Chen Fangyun (; 3 April 1916 – 29 April 2000) was a Chinese
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...
. Considered the founder of
radio electronics
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
in China,
he was pivotal in the development of
telemetry
Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", and ' ...
, tracking and command (TT&C) systems that control China's satellites and missiles, and in the early development of the
BeiDou
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...
satellite navigation system. He was an academician of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Repub ...
and the
International Academy of Astronautics
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996.
The IAA has elect ...
, and was awarded the
Two Bombs, One Satellite
Two Bombs, One Satellite () was an early nuclear and space project of the People's Republic of China. ''Two Bombs'' refers to the atomic bomb (and later the hydrogen bomb) and the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), while ''One Satellite'' ...
Meritorious Medal in 1999. The
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...
10929 Chenfangyun is named after him.
Early life and education
Chen was born on 3 April 1916 in
Huangyan,
Taizhou,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...
, Republic of China.
He graduated from Huangyan County Middle School in 1931 and Shanghai Pudong High School in 1934.
He entered
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...
in 1934 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics in 1938. While a student at Tsinghua, he participated in the
December 9th Movement of 1935 against
Japanese aggression in North China.
Career
During the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...
, Chen taught and conducted research at Tsinghua University's Radio Research Institute and later worked at the Chengdu Radio Factory.
After the end of the war, he went to Britain in 1945 and worked for three years as a researcher at the
A.C. Cossor radio factory.
Chen returned to China in 1948. He was one of the scientists who established the Institute of Electronics of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Repub ...
.
At the institute, he developed the world's first measuring device for
ultrashort pulse
In optics, an ultrashort pulse, also known as an ultrafast event, is an electromagnetic pulse whose time duration is of the order of a picosecond (10−12 second) or less. Such pulses have a broadband optical spectrum, and can be created by m ...
, used to ascertain the level of radiation in nuclear explosions.
In 1964, he developed China's first
anti-jamming radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
for aircraft.
In the early 1970s, Chen began researching and developing
telemetry
Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", and ' ...
, tracking and command (TT&C) systems that control satellites tens of thousands of kilometers away from earth. The TT&C system he proposed was crucial in the successful launch of China's first
geosynchronous
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbita ...
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Ear ...
in April 1984, and he was conferred the Special Prize of the
State Science and Technology Progress Award the next year.
Based on Chen's pioneering work, a network of TT&C systems has since been deployed to control China's satellites and missiles.
He also put forward theories and proposals leading to the creation and early development of
BeiDou
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...
, the Chinese
satellite navigation
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location ( longitude, latitude, and altitude/ elevation) to hi ...
system built as an alternative to the American
Global Positioning System, and is considered a founder of BeiDou.
In March 1986, Chen and three other prominent scientists—
Wang Daheng
Wang Daheng (; 26 February 1915 – 21 July 2011) was a Chinese optical physicist, engineer, and inventor widely considered the "father of optical engineering" in China. He was a founding academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and t ...
,
Wang Ganchang
Wang Ganchang (; May 28, 1907 – December 10, 1998) was a Chinese nuclear physicist. He was one of the founding fathers of Chinese nuclear physics, cosmic rays and particle physics. Wang was also a leader in the fields of detonation physic ...
, and
Yang Jiachi
Yang Jiachi (; 16 July 1919 – 11 June 2006) was a Chinese aerospace engineer and a specialist in satellite control and automation. A participant in the development of China's first satellites and the developer of the attitude control system for ...
—wrote a letter to
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
advocating the development of strategic technologies.
Deng accepted their proposal, which gave birth to the influential
863 Program
The 863 program () or State High-Tech Development Plan () was a program funded and administered by the government of the People's Republic of China intended to stimulate the development of advanced technologies in a wide range of fields for th ...
, named after the date of their letter.
Chen died on 29 April 2000, at the age of 84.
Honours and recognition
Chen was elected an academician of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Repub ...
in 1980.
He was also an academician of the
International Academy of Astronautics
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996.
The IAA has elect ...
and served as Vice President of the
International Astronautical Federation
The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay ...
.
Chen was awarded the
Two Bombs, One Satellite
Two Bombs, One Satellite () was an early nuclear and space project of the People's Republic of China. ''Two Bombs'' refers to the atomic bomb (and later the hydrogen bomb) and the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), while ''One Satellite'' ...
Meritorious Medal in 1999.
The
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...
10929 Chenfangyun, discovered by the
Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program in 1998, is named after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Fangyun
1916 births
2000 deaths
Chinese electrical engineers
Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom
Engineers from Zhejiang
Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Scientists from Taizhou, Zhejiang
Tsinghua University alumni