On September 18, 1999, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of New China, the central government specially produced the "Two Bombs and One Star" Meritorious Medal to commend 23 experts who made outstanding contributions to the "Two Bombs and One Satellite".
Among these people, 7 were posthumously awarded, and the appearance of one of them surprised many people, but when people learned about his deeds, they could not help but feel a sense of respect.
His name is Guo Yonghuai, unlike many well-known scientists in the "two bombs and one star" award list, Guo Yonghuai's name is indeed unfamiliar, but he has made indelible contributions to the "two bombs and one satellite" plan.
Guo Yonghuai was born in 1909 in Tengjia Town, Rongcheng, Shandong Province, with fairly modest family conditions and honest parents. But Guo Yonghuai's father attached great importance to his child's studies and sent him to school when he was 10 years old. Guo Yonghuai has been very smart since he was a child, and he is a well-deserved bully, and he was admitted to the Affiliated High School of Qingdao University at the age of 17 by relying on excellent results. Three years later, he entered the preparatory science and engineering class of Nankai University, and after more than two years of hard work, he successfully graduated from the preparatory department and was officially admitted to the undergraduate.
As the saying goes, "Maxima is often there, but Bole is not often there." "If a person can meet a noble person who appreciates himself in his life, it is a very fortunate thing, and Guo Yonghuai really met." During his studies in Nankai, his outstanding talent was favored by Mr. Gu Jinghui, who is not an ordinary nobleman, Mr. Gu Jinghui was the first female doctor of physics in China, and graduated from Yale, Michigan and other famous universities. She saw Guo Yonghuai's talent, so she often guided Guo Yonghuai to study, and as Guo Yonghuai learned better and better under her own disciples, she recommended Guo Yonghuai to enter Peking University and go to Professor Rao Yutai for further study.
Guo Yonghuai successively studied in Tianjin and Beijing, and studied under Gu and Rao, which made his physics foundation quite solid and his academic ability was extremely strong. Subsequently, in the study abroad admissions examination organized by the Gengzi Compensation Admissions Committee, he scored more than 350 points in 5 courses, which was the same as qian Weichang and Lin Jiaqiao. So there was an interesting result in that exam, the committee's original plan to recruit only one person was broken by the three of them, and all three were admitted at the same time, and the committee increased the number of places for them to go abroad.
In this way, the 31-year-old Guo Yonghuai began his 16-year overseas study career, and he is still a well-deserved academic bully abroad. After entering the University of Toronto, he completed his thesis in less than half a year, successfully obtained a master's degree, and then entered the famous aerodynamic research center, the California Institute of Technology in the United States, and became a disciple of von Carmen. It was here that he met his brother Qian Xuesen, and the two soon became friends, often driving outside for a ride in their spare time. With the help of Qian Xuesen, his work progressed very quickly and he successfully obtained a doctorate.
After successful graduation, he cooperated with Mr. Qian Xuesen to overcome another problem, at that time, in order to improve the flight speed of the aircraft, the academic community has been exploring how to make the aircraft break through the sound barrier, and they are determined to challenge this problem. After their continuous efforts, a huge breakthrough was finally made, and the two of them jointly proposed and confirmed the concept of critical Mach numbers. In addition, in 1949, Guo Yonghuai, in the study of applied mathematics, created a PLK method with simple calculation and strong practicality for the important singular perturbation theory. These two studies made Guo Yonghuai a world-renowned scientist, and he was immediately respected by the American academic community.
In the year of his great fame, the motherland in the East also ushered in a historic change - the founding of New China. The establishment of New China has made many overseas Chinese and scholars extremely excited, and Guo Yonghuai, Qian Xuesen and others have been paying attention to the changes in the motherland. On the eve of the founding of New China, they were already discussing how to return to the motherland and contribute their knowledge to the country. Guo Yonghuai also participated in the Chinese Association of Scientists at Cornell University, where they discussed the current situation of the country and imagined the future development of China.
However, when the Kuomintang fell, the United States already realized that if New China wanted to develop, it would inevitably need more talents, and these talents studying abroad were indispensable and important resources for New China. Therefore, the United States has taken various measures to restrict their return to China, and even proposed a ban on Chinese scholars from going abroad.
However, all this did not prevent them from returning to China, Qian Weichang, Qian Xuesen and others returned to China in advance, and Guo Yonghuai resolutely chose to return to China despite the persuasion of relatives and friends around him. After Mr. Qian Xuesen returned to China, he wrote to him many times, hoping that he would come back immediately, and it was best to bring back some more people. This also strengthened Guo Yonghuai's determination, in order to get rid of the obstruction, he burned all his manuscripts in the United States, and then in 1956, he returned to his motherland, which had been away for 16 years.
At that time, New China was in the stage of being in ruins and waiting to be revived, and after Guo Yonghuai returned to China, he once again threw himself into the construction of the Institute of Mechanics with his former partner Qian Xuesen. At the same time, they also prepared to establish the Department of Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Physics of the University of Science and Technology of China. When Guo Yonghuai's friend persuaded him before, he said that there were such good research conditions in the United States, and there was such a good platform, so why should he return to a poor China? Guo Yonghuai responded to the other party with actions, in order to serve the country, he even did not hesitate to destroy a large number of research materials and lecture notes manuscripts he had collected over the past decade, which can be said to be the painstaking efforts of most of his life.
But compared with the motherland, these are simply not worth mentioning. When Guo Yonghuai and others began to study, they were reconstructing while groping for research, which was difficult to imagine. It is in this environment that these masters of the older generation have created one miracle after another and made China develop rapidly.
Guo Yonghuai's contribution to China is quite large, and among the "two bombs and one star", Guo Yonghuai is the only master involved in all three aspects. In 1960, the Soviet Union not only stopped the supply of all equipment and materials to China, but also withdrew all the nuclear industry experts in China, which undoubtedly dealt a fatal blow to China's fledgling nuclear industry. In this predicament, a team of 105 experts appeared. Guo Yonghuai was appointed as the vice president of the Ninth Yuan, and was in charge of the Off-site Experiment Committee, whose mission was to conduct nuclear weapons experiments and weaponization.
To this end, Guo Yonghuai has conducted a lot of research and combined with reality to guide the scientific planning of China's first explosive mechanics. At the same time, he was also responsible for the research of nuclear weapons power, put forward the design idea of "iron strip wrapping cloth", and through his continuous efforts, he successfully combined mechanics and nuclear weapons experiments in China. Subsequently, Guo Yonghuai was responsible for the research of anti-submarine nuclear weapons in the water explosion mechanics and hydrodynamics and other related technologies. For the cause of the two bombs, Qian Xuesen joined hands with him to design the development blueprint of the Aerodynamic Research Institute, and in the process of preparing the institute, he served as the deputy leader of the technical working group.
In addition to theoretical guidance and research, Guo Yonghuai's work also involves specific experimental projects. In order to speed up the research of nuclear weapons, the research team was moved to a new research base in Qinghai, which is not only on a plateau of more than 3800 meters, but also has an extremely harsh climate, most of the year, you must wear cotton clothes to barely withstand the cold, and you will encounter extreme climates such as flying sand and rocks. Due to the poor conditions at that time, guo Yonghuai and other researchers encountered great difficulties in their work, and everyone often encountered altitude sickness.
In the face of these difficulties, Guo Yonghuai led everyone to persevere, in order to experiment, they often had to eat and sleep in the wind, and they also had to run back and forth between Qinghai and Beijing. At that time, Guo Yonghuai was more than half a hundred years old, but he was still full of vitality, leading everyone to carry out nuclear weapons explosion experiments in the harsh outdoor environment. Finally, after the unremitting efforts of the research team, in 1964, with a loud bang in the northwest desert, the first atomic bomb of New China officially appeared. In the absence of Soviet aid and the blockade of international technology, Guo Yonghuai and other scientists overcame many difficulties and finally completed the work of manufacturing and exploding nuclear weapons.
The successful completion of the work made everyone feel very happy, but for Guo Yonghuai, this is just the beginning. He continued to devote himself to the later research of nuclear weapons, and in response to the problems encountered by the institute at that time, as well as the exploration of some unknown situations, he came to many important conclusions, which also made the follow-up research work more smooth. Most importantly, in the study of the hydrogen bomb, in view of the research process of some structural forms, weight, deceleration devices and other projects, he has put forward the corresponding scientific solution theory, with the help of Guo Yonghuai, the hydrogen bomb research team gradually solved the difficulties, in the atomic bomb test explosion three years after the successful explosion, China's first hydrogen bomb also successfully exploded.
In addition, Guo Yonghuai is also responsible for the guidance of anti-submarine nuclear weapons in the water explosion mechanics and hydrodynamics and other related technical research, but also continue to guide the specific experimental work, under his guidance, submarine-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, hydrogen oxygen rocket engines and anti-missile systems research and tests have achieved great success. Guo Yonghuai also played a great role in the research work of artificial satellites, another item in the field of "two bombs and one satellite".
In 1957, after the Soviet Union successfully launched its first artificial satellite, China also began to study how to manufacture and launch artificial satellites. Guo Yonghuai is one of those who strongly advocate the development of satellites, and he believes that if China wants to be strong, it must vigorously develop its space industry. When he returned to China to organize the school, he translated many masterpieces of fluid mechanics, and he began specific research in the field of aerospace very early. Therefore, when it comes to the specific research and experimental links of artificial satellites, there are many practical questions, and he has given accurate answers and ideas.
Under the initiative of him and many scientists, China began to study artificial satellites, and Guo Yonghuai, who has studied this deeply, also joined the research team, responsible for the design of satellite ontology and the leadership of the research institute. In 1970, China's first artificial satellite successfully entered space, which is also a historic breakthrough in China's aerospace field, but unfortunately, Guo Yonghuai, who repeatedly called for this, participated in experimental research work, and made great contributions, failed to watch the first artificial satellite take off.
Fast forward to 1968, when Guo Yonghuai arrived at the Qinghai base in October, where he was preparing for the launch of a missile thermonuclear weapon. In order to do a good job in the experiment, he stayed at the Qinghai base for more than two months, and on December 4, Guo Yonghuai, who was immersed in the preparation of the experimental work, suddenly made an important discovery, and the research made an important breakthrough, and he immediately decided to return to Beijing by plane. So he carried many important materials of the second-generation nuclear missile to Lanzhou to change planes and prepare to arrive in Beijing early in the morning of the 5th.
At that time, the departure time of the plane was not appropriate, and many people advised him not to go in such a hurry and to leave at another time. However, Guo Yonghuai knew that research work was about racing against the clock, and he himself did not like to waste time the most, so he insisted on starting at this time. In the end, the plane still departed from Lanzhou and flew towards Beijing.
In the early morning of the 5th, some comrades in the airport had already received his news in advance and came here to meet him. Soon, they saw Guo Yonghuai's plane, which flew smoothly all the way, and after arriving at the airport, they were slowly preparing to land. But suddenly, there was an unforgettable scene in their lives, just when the plane was only 4,500 meters above the ground, the plane was momentarily out of control, deviated from the flight landing track, and directly plunged into the cornfield near the runway. Immediately, the whole plane was engulfed in flames, and the people present immediately rushed up to save people.
In the end, only one person on the plane survived, and Guo Yonghuai and others were all killed. This news was quickly reported to the Central Committee, and when Premier Zhou Enlai learned of this, he wept bitterly on the spot, and then he ordered that the truth of the air disaster be strictly investigated. Under the orders of Premier Zhou, the central government quickly dispatched an investigation team and finally found out the truth of the air disaster. The incident was due to a malfunction of the aircraft engine and the mishandling of the pilot after the problem, which led to the tragedy.
Because of this mistake, Guo Yonghuai unfortunately died at the age of 59. According to survivors' recollections, at the moment before his death, he risked his own life and joined the guards to protect the briefcase with important information. He also became the only martyr among the winners of the "Two Bombs and One Star" who sacrificed himself, and his sacrifice was a huge loss to the Chinese scientific community. His whole life has been fighting for the development of the motherland, but unfortunately he died in the journey of struggle, which is an extremely regrettable thing to this day.