On December 28th, a lecture on China’s glorious history of manned space program was jointly held by the Party Committee Publicity Department of CUEB, the Student Affairs Office and the School of Public Finance and Taxation, in order to promote the spirit of the manned space program, pass forward the long line of inspiring principles for Chinese Communists, and encourage all teachers and students to scale new heights in science and technology and commit to the development of the country. Chen Shanguang, Deputy Chief Designer of China’s manned space program, Director of National Key Laboratory of Human Factors Engineering and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), was invited as the speaker. Wu Hui, CUEB Deputy Party Secretary, and over 400 teachers and students attended the lecture, which was presided over by Vice President Wang Yonggui.

Wang Yonggui, opened by welcoming the Deputy Chief Designer Chen Shangguang and showing his appreciation for the painstaking explorations and great practice of China’s manned space program. Then he expressed CUEBer’s strong desire to learn the history and achievements of China’s manned space program and hoped to have further cooperation with inter-disciplines such as with Space Economy and Management Science.

At the beginning of the lecture, Chen told the stories about Chang’e rush to the moon, Wan Hoo’s flights to the sky, and Dunhuang Flying Apsaras, and expounded that manned space flight is a natural expansion for humans to explore the unknown. It’s of great significance in advancing the progress of science, technology, and economic growth, safeguarding national security, and increasing the composite national strength. He also pointed out that the manned space program has made great contributions to bolstering national cohesion, cultivating development potential for science and technology, and driving the progress of human civilization.

Chen reviewed the history of manned space flight world-wide for the audience. Some of the tremendous impacts of the events of the history of space flight were introduced in detail; for example, the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union served as the opening of manned space flight, the manned lunar landing created a miracle of technology, and the International Space Station continues to gather new achievements for the world. All of these examples drew forth the current thinking on space tourism and culture, and plans for manned space flight in various countries.

Several typical basic technologies of manned space flight were briefly introduced, including manned space transportation, space docking, and space extravehicular activity. Besides, the great journey of three-step strategy of China’s manned space program were carefully explained, namely, manned spacecraft, space laboratory and space station. In particular, combining with their previous launches and flight missions, Chen shared the struggles of astronauts and researchers behind the flight.

In the final part of his lecture, Chen raised bright prospects for the trend of manned space flight and told of his own indissoluble bond with it, and shared some insights obtained through his three-decades of effort. He mentioned that manned space flight is a complicated program which requires the joint participation of numerous people. A spaceship contains the efforts of thousands of people, while a rocket needs tens of thousands of people. It is an embodiment of team strength and collective wisdom as any individual contribution is very small. Only unity and cooperation can make the strength increase, always aiming to make the mission stronger and greater.

After the speech, the attendants asked questions about the weightlessness training of astronauts in China, the material cycle in space ecosystem, and the level of China’s new generation manned spacecraft. Chen offered detailed and professional explanation with patience. Finally, he expressed his appreciation of the students’ enthusiasm for knowledge and hoped that more people would devote themselves to this industry and realize the aerospace dream together in the future.

At the end of the lecture, Professor Li Hongxia, President of the School of Public Finance and Taxation, thanked Chen for his wonderful speech. She said that the spirit of manned space flight is another spiritual monument established by Chinese astronauts in building China into a global leader in science and technology. She hopes that students should stay true to their original aspiration in the process of inheriting and carrying forward the spirit of manned space flight, and jointly march towards the Second Centenary Goal.

After the conclusion, the students said that they are proud of this great program. Whether it is the Shenzhou V, VI, VII or the latest Shenzhou XIII, all of them demonstrate China’s speed and strength to the world.