The roar of the blastoff, the sound of cheering crowds, thunderous flames and their magnificent vapor trails streaking the sky… Every rocket launch gathers aficionados and photographers alike; the generated heatwaves on site are like an outpour of emotions, pride and patriotism time and time again.

Before flying out to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China to document the launch of the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft on May 29, 26-year-old Zhang Jingyi had just wrapped up shooting the takeoff of China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-4 on May 10 in Hainan Province. Zhang has turned her passion into a profession and documents taikonauts, launches, celestial events, and much more, for future generations.

With over 2 million followers on Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent, she has become one of the most recognizable shutterbugs in the field of astrophotography, the photography or imaging of astronomical objects or areas of the night sky.

Gazing into the sky 

Zhang's stunning image of the dragon-shaped aurora borealis, or northern lights, over Iceland on February 6, 2019, was retweeted by NASA, which rarely reposts photos of the phenomena. The Astronomy Picture of the Day website also posted the picture and China Central Television hailed it as "the most beautiful of auroras."

Astrophotography differs from many other kind of photography in that it is inherently very technical. Photographers are almost exclusively working with very deep exposures and generally need a telescope—or a powerful telephoto lens. "It is a super technical field. It's a photography method that is less likely to be digitally altered. A lot is going on behind the scenes to create those images," Zhang told Beijing Review.

Iceland, with its rugged landscape and luminous night sky phenomena, has long been a mecca for professional and amateur photographers. Upon her arrival in the Nordic country to capture the aurora in February 2019, a blizzard blocking all the roads leading to the site meant Zhang and her team had to throw out the original plan and come up with an alternative.

"We had to change our destination and head to south Iceland. Temperatures outside dropped to more than 10 degrees Celsius below zero," she said.

After a few hours, Zhang was chilled to the bone but stayed put, kneeling in the snow, to complete her mission.

"I was lucky to witness this natural phenomenon when I was out there. Capturing this on camera was an amazing experience," Zhang said. "And I think that, as with all things in life, if you love doing something, you'll always be motivated."

Fly me to the moon 

Once you've photographed one kind of rocket, you'll want to capture more types, because they all come with their own peculiarities; it's like collecting stamps, Zhang said.

"Each one is amazing and grand in its own right," she added, "A launch is something you have to experience for yourself; it may only last a few seconds, but it's worth a two or three weeks' wait."

But outer space has never been too far from Zhang's home. Her husband works in the aerospace industry, "and so I was fortunate to be there when Tianwen-1 (China's first Mars mission)launched two years ago," she said.

In July 2020, at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan, Zhang photographed a rocket for the first time in her life. "I just fell in love with the launch," she said.

Sometimes you just have to expect the unexpected.

In late 2020, a rocket launch was delayed two or three days because of poor weather conditions, "And then we just had to wait out the storm," she recalled. 

The recently launched Tianzhou-4 appeared in the sky for merely five seconds, and visibility was near-zero due to the foggy weather. "Everything was literally a fog. We basically couldn't see a thing, and were just clicking away," Zhang laughed.

In the past two years, Zhang has visited four launch sites and watched 16 takeoffs. "My husband's work has always been a bit of a mystery to me," she said. From her initial confusion, Zhang's personal change started at the launch site.

"Every time I'm standing there, I feel so lucky to witness these times of rapid growth in Chinese aerospace technology," she said. 

Manned spaceflights, China's lunar exploration—the Chang'e program, the space probe, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, "All these great events that make China proud, they've all occurred in my lifetime," she continued.

Since the launch of Tianwen-1, Zhang has been on site for every major space launch, each one bringing tears to her eyes. "What is even more touching is the story behind each launch," she said. The persistence, meticulousness, bravery and dedication of countless workers in the field of aerospace technology have made people see the brilliance of China's aerospace industry.

"I often think that if I could go back in time, like 60 years, I would like to thank the forefathers of China's aerospace industry for dedicating their youth to today's development."

"More than 60 years later, our taikonauts make regular trips into space, we've built a space station, we've been to the Moon and Mars and we will be exploring Jupiter and the frontiers of the solar system soon. Our generation has also begun recording the development of China's spaceflight and our own hopes for the field," she added.

By doing what she does, Zhang hopes to tell the world about the major contributions of China's taikonauts, who are, in her words, "as dynamic as the rockets they travel in."

As far as personal dreams go, Zhang's goal is to get her photographs posted by NASA nine times exactly. And that countdown is on.

Printed edition title: Girl Meets Space 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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