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A new voice in countdown

By Hu Yinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-26 07:37

JIUQUAN, Gansu: A new "Commander Zero" was responsible for the countdown of the Shenzhou VII Thursday.

It was the voice of Guo Zhonglai.

"What people will see in the media will be just a few seconds of my job. But it really all starts long before launch.

"I must be at the Shenzhou VII site at all times for a 10-hour period before the actual launch.

"I am responsible for orders to all units involved between then and the time Shenzhou VII enters initial orbit.

"Basically, that means no meals and no visits to the toilet," Guo said.

Since zero is the smallest number in a countdown, the commander-in-chief of Chinese space missions on launch day have been referred to as Commander Zero. The name came into being during China's launch of its first satellite, Dongfanghong 1, in 1970.

People had become accustomed to the voice of Guo Baoxin, responsible for the countdown of six previous Shenzhou missions.

A Commander Zero has to be very familiar with the nature and length of every pre-launch procedure, the people who carry it out, and what to do in an emergency.

Guo Zhonglai, 42, is no stranger to these tasks. He has been with the Jiuquan Launch Center for 17 years and has done the countdown for the launch of satellites.

But none of them were televised like last night.

"It made no difference whether or not my voice would be heard on TV. My most important task was to get the job done," Guo said.

Guo, a graduate of the National University of Defense Technology, has no regrets about being based at the desert site in northwestern Gansu province where no town is within 200 sq km of it.

"Initially, I did have second thoughts. The environment is harsh, and management is extremely strict," the native from Inner Mongolia, said.

"But now I like it."

Guo majored in liquid engineering, barely suitable for a civilian job. Realizing that, he decided to pursue his interests in space technology.

In 1993, he got married, and had a daughter three years later. He regrets he cannot spend as much time with his family as he does working on rockets and satellites.

"There must be sacrifices," he said. "We're a high-risk industry. Precision plays a very important role in every operation whether big or small. A single error can cause failure of a whole mission," Guo said.

He said he tends to forget about family burdens when a rocket is launched or when a spaceship is successfully recovered.

"It's like I myself am flying in space - a feeling beyond words," Guo said.

During his studies at the International Space University in France, he found that every time he spoke in class, the others would listen very carefully. Many even took notes.

"The reason people listened to me was because of our country's progress in the global space community," he said. "That assured me I was right in my job decision.

And what does it take to become a Commander Zero?

"A technically mature mind, a healthy body and a big heart," Guo said.