December 4th,Egypt-2 satelliteThe successful launch is another landmark achievement of the China-Egypt Belt and Road Initiative.
With the support of the Ministry of Commerce, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the China National Space Administration and other units, the Egypt-2 satellite project is a landmark project for in-depth international cooperation in the field of aerospace high-tech. On the mission badge of Egypt-2, a ribbon connects the Great Wall of China with the Egyptian pyramids, and an optical remote sensing satellite unfurls solar sail panels to travel through space. The Egypt-2 satellite was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and adopted the joint development mode of China and Egypt, and the satellite data will be widely used in Egypt's agriculture, forestry, environmental disaster monitoring, urban planning and construction and other related fields. 
In the development of satellites, there are many differences between the Chinese side and the Egyptian side. For example, Egypt's satellite development team generally receives Western higher education and is more familiar with the spacecraft development standards of European and American countries, but has little knowledge of China's space standardsEgypt has a certain amount of satellite knowledge, but it is the first time that it has developed its own satellite in the whole process and all elements, and its engineering practice ability is still lacking.
How can these disparities be bridged?Chinese astronauts have come up with a "problem-solving" idea with Chinese characteristics - three orientations, namely, goal-oriented, problem-oriented, and development-oriented. 
The goal of the Chinese R&D team is very clear: to complete all the tasks of the Egypt-2 satellite AIT in New Cairo within a limited time, from the Chinese side as the leader and the Egyptian side as the auxiliary, to the Egyptian side as the leader and the Chinese side as the auxiliary, and finally realize the Egyptian side to complete the development of the entire satellite independently, and pass on China's space technology experience to the Egyptian astronauts. According to the original plan, the Chinese R&D team will work in Egypt for six months to solve a series of problems, including the development and testing of two initial satellites, the electric satellite and the mechanical thermal control satellite. They are used to test the electrical performance indicators of satellites, verify the mechanical properties and thermal characteristics of satellites, not only to lay the foundation for the development of positive sample satellites, but also to test the "hard power" of various experimental equipment in Egyptian AIT plants. In addition, the team will also complete the relevant work related to the development of the Egypt-2 positive sample star. However, due to various factors such as the global epidemic, the original half-year time has been reduced by half, but the workload of the Chinese research and development team has not been reduced. "The commander-in-chief of the Chinese R&D team urges us to work every day, and the most common thing he says is, 'time is tight'. The Egyptian designer said. Indeed, in recent years, China's aerospace industry has entered a period of high-density launches, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the four major launch sites are basically full, if the Egypt-2 satellite can not complete the factory review on time, it will not be able to catch up with this year's launch opportunity, as the so-called "one step late, one step late". Driven by the Chinese R&D team, Egyptian designers gradually understood and accepted the "Chinese speed", and better understood, recognized and adopted China's aerospace standards in their work, and the Sino-Egyptian joint R&D team became more and more tacit.
Before they met, they were already "old friends" who were in regular contact.
There is a six-hour time difference between Beijing and Cairo, and when the Chinese R&D team finished a day's work, they seamlessly switched to the Egypt-2 project and worked with the Egyptian R&D team through rounds of online meetings to clarify the satellite design plan. 
After arriving in Egypt, there was still some time difference between the Chinese team and the locals — Egyptians left work at 3 p.m., and every week.
5. Closed on Saturdays. Although the members of the Chinese R&D team are all high-achieving students, many of them are visiting Egypt for the first time, and the two sides still need some practical accumulation if they want to communicate without barriers. The most difficult thing to adapt to is the diet, thousands of miles away, even though everyone rarely expresses homesickness, but in the 3-month overseas trip, the "Chinese stomach" will always be faint**. What's more coincidental is that from the end of March to the end of April this year is the Ramadan month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and only enjoy "iftar" and "suhoor meal" before sunrise and after sunset. "During Ramadan, do we also have to follow the local customs?The Chinese developers asked, and the answer was a delicate box lunch. The Egyptian Space Agency specially ordered meals from a century-old local restaurant to entertain Chinese friends from afar. In November, the Egyptian R&D team embarked on a trip to China, they put on down jackets printed with the Chinese flag, walked along Dongfeng Lake with the Chinese R&D team, and more powerful runners began to run the marathon, among which two Egyptian friends performed exceptionally and rushed into the top five. At the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the earliest and largest space city in China, the Sino-Egyptian joint research and development team came to the last stop of the trip, and the Long March-2C carrier rocket carried out the launch mission to escort the Egypt-2 satellite into space.
After 48 hours of not closing his eyes, the overall chief designer of the Egyptian side stared at the data on the screen, checked every data, result and status in the satellite thermal vacuum and thermal equilibrium test, and repeatedly analyzed, interpreted and compared.
Looking at this scene, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese R&D team recalled what he looked like when he was young. At that time, he had just become the overall chief designer of the satellite, and for the first time as a core member, he was responsible for the whole process of satellite development. 
Different from other ground tests, in the vacuum tank of the AIT plant simulating the "cold black background" and "high vacuum" environment of space, the developers need to conduct 24-hour continuous tests on the satellite to ensure that the satellite can work effectively after it is put into orbit. For example, the thermal vacuum test needs to simulate the sunlight conditions, and the high-temperature and low-temperature conditions are continuously cycled many times, and the assessment process often needs to last for several days. "I can understand how they feel......Excited, excited, even if I go back to rest, I can't sleep well. The commander-in-chief of the Chinese R&D team said. During the thermal test of the Egypt-2 satellite, several members of the Egyptian team worked continuously, and the Chinese R&D team took turns on duty for 12 hours, and finally completed the test project as scheduled. In addition to work, the exchanges between the R&D personnel of the two sides have also deepened, from the single machine, sub-system, to the overall design, from the test requirements of a battery, to the mechanical test ...... of the whole satelliteThe Chinese R&D team can clearly feel the thirst of Egyptian designers for aerospace knowledge. In the face of complex and huge aerospace system engineering, scholars only feel that the time is too short and the sea of learning is endless. "Friend, I hope you can understand that I will not stay in this position forever, so I hope to leave more technical experience and method standards for the younger generations. The Egyptian designer said. In an instant, the Chinese designers thought of the older generation of Chinese astronauts, who started from scratch, paved the way forward for the aerospace industry with every sentence, page and manual, and laid a solid foundation for the development of the aerospace industry. It is precisely because of the continuous struggle of generations of astronauts that today's China's aerospace industry has achieved fruitful results. 
According to the implementation agreement signed between China and Egypt, the construction of Egypt-2 satellite includes a low-orbit optical remote sensing satellite, a ground tracking and control station and a ground application system, and the training of Egyptian technicians. After the satellite is launched, it is still necessary to carry out on-orbit tracking and control, satellite application and other mission plans, and the cooperation between China and Egypt in the field of space is still continuing. Yesterday (December 6), Zhang Kejian, Director General of the China National Space Administration, and Sharif Saidki, Director General of the Egyptian Space Agency, signed the "Memorandum of Understanding between the People's Republic of China and the Arab Republic of Egypt** on Space Cooperation and the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space" and the "Cooperation Agreement between the China National Space Administration and the Egyptian Space Agency on the International Lunar Research Station" in Beijing.
According to the cooperation document, the two sides encourage joint research and development cooperation in the fields of lunar and deep space exploration, spacecraft development and launch, space infrastructure construction, satellite data reception and application, BRICS remote sensing satellite constellation, space science and astronomical observation, and will cooperate in joint demonstration and research at international lunar research stations, space missions, space systems and subsystems, space equipment, ground segments and applications, education and training, and capacity building.
Under the connection of the "Belt and Road" and adhering to the cooperation principle of "extensive consultation, joint construction and sharing", the two ancient civilizations continue to write this space friendship with a "heavenly eye" that overlooks the earth from afar.
** Synthesized from China Aerospace News and China Aerospace
Edit |Lu Tianying
Proofreading |Zhang Mumu
Editor-in-Chief |Zhang Wenjun
Associate Editor-in-Chief |Ma Yujie