In fact, it is unwise to use "money" to measure the input-output ratio of developing manned space flight. "Science and technology are the primary productive forces. As the most expensive technology in the world today, the development of manned space flight certainly needs the support of a country. Manned space flight is first and foremost a human dream. Tsiolkovsky, a pioneer in space flight, said: "The earth is the cradle of mankind, but mankind will not stay in the cradle forever. "Exploring space has been a dream of human beings for thousands of years, and the increasingly exhausted earth resources are also prompting human beings to develop space resources. Manned space flight is also the national dream and national dream of China as a responsible big country. As one of the most populous countries in the world, China has the responsibility and obligation to develop and utilize space resources through the peaceful development of space. Manned space flight is also the dream of many ordinary people and technology enthusiasts. Just like many civilian heroes who have emerged in life have invested all their money in making airplanes and submarines, developing manned space flight is the dream of all space fans and Chinese people all over the world.
Dreams themselves cannot be measured by "money". In fact, in the 20 years since 1992 manned spaceflight project was officially launched, the cost of manned spaceflight in China is actually less than that of the United States in one year. In recent years, the annual budget of NASA is about $654.38+0.7 billion to $654.38+0.8 billion. From this perspective, China's manned space flight is really "doing great things with little money". Shenzhou spaceship's R&D has a high starting point, one-step design and a high degree of overall intelligence. The development of manned space flight in the United States and the Soviet Union experienced unmanned spacecraft, single-person spacecraft and finally multi-person spacecraft. Although China's manned spaceflight project started late, it took a leap-forward development path. Taking the "N+ 1" mode of rendezvous and docking mission as an example, a Tiangong-1 target aircraft can dock with multiple spacecraft, and verify the key technologies such as automatic docking, manual docking, assembly operation and short-term stay of astronauts. At the same time, the orbital module in shenzhou spaceship has the functions of both living module and orbital module. After the return module landed, the orbital module can still remain in orbit to continue space scientific exploration and technical experiments, which has greatly improved.
At present, when Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin became the first astronaut to complete space travel in the world 196 1 years ago, people could not have predicted that manned space flight would have such a huge impact on the future development of mankind. The convenience brought by space science and technology to ordinary people in today's society is nothing more than satellite service: communication satellites make radio and television and long-distance communication endless; Navigation satellites allow people to travel accurately; Earth observation and geological exploration satellites make all kinds of disaster reduction and prevention work under control, thus reducing losses ... The achievements of space economic development driven by manned space technology have long been integrated into the lives of ordinary people: the vegetable bags in instant noodles originated from the vacuum dehydration technology in astronauts' food; All kinds of fashionable sports shoes, their "hollow blow molding" manufacturing technology, also get inspiration from the space suit design technology; Astronauts' technical achievements in resisting bone loss and muscle atrophy have been partially applied to the treatment of long-term bedridden patients ... By breaking through and mastering the key technologies of manned space flight, human beings have effectively promoted the development of energy, information, control and other fields, and promoted the development of electronics, manufacturing, chemical industry, metallurgy, textiles and other fields, which has produced huge pulling and radiation effects.
If we have to use figures to explain these 20 years, from the perspective of investment, we have spent 39 billion on technology research and development, sample development, flight product production, test facilities and equipment construction, ground test and flight test. From the production point of view, China has successfully mastered three basic technologies of manned space flight, namely, round trip between heaven and earth, astronauts leaving the cabin and rendezvous and docking, and built a relatively complete supporting system for manned space flight development, production, test launch and measurement and control. More than 900 national invention patents and scientific and technological progress achievements have been obtained, more than 2,000 technological achievements have been applied to various industries of the national economy, and the mass production of 1 100 new materials has benefited from space flight. Since 1987, more than 800 varieties of plant seeds have been tested in space breeding, and a large number of high-yield and high-quality crops have entered the dining tables of thousands of households. From new drugs to new materials, 80% of China's 1 100 new materials are completed under the traction of space technology. Twenty years ago, domestic high-tech fields and industries such as mobile communication, bioengineering, semiconductors, industrial automation control, new energy and system integration were either blank or lagged behind the international advanced level. Twenty years later, China people's gaps in these fields have been filled, and even in some areas, they have become a world-class phalanx. Manned space flight seems out of reach, but it moistens things as quietly as spring rain and sneaks into every aspect of our ordinary life.
China's manned spaceflight project has been developed for 20 years, and it is pragmatic and enterprising. As early as 1992, when the manned spaceflight project was launched, the older generation of researchers chose the road of self-reliance and innovative development in shenzhou spaceship through scientific comparison and advanced planning between the most popular space shuttle at that time and shenzhou spaceship independently developed by China. This is a hard road that can't be imitated and there are almost no lessons to learn from. Today, 20 years later, the space shuttle has retired from the historical stage, but shenzhou spaceship still shines brilliantly. This is the result of the pragmatic decision of the older generation of astronauts, and it is also the result of generations of astronauts forging ahead.
From Shenzhou-1 to Shenzhou-9, China people only fired nine "bullets" and built a space shuttle system to serve the future space station. Among them, whether it is Shenzhou 5's solo flight, Shenzhou VI's multi-person multi-day flight, Shenzhou VII's astronaut's extravehicular activity, or Shenzhou VIII's automatic rendezvous and docking, they are all step by step, maximizing benefits at the lowest cost, and achieving their goals with high efficiency and 100% success rate. From Shenzhou-1 to Shenzhou-9, the development of China's manned space program has become increasingly clear, and it also shows China's great power style of concentrating on major events and making continuous progress and exploration. The success of these nine spaceships not only improved people's livelihood step by step, but also promoted the industrial upgrading of the whole country.
As the most complex system engineering in the field of science and technology, China's manned spaceflight project has also accumulated rich experience in large-scale modern project management. The spillover benefits, economic appreciation and increasing returns to scale generated by the application of manned space technology are not only as simple as the input-output ratio from 1: 10 to 1: 12 calculated by some research institutions, nor can they be calculated by ready-made mathematical models.
In the past ten years, China's space industry has completed the exchange of new and old talents, and the average age of the backbone is less than 35 years old. This has to be attributed to the rapid development of manned space flight, which provides opportunities for personnel training and exercise. This large-scale, professional and comprehensive team of high-quality talents not only meets the development of the aerospace industry, but also provides talent and intellectual support for related fields. Manned space flight closely links the personal interests of practitioners with the national interests. China's breakthrough in manned space flight has inspired the patriotic pride of Chinese people again and again, as well as the enthusiasm of new people from generation to generation for rejuvenating the country through science and technology. This lofty aspiration will profoundly affect the future of China.
At present, taking the launch of the "Dragon" spacecraft to the International Space Station by American Space Exploration Technology Company as an example, the development of manned space flight has begun to extend its tentacles to the commercial field. This is a sign that manned space flight has reached a relatively mature stage. Prior to this, due to the "expensive" manned space flight, almost all space activities have been dominated by the government since human exploration of space. Only when scientific and technological achievements are transformed into a certain degree of economic benefits will "private enterprises" be willing to participate. However, in China, from the initial development of manned space flight, to relying on some imported equipment, to the complete localization of all equipment, it has the ability to export all kinds of satellites and equipment, and manned space technology has begun to emerge in terms of "export".
Not to mention the favorable influence on China's international reputation and prestige brought by being one of the few countries that have developed manned space flight in the world. In the future, by cooperating with other countries to develop manned space technology and space resources, China will be able to occupy a place in the world political, economic and scientific stage, and the development of China's manned space flight is a broad road to benefit people's livelihood and mankind.