The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center's rocket operation team is driving manpower efficiency for the Shenzhou 20 manned spaceflight mission.
The team, formed to meet frequent space launch demands, is tasked with assembly and testing operations for both onboard and ground systems of rockets, a key role in ensuring the success of the Shenzhou-20 manned mission.
Ahead of the mission, the team simulated the plug separation on a mock rocket.
Built on previous launch missions, the team developed a human resource management approach for rocket operations, which includes training programs, career development plans, operational guides, and tools to assess and assign tasks based on individual skills. These measures can boost workforce efficiency and readiness.
"In the regular trainings, we focus on teammates' education backgrounds and train them for multiple roles. We also evaluate the risks associated with each post, and carry out assessments on each member in terms of theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and psychological aptitude. This helps us develop a competence matrix and enables us flexible deployment and role assignments during missions," said He Pengju, an engineer of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch.
The team, consisting of both seasoned engineers and young operators, actively explored the path of talent cultivation, adopted a sand-table approach in their work, which features detailed explanations of rocket construction, appropriate manpower deployment, and thorough risk assessments. This greatly improves efficiency.
"In the Shenzhou-20 mission, the team members will see their operational skill further expanded. The rocket operation team not only undertakes on-board operations, but also some ground operations. On-board and ground operations of the rocket are integrated, and manpower efficiency will be further improved," said Lei Fugui, an engineer of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch.
The combination of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area, and the spaceship will be launched at an appropriate time in the near future, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center improves manpower efficiency of rocket operation team
Artists have reimagined ancient themes through a modern lens at the 60th Venice Biennale China National Pavilion Exhibition, now underway in Shanghai.
The main feature of the exhibition is a fully immersive project by artist Che Jianquan, who has placed consecutive screens placed side by side to present his two-decade-long documentation of the same pavilion since 2003.
Through his lens, the artist captures the pavilion, as it emerges and disappears amidst mist and clouds, evoking the aesthetic of misty landscapes in traditional Chinese ink paintings.
"At the beginning, I wanted to use painting to document my feeling, but later I realized that painting was somewhat powerless. So, starting in 2003, I began using the earliest video equipment to start recording. What I care about more is a place—a very small location—and the unique connection it has within that field to history and to the culture of that region. I think this is something I hope to achieve: through a seemingly ordinary scene, to uncover the stories behind it, as well as its possible influence on both the past era and the present," said Chen.
Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale is one of the premier events in the global art world. This year, the China National Pavilion Exhibition, under the theme "Atlas: Harmony in Diversity," presents not only the documentary archives of 100 Chinese paintings held overseas, but also seven contemporary artworks created by seven Chinese artists exploring themes, such as architecture, landscapes, figures, flora and fauna.
"The core of the Venice Biennale is contemporary art, reflecting the spirit of the present era—yet the present and history cannot be separated. This exhibition is rooted in the tradition of Chinese painting across dynasties, drawing from over 20,000 individual works that took us twenty years to collect globally," said Wang Xiaosong, an artist and the curator of the exhibition.
"Notably, we discovered that more than 3,000 of these paintings had been lost overseas, which we spent two decades retrieving through digital tools. This is how we engage with traditional art: through each artist's reflection and a new understanding of the relationship between the ancients, the present, and the future," he added.
Wang drew special attention to a piece by the modern artist Qiu Zhenzhong, who he said merges the art of Chinese gardens with calligraphy using traditional methods to showcase contemporary issues such as environmental and ecological change.
"It's like a dialogue with nature," Wang said.
The exhibition in Shanghai is the final stop of the national tour, following the legs in the southwest Chinese city of Chongqing and the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, and will run until May 31.
Exhibition in Shanghai bridges contemporary art with centuries of Chinese artistic tradition
