Ren Xinmin | |
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任新民 | |
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| Born | (1915-12-05)5 December 1915 |
| Died | 12 February 2017(2017-02-12) (aged 101) |
| Alma mater | National Central University Chongqing Ordnance School affiliated to Military Ministry University of Michigan |
| Known for | participant in the Two Bombs, One Satellite Project |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aeronautics |
| Institutions | University at Buffalo Institute of Military Engineering China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation |
Ren Xinmin (Chinese:任新民;pinyin:Rén Xīnmín;Wade–Giles:Jen Hsin-min; 5 December 1915 – 12 February 2017) was a Chinese aerospace engineer and a specialist in astronautics and liquid rocket engine technology. He was the technical director of theLong March 1 rocket, which launched theDong Fang Hong I, China's first satellite, and the chief designer of Chinese storable propellant rocket engine.[1] He was also the chief designer for theLong March 3 launch vehicle,Fengyun, and SJ (Shijian) series satellites.[2]
Together withHuang Weilu,Tu Shou'e, andLiang Shoupan, Ren was considered one of the "Four Elders of China's Aerospace", only surpassed byQian Xuesen, the founder of China's aerospace industry.[3] He was awarded theTwo Bombs, One Satellite Merit Medal in 1999.[4] Ren was elected a member of theChinese Academy of Sciences in 1980.[2]
Ren Xinmin was born on 5 December 1915, inNingguo,Anhui Province.[2][3] When he was a middle school student, he joined theCommunist Youth League. He studiedchemical engineering at theNational Central University inNanjing. After the outbreak of theSecond Sino-Japanese War in 1937, he took refuge inChongqing where he studied gun design at the National Institute of Technology, Ministry of Military Administration. He worked at an armoury after graduation in 1940. Ren attended theUniversity of Michigan in 1945, where he obtained his MS and PhD.[2][5]
After the Second World War, Ren read a book authored by Qian that roused his interest in rocket science. When he returned to China in 1949, he arrived in Nanjing and was offered a research fellowship until 1952, when he left forHarbin. In those three years, Ren and his colleagues attempted to launch a tiny rocket, though experimentation was never completed.[5]
Despite Ren's specialisation in mechanical engineering, he was appointed as the director of rocket teaching and research section to teach the solid-propellant rocket course at the Institute of Military Engineering.[3]
Ren was then recruited by theFifth Academy of theMinistry of Defence in 1956. His first task was incorporating the design and technology to replicate theR-2 rocket with the assistance ofSoviet experts.Dongfeng 1, a licensed version of the R-2 with limited maximum range, was launched smoothly in 1960. Ren was appointed as the chief designer and helped develop theDongfeng 2, a medium-range rocket, in 1961.[3]
A colleague recalled, in a 2014 documentary, Ren leading a successful five-day march in 1967 in the cold western desert seeking a downed test rocket as one anecdote from his long career.[6]
Ren served as Vice Minister of theSeventh Ministry of Machine Building from 1975 until 1982, when he was moved to the Ministry of Aerospace Industry. There, the331 Project, to build and launch a communication satellite, was successfully implemented. Ren was in charge of its five sections as chief engineer[7] and was nicknamed the "Chief Chief Engineer (总总师)".[3]
Ren's insistence on applying LOX/LH2 rocket engines led to the success of the Long March 3 in 1984, even though he had suffered numerous failures, and then faced the resulting backlash. He had also been a dedicated promoter of China's crewed spaceflight and space station projects since the 1980s.[8]
Ren married Yu Shuangqin (Chinese:虞霜琴), the daughter of aNationalist government official, in 1944.[9]
Ren died on 12 February 2017, in Beijing, aged 101 (102 inEast Asian age reckoning).[3] His wife and children survived him.[6]
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| National | |
