"Craftsman of a Great Country" Wang Shuqun: Build "an important weapon of the country" and cultivate an aerospace "dream team"

　　China News Service, Shanghai, January 29th, Title: "Great Country Craftsman" Wang Shuqun: Build "National Weapon" and Cultivate Aerospace "Dream Team"

　　China News Service reporter Xu Jing

　　In December last year, Wang Shuqun, leader of the final assembly group of the docking mechanism of Shanghai Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing General Co., Ltd., won the "Science and Technology Innovation Award" from the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation. This is the first time in the 29 years since the award was established that it has been awarded to frontline industrial workers.

On January 29, Shanghai held a report on the advanced deeds of great craftsman Wang Shuqun and the 2023 Shanghai Craftsmen Tree Selection and Naming Conference. The picture shows Wang Shuqun delivering a keynote speech. Photo courtesy of Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions

　　On the 29th, a report meeting on the advanced deeds of great craftsman Wang Shuqun and the 2023 Shanghai Craftsmen Tree Selection and Naming Conference were held in Shanghai. Looking back at the moment when he stood on the award podium, Wang Shuqun said, "I was particularly excited. Looking at the big names in the technology industry on the same stage, I felt that this award not only belongs to me personally, but also to thousands of front-line industrial workers."

　　This award also strengthened his belief: "Scientific and technological innovation is not just a matter for scientists. As long as industrial workers strive for excellence and dare to be the first, they can also become an important force in our technological power."

　　From an ordinary skilled worker, to a national model worker, to a Shanghai worker who was awarded the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award for the first time, Wang Shuqun has been quietly sticking to the front line of aerospace assembly for more than 30 years, and has participated in Shenzhou 8 to Shenzhou 17, Tiangong, Tianhe, Tianzhou’s 31 space rendezvous and docking missions have rooted the spirit of craftsmanship in our hearts and put it into practice.

　　In the late 1980s, when Wang Shuqun first joined the company, there were very few launch missions, and many colleagues who joined the factory together changed jobs. The master encouraged him: "Workers also have a lot to do. The key is to love what they do, have solid basic skills, and be able to endure loneliness. Many jobs start with tightening a screw." Under the guidance of the master, Wang Shuqun chose Staying, concentrating on studying skills, and building a powerful aerospace nation have become his unswerving life direction.

　　In 1995, Shanghai Aerospace began to develop a "space docking mechanism", and Wang Shuqun, who had won first place in a corporate skills competition, was lucky enough to become one of them. He was quite emotional: "In recent years, our aerospace industry has caught up with the good times of rapid development."

For more than 30 years, Wang Shuqun has been quietly working on the front line of aerospace assembly, taking the craftsmanship spirit into his heart and putting it into practice. Photo courtesy of Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions

　　Over the past 16 years, we have encountered countless difficulties and solved hundreds of problems. During the rendezvous and docking process, more than 200 jacks need to be inserted into the sockets accurately and simultaneously, which is the familiar "space kiss". To realize this "kiss", each set of single machines in the docking mechanism must pass various tests and pass the final assembly before final assembly. Among them, 10 categories and 31 sets of single machines need to pass the thermal cycle test assessment. One thermal cycle requires 37 hours of testing.

　　The most difficult period was the two years before the first "Space Kiss" docking mechanism was delivered in 2011. Wang Shuqun said that their team could only see the sun once a day, that is, when they went to work in the morning, and the whole day would follow. Working overtime in the workshop, Wang Shuqun was in a trance on the day when the products were handed over, "We got off work at 4:30 that day. When I walked out of the workshop, I saw the sun and suddenly thought it was morning again and it was time to go to work again."

　　Wang Shuqun has a famous saying: "100-1=0", that is to say, in aerospace engineering, there are only 100 points, not 99 points. Take the pipeline sealing of aerospace products as an example, just like blood vessels to the human body, it directly affects the quality of aerospace products and the life safety of astronauts. In the early stages of the development of the docking mechanism, the first pass rate of pipes manufactured using fusion welding technology was only about 20%, and the first pass rate of cleaning excess pipes was about 77%.

　　After repeated trials and comparisons, Wang Shuqun's team optimized and determined the "three-step" cleaning technology path, completed 43 sets of test pieces and formal product cleaning verification, and tested the residual particle size in the catheter, achieving a first-time pass rate of 100%. In the end, this scientific research achievement won the second prize of the 2018 National Science and Technology Progress Award, achieving a "zero" breakthrough for Shanghai's aerospace skilled workers in the national science and technology progress award.

　　In this way, Wang Shuqun led the team to participate in the development of more than 50 sets of special equipment and solved many process problems. The final assembly cycle of the docking mechanism was shortened from more than 3 months to 40 days, and the assembly reliability was significantly improved.

　　As the model tasks become more and more important, Wang Shuqun's team has to produce 5-6 sets of docking mechanisms a year. In the production process, the production model used to be "developing and finalizing at the same time". Now, the team has commercialized and generalized the components through a common solution for the docking mechanism of manned spacecraft and cargo spacecraft, forming a full-cycle production model. The delivery time of a single set of docking mechanism has been shortened from 10 months to 6 months.

　　This year is Wang Shuqun’s 29th year in the field of docking institutions. The 54-year-old said frankly that there have been many exciting moments over the years, but what makes him most gratified is that he has brought out a high-quality and high-skilled young team. "The aerospace predecessors have sharpened the path forward for our generation, and our generation must also cultivate new talents for the future aerospace industry."

　　In 2004, Wang Shuqun, who had just assumed the role of team leader, received the new task of developing the "Yutu" lunar rover. How to achieve "synchronization" and "correctness" of the docking mechanism and the development of the lunar rover? Wang Shuqun has only one answer, and that is "let young people come in."

　　Since becoming the team leader, Wang Shuqun has trained 10 senior technicians. In his eyes, these young people who are taking over the baton from the older generation of astronauts will become the biggest driving force for the high-speed and high-quality development of my country's aerospace industry.

　　Xia Qiaowei, who studied under Wang Shuqun after graduating from university in 2010, was rated as a technician in 2017 and was awarded five patents in 2022. He still remembers that when he first started working, his master took him day and night to participate in the final assembly test of the "Yutu" lunar rover.

　　"To be honest, I was a little complaining at the time, but when I was at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and watched the product I had devoted three years and hard work fly into the vast space with a rumbling sound, and was transmitted back to the moon's surface for the first time. When I took a photo, a sense of pride arose spontaneously, and I understood more deeply the meaning of God's reward for hard work, which also made me fall in love with the aerospace industry." Xia Qiaowei said that on the way forward, the master is my best His example allowed me to see that skilled workers can also pursue their dreams and make a difference in life.

Pictured is the event site. Photo courtesy of Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions

　　The development of the times and social progress call for more craftsmen like Wang Shuqun. On the same day, 100 "Shanghai Craftsmen" in 2023 were awarded the "Shanghai Craftsman" bronze medal and certificate. After listening to Wang Shuqun's deeds on the spot, many of them said that they would learn from Teacher Wang Shuqun, strengthen their ambition to serve the country with skills, take the road of becoming talents through skills, keep the heart of serving the country with skills, and pursue the dream of strengthening the country with skills. (over)