Space

The final frontier

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-01 10:11

Qi Faren's name is linked with China's first satellite, its first unmanned spaceship and first manned spaceship, leading some to say his biography would be an abridged version of China's space history. Like his given name suggests -- "new things begin to emerge" -- he has created many historic "firsts".

In the 1980s, he was chief designer of the Dongfanghong-3 communications satellite. Before that, he was one of the technical directors of China's first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, launched in 1970, that marked China as the world's fifth country to launch a domestically-made satellite on a domestically-developed launch vehicle.

"I believe innovation comes with failure, and it is worth taking risks in order to achieve breakthroughs," he says.

Qi and the team later succeeded in making many breakthroughs on the Dongfanghong-3 satellite. It became a platform for the development of a number of other satellites, including China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1.

In 1992 China decided to send men into space, and Qi was named chief designer of the spaceship. He was 59, an age most Chinese men are about to retire.

"At that time my biggest wish was to go to a movie with my wife," he says.

Pang Zhihao, a researcher and deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine Space International, recalls that other countries did not believe China could send men into space.

"In the 1970s, Qian Xuesen, founder of China's space program, had also suggested developing a spaceship. But limited financial resources and the 'cultural revolution' (1966-1976) did not allow the project. Chairman Mao said it was more urgent to finish things on Earth," Pang recalls.

Later, however, China was changing from a planned economy to a market-oriented economy, and people's values were changing, too.

"Unsatisfied with the meager earnings in space institutions, many people had gone abroad, or worked for foreign-funded or private companies," Qi says.

To complete that job, Qi had no other option but have his team work day and night to catch up.

In 2003, with the SARS outbreak, Qi and his team did not go home for nearly two months. "If one of us caught SARS, it could ruin the whole team and the project," he says.

The devotion resulted in a string of successes. The first Shenzhou-I unmanned spaceship was launched in 1999, followed by Shenzhou-II in 2001, Shenzhou-III and Shenzhou-IV in 2002.

"The Russians had rules that all those involved in manned flight missions must not work at night, and the Germans said no demanding jobs should be done on Monday and Friday. But we worked day and night, including Saturdays and Sundays."

Pang says that such devotion is also the reason behind the successful launch of China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1.

"The lunar exploration program started in 2004 and it took only three years to launch the first lunar probe," Pang says.

After four successful unmanned space flights, China set its sights on sending men into space. In 1997, the space program recruited 14 would-be astronauts.

Yang Liwei, a fighter pilot, was one of them. They underwent five years of physical, technical and psychological training, receiving lessons in aviation dynamics, space navigation and rocket design, among other subjects.

Since astronauts have to bear g-forces several times their own weight during lift-off and return to Earth, they are trained in a device called a human training centrifuge - a high-speed spinning capsule that produces dizziness, blurred vision and an accelerated heartbeat.

"Your chest feels like it's under a huge rock, and it's difficult to catch your breath. But we have to keep a clear mind, able to answer questions, read signals and maintain judgment," Yang says in his autography, The Long March to Space.

There is a red button for the trainee to push if he wants to quit, but that button was never pushed, he says.

In 2003, as China prepared to launch its manned spaceship, US space shuttle Columbia exploded, killing seven astronauts on board.

Qi was asked repeatedly: "What if something goes wrong?" Qi answered that his team had solutions for more than 180 possible hitches. The spaceship has more than 700,000 computer programs, 70 percent designed only for emergencies.

Yang, the first Chinese man to fly into space on board the Shenzhou-V spacecraft, later recalled that on Oct 15, 2003, he felt no panic. Although the launch vehicle was loaded with 430 tons of fuel, he had not thought about dying.

"My mind then was only occupied by thoughts of how to do my job perfectly," he says. Monitoring devices also showed his heartbeat remained around 76 a minute throughout the launch.

The mission was a total success. Yang orbited Earth 14 times, traveling more than 500,000 km during his 21-hour space voyage. He landed in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region the next morning, and became a national hero.

"What I saw is testimony to the advance of China's manned space technology. I jotted down a line in my log to express my excitement and pride: 'The Chinese have arrived in space, for the peace and progress of humanity'."

After him, two more Chinese astronauts traveled in space for five days on board Shenzhou VI in 2005; three astronauts flew into space again in 2008 and one of them made China's first space walk.

The legend is continuing.

Later this year, China plans to launch space module Tiangong-1 and an unmanned spaceship, Shenzhou VIII, in the country's first rendezvous and docking mission.

Next year, two more Shenzhou spaceships will dock with Tiangong-1, and one will be manned with two to three astronauts, says Yang, who is now the deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office.

Qi Faren, finally retired from the frontline, says his task now is to think about the future.

"I agree with what some foreign friends said about China. China is developing its space program quickly, but it lags behind the US and Russia in terms of innovation. We have not done anything that others have not done before, and we still need to work on that," Qi says.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page17)