That Day丨It turns out that Yang Liwei flew into space 20 years ago!

20 years ago today

A glorious page in the history of China's space industry

With the Long March 2F rocket

Push the Shenzhou V spacecraft into space 200 kilometers away

Yang Liwei, 38 years old

Became the first Chinese astronaut to visit space

Image source: Xinhuanet

The vast space welcomes its first Chinese visitor

"For the peace and progress of mankind, the Chinese have come to space!"

While boarding the Shenzhou V spacecraft, Yang Liwei, China's first manned spaceflight astronaut, wearing a space suit, wrote these words for reporters with great passion.

Before joining the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps, Yang Liwei was an Air Force pilot with 1,350 hours of experience in flying attack aircraft and fighter jets.

In 1997, when the news of the astronaut selection came, Yang Liwei wrote his name on the application form. From that moment on, the gears of fate began to turn: he probably could not have imagined that his decision would make history...

Image source: Xinhuanet

Astronauts are often seen as "a profession sitting on a powder keg". People often only see the astronauts being surrounded by "flowers and applause" after completing their missions, but in fact, they experience difficulties and hardships that ordinary people cannot imagine. The "26 seconds of resonance" on Shenzhou V, the scar left by the microphone breaking the corner of the mouth when landing... "The pain is unbearable, and I feel that my internal organs are about to break." Yang Liwei said, "For a moment, I thought I was going to die." Fortunately, after the joint efforts of scientific and technological personnel, this resonance problem was finally solved, and such a situation did not occur again in subsequent flight missions.

Image source: Xinhuanet

At about 6:00 on October 16, 2003, after 21 hours and 23 minutes of space flight, the Shenzhou V return capsule with astronaut Yang Liwei successfully landed at the Siziwang Banner landing site in Inner Mongolia. Afterwards, Yang Liwei left the capsule on his own. Facing the welcoming crowd, he expressed the common voice of hundreds of millions of Chinese people: "I am proud of my motherland!"

Yang Liwei's small step into space is a milestone in China's manned space program, and an important step for the Chinese people to explore the sea of ​​stars!

From "Flying Dreams Come True" to "Dreaming Heavenly Palaces"

Twenty years ago, a great moment was recorded in Chinese history, and an epoch-making feat was forever engraved in the history of human exploration of the universe. Over the past 20 years, Chinese astronauts have faced the challenges of the forefront of science and technology with the ambition of "daring to reach the moon" and the firm belief of "never return until Loulan is conquered", carried forward the spirit of bravely climbing to the top, and continuously achieved self-breakthroughs.

After the complete success of the Shenzhou V mission, my country launched 11 Shenzhou spacecraft from Shenzhou VI to Shenzhou XVI.

This is a picture taken at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center of Shenzhou 16 astronaut Jing Haipeng performing extravehicular operations (taken on July 20). Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Zhongzheng

From a "day in space" of 21 hours and 23 minutes to a long-term stay of 6 months; from 6 cubic meters of space to a "three-bedroom" of more than 110 cubic meters; from "one-bite" ready-to-eat meals to different space cuisines throughout the week; from measurement and control communications with a coverage rate of only 15% to "extraordinary calls" anytime and anywhere today... Relying on the manned space spirit of "especially able to endure hardships, especially able to fight, especially able to make sacrifices, and especially able to tackle key problems", countless Chinese astronauts have built China's "space home" - the Chinese Space Station - in just over 30 years.

In this process, we have had successes and failures, but we have never given up our vision and pursuit of the future. Each "first" embodies the wisdom and sweat of Chinese astronauts, and also embodies our exploration and desire for the unknown.

In the future, the Chinese people's steps in exploring space will surely be more steady and go further!

Comprehensive sources: Xinhuanet, China Manned Spaceflight, Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc.