Wang Xiji

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Wang Xiji
王希季
China
EducationVirginia Tech
National Southwestern Associated University
Occupationaerospace engineer

Wang Xiji (

space launch vehicle (Long March 1) and first recoverable satellites,[1] he was awarded the Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal in 1999. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Astronautics,[2] and was inducted into the International Astronautical Federation Hall of Fame in 2016.[3] Wang turned 100 in July 2021.[4]

Early life and education

Wang was born in July 1921 into a merchant family in

People's Republic of China was founded, he abandoned his doctoral studies and returned to China in 1950.[1][5]

Career

Sounding rockets

Monument for the T-7M, China's first sounding rocket, in Laogang, Pudong, Shanghai

After returning to China, Wang taught at the

Dalian Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Shanghai University of Science and Technology.[5] In 1958, when Wang was serving as professor and vice chair of the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, he was abruptly appointed chief engineer of the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Only after he arrived at his new workplace did he learn that China had started its satellite program and the institute was responsible for developing rockets for satellite launches.[6] The institute had very few experienced scientists. Other than Wang Xiji and his former classmate Yang Nansheng [zh], who was the deputy director of the institute, there were only two visiting professors, Bian Yingui (卞荫贵) and Li Minhua.[6] The rest of the institute consisted of a few hundred university students with an average age of 21. Even Wang and Yang had little knowledge about rockets and had to learn on the fly.[6][2]

Working with severe shortages of technical experience, fund, and equipment, Wang's team managed to develop China's first sounding rocket, the T7-M.[6][2] After a failed first launch in January 1960, the second launch on 19 February 1960 was successful.[6][2] Wang later developed 12 types of sounding rockets, including many recoverable and reusable designs.[7]

Space launch vehicle and recoverable satellites

In the 1960s, Wang proposed the design for the

Corona (Discoverer) program of the United States and the Zenit series of the Soviet Union.[7]

Crewed spacecraft

In the late 1960s, Wang proposed the

Shenzhou program in the 1990s, Wang served as a senior supervisor of the project, which succeeded in putting the first Chinese astronaut into orbit in 2003.[2]

Other programs

In 2002, Wang chaired a national policy committee that created a report outlining the future directions for the space and missile programs of China.[1]

In 2015, Wang proposed building a

solar panels, 36,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) above earth.[8] The energy would be transmitted to earth in the form of microwave or laser. The idea first appeared in Isaac Asimov's 1941 science fiction short story "Reason".[8]

Honours and recognition

Wang was elected an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics[8] and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993.[9]

He was twice conferred the Special Prize of the

Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize for science and technology progress. In 1999, Wang was awarded the Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal.[2] In 2016, he became the first Chinese inductee into the International Astronautical Federation Hall of Fame.[3]

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i ""两弹一星"功勋奖章获得者航天技术专家王希季". People's Daily Overseas Edition. 4 April 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "IAF Hall of Fame". International Astronautical Federation. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  4. ^ The oldest "two bomb stars" father ushered in his 100th birthday
  5. ^ a b c d "王希季院士". China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Wang, Xiji (August 1999). "箭击长空忆当年". Chinese Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "Wang Xiji". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Chen, Na (31 March 2015). "Chinese Scientists Mull Power Station in Space". Chinese Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Biography of Wang Xiji". China Vitae. Retrieved 30 May 2019.