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Huang Weilu (; 18 December 1916 – 23 November 2011) was a Chinese aerospace and electrical engineer who was a specialist in the
control systems A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial c ...
of missiles and rockets. The chief designer of JL-1, China's first submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), he 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 and the Highest Achievement Award of China's aerospace industry in 2006. 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 Republi ...
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 electe ...
.


Early life and education

Huang was born on 18 December 1916 in
Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
,
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
, Republic of China. After graduating from the Department of Electrical Engineering of
National Central University National Central University (NCU, ; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Kwet-li̍p Chung-yong Thài-ho̍k'', Wade–Giles: ''Kuo2 Li4 Chung Yang Ta4 Hsüeh2'' or ''中大'', ''Chung-ta'') is a public research university with long-standing traditions based in Taiw ...
in 1940, he went to work in the United Kingdom in 1943. In 1945, he entered
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
to study
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 ...
and earned his M.S. degree two years later.


Career

Huang returned to China in 1947 and worked as a research scientist in Shanghai. In 1958, he joined the Fifth Academy (aerospace research) of the
Ministry of National Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
with the military rank of colonel. He focused on solving technical issues of
control systems A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial c ...
for liquid-fuelled
intercontinental ballistic missiles An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
(ICBM), then being developed in China with the assistance of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. In 1965, the Fifth Academy was reorganized into the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building, and Huang was appointed director of Institute 12 under the ministry, in charge of developing the control systems for the Dongfeng missiles. He was transferred to Department 4 in 1970 and later took charge of the development of JL-1, China's first submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). His team solved a host of technical issues besetting the program, which was developed without Soviet assistance after the
Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
. Under Huang's leadership, the team developed subsystems such as underwater launching, high-altitude control, real-time calculations, aiming, and miniaturization, which altogether enabled China to become the fourth country in the world to successfully launch an SLBM. He also contributed to the development of China's second generation of ICBMs. Huang died on 23 November 2011 in Beijing, at the age of 94.


Honours and recognition

Huang was elected 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 electe ...
in 1986 and 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 Republi ...
in 1991. Huang was conferred a Special Prize of the
State Science and Technology Progress Award The State Science and Technology Prizes () are the highest honors conferred by the national government of the People's Republic of China in science and technology, in order to recognize citizens and organizations who have made remarkable contribut ...
in 1985 and the Qiu Shi Distinguished Scientist Prize in 1994. In 1999, Huang 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 2006, he was one of the five scientists who received the Highest Achievement Award for the first 50 years of China's aerospace industry, together with
Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineer ...
,
Ren Xinmin Ren or REN may refer to: Abbreviations * Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia * Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company * Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus * Ringer equivalence number ( ...
,
Tu Shou'e Tu Shou'e or Shou-ngo Tu (; 1917–2012) was a Chinese aerospace engineer who was a specialist in structural mechanics. Tu is famous as the chief designer of the Long March 2 rocket and China's intercontinental ballistic missile. Together with ...
, and
Liang Shoupan Liang Shoupan (; 13 April 1916 – 5 September 2009) was a Chinese aerospace engineer. The chief designer of China's first generation of anti-ship missiles including the HY-1 and HY-2, he is regarded as the "father of China's cruise missile prog ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Weilu 1916 births 2011 deaths Alumni of Imperial College London Chinese aerospace engineers Chinese colonels Chinese electrical engineers Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom Engineers from Anhui Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences National Central University alumni People from Wuhu