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 Long March 2 rocket family or Chang Zheng 2 rocket family as in Chinese pinyin is an expendable launch system operated by the People's Republic of China. The rockets use the abbreviations LM-2 family for export, and CZ-2 family within Chi ...

rocket and China's

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

. Together with Liang Shoupan, Huang Weilu and Ren Xinmin, Tu is considered one of the "Four Elders of China's Aerospace". He was granted the

Two Bombs, One Satellite Two Bombs, One Satellite ( zh, s=两弹一星, p=liǎng dàn, yī xīng) was a nuclear weapon, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and artificial satellite development program by the People's Republic of China. China detonated its first f ...

Merit Medal in 1999. Tu was elected a member of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

in 1991.

Early life and education

Tu was born in Nanxun,

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

in 1917. After completing his primary education in Zhejiang, he studied at Shanghai High School. The pervading sense of Japanese menace germinated an idea in his mind that China should have the independent capacity to manufacture planes. He was admitted to

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

in 1936 and entered its Aeronautical Engineering Department in 1938.

Career

After graduation, Tu worked at an aeronautical institute in Chengdu. He went to MIT in 1941 with full scholarship and received a master's degree there. Then Tu served Curtiss-Wright Corporation as a stress analyst, but he returned to China following the surrender of Japan in 1945, teaching at his alma mater as an associate professor and then as a professor. Tu reached Beijing after the university. Since the Adjustment of University Colleges & Departments in 1952, he was assigned to Beijing Aviation Institute. He had served successively as vice dean, dean and the assistant of president there. Later Tu was invited to serve the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of Defence in 1957. From then on, Tu plunged himself into Chinese missile and aerospace projects, especially its system design aspect. He was the deputy chief designer of Dongfeng 2 and Dongfeng 3, also the chief designer of Dongfeng 5 and Long March 2. He made several significant breakthroughs in the field. The vicissitudes of his life in the decade never rob his enthusiasm for search. He once completely absorbed in the formula during a struggle session, ignoring the impassioned speech. Tu felt very sorry for the ''Columbia'' disaster in 2003, but he also insisted that the progress of space science is unstoppable, while China "is still on track to launch its first manned spacecraft".

Personal

Tu joined in the CPC in 1948. Tu enjoyed

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

and classic music. He and his wife, Qiu Su (), had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tu, Shou'e 1917 births 2012 deaths Chinese aerospace engineers Engineers from Zhejiang Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences National Southwestern Associated University alumni Scientists from Huzhou Space program of the People's Republic of China Tsinghua University alumni