[Editor's note] In 2018, in order to rescue and excavate valuable school history materials, the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee organized the launch of the school history "oral history" collection project, and entrusted the library with the specific implementation。Over the past two years, the collection project recorded and saved 15,058 minutes of oral history data of 80 retired teachers, forming 1.6 million words of written data。In order to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the school, the Propaganda department of the Party Committee and the library combined with the collection of "oral history", carefully planned and produced, and launched the "Beili Story" series。It is hoped that teachers, students and alumni can draw strength from the wonderful stories, inherit the red gene, and work hard to build a world-class university with Chinese characteristics!

　　From 1958, the first large-scale planetarium principle prototype of New China was successfully developed, to 1976, the domestic large-scale planetarium replaced the German Zeiss planetarium and was officially put into use in the Beijing Planetarium。As the sun, moon and stars move by the stars, the "brilliant light" of BTU has depicted the "sky on earth" in the memory of generations of Chinese people, vividly interpreting the road of independent and self-reliant innovation of Chinese scientific researchers, and demonstrating the pioneering spirit of ambitious, innovative and inclusive of BTU people since its founding。

Narrator: Wu Shaohao

Retired faculty of Photonics

　　Beijing Planetarium, located outside Xizhimen, Beijing, built in 1957, is the first large planetarium in China and the first large planetarium in Asia。

Beijing Institute of Technology (now Beijing Institute of Technology) led the design and manufacture of China's first large-scale planetarium officially put into use

　　In the second floor of the new planetarium, quietly placed a light blue large equipment, which is designed and manufactured by the Beijing Institute of Technology (now Beijing Institute of Technology) led China's first officially put into use large-scale planetarium。For 31 years, from 1976 to 2007, the "brilliant light" of the Beijing Institute of Technology showed the universe to more than 20 million viewers, and became the collective memory of generations of Chinese people。

　　Few people know that the development work of large-scale planetarium, from the proposal to the formal "stage" display, has experienced a full 20 years of difficult exploration, and has condensed the dreams and feelings of a large number of Beili workers who are determined to strengthen the country。

　Present a gift to the country, cast "New China first" in 100 days

　　On July 1, 1958, Ma Zhiqing, secretary of the Party branch of the instrument Department of Beijing Institute of Technology, led the young teachers, all graduates of Class 8531 and more than 100 students of lower grades to solemnly swear under the party flag: Work for three months, make a celestial instrument, and present a gift to the 9th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China!

　　This oath, for Wu Shaohao who has just joined the work for two years, can be described as "unforgettable", because it is the true portrayal of the patriotic feelings of Beijing Institute of Technology teachers and students。In 1958, the new look of Chinese society moved all the Chinese people, so the "National Day gift" became the strongest expression of patriotic feelings of teachers and students。At the same time, "self-reliance, high speed to reach the top" became the main theme of the school's work, in this context, the teachers and students of the instrument department turned their eyes to one of the most complex optical instruments in the world at that time - a large planetarium。

The Beijing Planetarium was completed in 1957, and its original planetarium was Zeiss Type III, which was ordered by the famous Chinese astroscientist Li Yuan from the East German Zeiss company in Jena

　　The large planetarium integrates the optical system, mechanical structure and electrical control in one, which is one of the most complex large optical instruments in the world, and in the 1950s, only Germany had the design and manufacturing capability in the world。In 1957, the Beijing Planetarium was built, which was the first large-scale planetarium in China and the first large-scale planetarium in Asia. The planetarium used in the planetarium came from Germany。For China at the time, it was almost impossible to build a planetarium in just three months。However, the teachers and students of Beijing Institute of Technology "want to be higher than the heaven", "our four departments want to find the most cutting-edge (scientific and technological achievements) in our department", teachers and students "from scratch", starting from the basic knowledge of astronomy and the basic principles of the sky, launched a great scientific research and learning。

　　The first thing the young Wu Shaohao did was to sweep away the "sky illiteracy". They went to the Beijing Planetarium to observe and study the planetarium closely and understand its structure and working principle。We'll analyze it when we get back to school。In order to race against time to complete the dedication, they often stay up late to overcome technical difficulties, "We do not sleep is often, we were studying problems at the meeting, four or five people stood up to meet, standing up to fall asleep.。"Wu Shaohao recalled。Later, they simply moved the luggage to the workshop where the planetarium was built, and "called up to do something for a while, and slept there when there was nothing."。

　　Hard work pays off to those who wait，With the support of Beijing Planetarium，The instrument department teachers and students work day and night，From July 1958 to October 1958，It only took three months，Successfully developed the new China's first large-scale planetarium principle prototype，It was also demonstrated at the Beijing Planetarium，Arouse wide attention from all walks of life。Beijing Film Studio specially went to the school to film the production and installation process of the planetarium into a documentary, which was widely broadcast。

Left: China's first large-scale planetarium developed by teachers and students (the first principle prototype in 1958);Right: China's first large-scale planetarium principle prototype is demonstrated at the Beijing Planetarium

　　The successful demonstration of the large planetarium attracted the attention of the original Democratic Germany, the origin of the planetarium, and they could not imagine that in such a short time, China, with its very limited scientific and technological level, could independently make a planetarium。The former Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Germany in China specially sent people to watch the demonstration and praised the feat of the teachers and students of Beijing Institute of Technology。"After reading it, they turned around, didn't walk around, and asked a lot of questions。"Wu Shaohao recalled with pride。

　

　In January 1959, China's first "large planetarium" appeared on the cover of the first New Year issue of People's Illustrated

　　Although the first large-scale planetarium principle prototype in 1958 was still immature at the development level and its performance failed to meet the actual requirements, it was the exploration and practice of the complete technical system of the large-scale planetarium independently completed by the Chinese people, which successfully filled the gap in the field and achieved a historical breakthrough from scratch。

　　Scientific exploration, the creation of complex systems research system

　　虽然，The teachers and students of Beijing Institute of Technology have created another historical achievement of "the first of New China" with amazing energy，但是，The quest has only just begun，The pace of catching up with the world level is far from stopping，It is necessary to manufacture a high-level planetarium that truly meets the needs of applications，There are too many technical problems for them to solve。

　　In 1959, with the support of the school, the planetarium project was jointly undertaken by the Instrument Department and the school factory。And formulated the second stage of three large planetarium development plan, and then opened the 1960s planetarium "three brothers" development curtain。

　　On the basis of careful analysis and study of the technical data and objects of the planetarium imported from the former Democratic Germany，The project team found that its accuracy and effect could be improved，So start with the principle，Bold exploration，Creatively put forward the "Solar System core simulation scheme" for the operation of the planetarium，To make the motions of the planets in the solar system more realistic viewing habits，Thus, higher accuracy is obtained。This innovation makes the domestic planetarium fundamentally different from all the planetarium that adopts the "heliocentric" simulation scheme in the world, and finally walks out of a "road to planetarium" that belongs to the Chinese people and is independent and self-reliance.。

　

　　In the process of research and development, the project team has been adhering to the school's "pursuit of excellence, realistic and innovative" scientific spirit, and strive to strive for excellence in every detail。Because the teachers and students had to redesign the principle, there were numerous difficulties in the development process, "but these problems were solved.。It took a lot of effort, but it was worth it。Our program is not for new and new, the program in precision, structure than it (German planetarium) has advantages, we also go through。"Wu Shaohao said。

　

　　From 1959 to 1965, after six years of efforts, the project team carried out the third comprehensive improvement of the "solar system mechanism" of the planetarium, and in the spring of 1965, Beijing Institute of Technology developed a prototype of the planetarium with excellent performance, achieving the expected research goals。

　　The hard work on large-scale planetarium has improved the teaching and scientific research level of the school in many fields such as optoelectronics, control and machinery, making the scientific research level in related fields leading the country。

　　For the national casting, achievement across the century brilliant

　　Although the planetarium in 1965 reached the level of practical use, it was still an experimental equipment that stayed in the laboratory and never really put into practice。In 1973, the state decided to develop a large domestic planetarium that could reflect the achievements of ancient Chinese astronomy。Looking around the country, this task falls squarely on the Beijing Institute of Technology, which has a proud strength in this field。This time, Beijing Institute of Technology led the organization of Beijing Optical Instrument Factory, Beijing power equipment Factory and Beijing Planetarium, mobilized national resources to carry out a large collaboration, and opened a new round of development work。

　　In 1976, Beijing Institute of Technology designed and manufactured a large-scale planetarium with international leading level, and was officially demonstrated in the Beijing Planetarium。This planetarium is also the first large planetarium officially put into practical use in New China。

Beijing Science and Technology Education Film Studio in 1976, the documentary "Large sky Observatory"

　　After entering the planetarium, the planetarium was still facing the situation of being replaced by the German-made planetarium at any time, so Wang Daheng, honorary chairman of the Chinese Optical Association at the time, led the organization of a high-level planetarium identification meeting。The first task of the review was to measure and provide 100 years of astronomical data before the meeting。"There is no astronomical data for 100 years," in the face of this problem, the project team had to ask the industry for help, and the Purple Mountain Observatory calendar group calculated the positions of the gold, wood, water, fire, earth, sun and moon before and after 100 years for teachers and students。According to the data obtained, the teachers and students used their own developed planetarium for continuous testing for 100 years。The results of the test made everyone very excited: "The data of this 100 years is really very promising, the error is all within a small range, how small is this range?？Smaller than the principle error of the Zeiss instrument, in fact, definitely more than yours!"

　　"After repeated deliberation, we believe that although our equipment has its own creative aspects, some indicators are better than foreign countries.。Wang Daheng said at the identification meeting。The meeting held that the successful development of domestic large planetarium filled the gap in this area in China and entered the ranks of the few countries in the world that can manufacture large planetarium。Since then, the large planetarium developed by Beijing Institute of Technology replaced the original Democratic Germany planetarium and officially settled in the Beijing Planetarium。

Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission "Domestic Large Planetarium Identification"

　　

In 1976, it was officially used in the Beijing Planetarium

　　This one is full of Beijing workers' efforts，A large planetarium made by the whole country，It not only fills the gap of our country in this field，It embodies the comprehensive technical level in the fields of optics, machinery, control and astronomy，It has become a landmark achievement in the field of optical instrument research in China，It has also become one of the dazzling "New China's first" series of scientific and technological achievements in the history of Beijing Institute of Technology。

　　From 1976 to 2007, the large planetarium served in the Beijing Planetarium for 31 consecutive years, receiving more than 20 million viewers and becoming a collective memory for generations。

Major planetarium development events

　　"The reason why we can have a certain growth is because the party and the country, including schools, have created such opportunities for us to practice.。We have seized the opportunity and improved ourselves in the process of fulfilling our national tasks, making ourselves more capable of serving the work of the country。Looking back on the successful development of the large planetometer, Wu Shaohao deeply felt that the Party and the state, as well as the school, had a profound impact on the growth of his spiritual character。

　　In the twenty years of development, the teachers and students have always kept in mind the expectations and teachings of the school, learning with an open mind, the courage to innovate, and taking the road that has not been taken before;We should unite, help each other, work together, and give full play to the great advantages of socialist coordination.Continuous improvement, continuous progress, more than 20 years as a day of perseverance。It is this quality and belief that inspires generations of Beili workers to always serve the major strategic needs of the country on the road of scientific exploration, always aim at the forefront of world science and technology, commit to first-class, selfless dedication, and write a wonderful chapter of the same direction with the Party and the country。

　　

　　Twenty years of exploration, the achievement of the independent innovation of the "road to the celestial instrument";Thirty years of service to the people, writing the feelings of selfless dedication to the country;Over the past 80 years, BTECH has been committed to the mission of becoming a strong country.Facing the future and building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics, BEILI workers will always struggle!