for the design of the ball shell of the manned cabin.
▲Manned cabin ball shell
The manned capsule shell is the most core component of the "Strivers", its role is to withstand the ultra-high pressure of 10,000 meters of deep sea, to create an environment suitable for scientific investigation and underwater operation for submariners and scientists, so it must have reliable bearing capacity and sealing performance.
During the three-year development process, the team has overcome a series of key technical bottlenecks such as manned module materials, forming, and welding. Jiang Xuyin clearly remembers that a partner of a cooperative unit complained to him:
Partner: Traveling with you is often to catch the earliest flight, the latest flight back, racing against the clock, it is too hard...
On those days of tackling key problems, the experiments were often carried out 24 hours a day, and every night the laboratory was brightly lit, and the party members and comrades took the lead in staying on duty all night.
Through the team's full cooperation, the "Strivers" realized the localization of many core components such as manned cabin ball shells, lithium-ion batteries, buoyancy materials, seawater pumps, thrusters, etc., and truly mastered the key technologies in their own hands.
On November 10, 2020, the "Strivers" successfully sat in the bottom 10,000-meter trench, and the ball shell of the manned cabin had stable performance, showing excellent bearing performance, and the performance indicators reached the international leading level!
Jiang Xuyin
When researchers greet the joy of success and applause, what is more memorable is that those days of immersing themselves in research year after year are the experience of failure again and again on the verge of extinction.
Without the guidance of party members and pioneers, without the scientific research spirit of sitting on the cold bench and asking no questions, it is difficult to have the courage to climb the peaks of science and technology.
▲Deep diving team
Especially in the submersible sea trial stage, the scientific research team is far away from the city, far away from relatives, working for a long time on the vast sea, which is the party flag and national flag flying on the bow of the ship, giving them the strength to move forward.
In the past two decades of relay struggle, China's manned deep diving undertaking has started from a faltering start to a comprehensive leader, behind which generations of deep divers with the dream of serving the country with science and technology and a marine power have been sleeping at night and diligently.
They know very well that in the long journey of caring for the ocean, understanding the ocean, and passing through the ocean, the "Strivers" are far from the end, and the deep blue still contains too many unknowns and endless possibilities...
This program is jointly produced and broadcast by Xinhua Net, Hunan Radio, Mango Listening, 5G Wisdom Radio, Dragonfm and 100 radio stations across the country. The book of the same name, "My Party Branch and Me", published by Shanxi Education Publishing House, has been listed. Scan the following QR code now to order:
Source: Hunan Radio News Department (Photo courtesy of interviewee)
Editor: Zhong Qihua, Wang Tianxiang, Zhou Ling, make a fuss