Sun Jiadong, Father of China's Satellite Technology

Beginning in 1967, when he took charge of the general design project for China’s first man made satellite, he also worked as the technical superintendent and general designer for both China’s first remote sensing satellite and recoverable satellite. In addition, he was also the chief designer of a second generation of special application satellites, such as communication, meteorological, earth resource detecting satellite, and the "Compass" navigation satellite. Among 100 aerospace flight vehicles independently researched and developed by China, Sun Jiadong acted as the technical superintendent, chief designer or chief engineer on 34 of them, accounting one third of the total. He is referred to as the father of satellites in the industry. During research and experiments, with his iron will, he delved into the common practices and made many breakthroughs in new techniques, and solved a series of technical problems. The successful launch of the Dongfanghong-1 satellite was largely thanks to his work. In 1980, he was given the honorary title of a working model in No 7 Engineering Industry Department, in 1984 he was awarded the First-Class Merit Citation by Ministry Of Aeronautics And Astronautics, and one year later he was given two special awards among the National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology.

In 1989, Sun Jiadong acted as the head of Chinese delegation in the negotiations for the entry of Chinese rockets into the International market, and he participated in the talks over the international commercial launching service regulations. In 1988, he was elected as a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. In 1992, he became a member of the China Academy of Science. In 1996, he was chosen to be member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences. In 1999, he was awarded the achievement medal for the "Two Bombs, One Satellite." In 2003, he assumed the post of chief designer for the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. At 18:05:04 on October 24, 2007, at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the first lunar exploration satellite Chang'e One was successfully launched, which ushered into a new period in the history of Chinese space exploration.

Translated by LOTO