At that time, the space shuttle was developed to save the cost of entering space and reduce costs through multiple uses, but in fact, it was completely the opposite.
Take the retirement of later space shuttles as an example. As of 2011, the entire project had cost a total of US$196 billion. Each space shuttle cost US$12 billion and each launch cost US$450 million. The original idea was to save money by reusing it. The result is more expensive. Compare it with Dongfang's project. The cost of each Shenzhou spacecraft launch does not exceed 100 million.
Moreover, what's even more terrible is that two of the five space shuttles exploded. This safety rate is even more worrying.
The problems of the space shuttle are multifaceted. The biggest problem is that the main engine is installed on the butt of the space shuttle. The big thing hanging on the belly is just a fuel tank. In comparison, Lao Maozi's Buran is just a fuel tank. It is much safer. The space shuttle only has an engine for attitude adjustment and deceleration. The big thing hanging on the belly is the Energy rocket, which improves the reliability a lot.
It's a pity that the Red Empire collapsed early, otherwise, the Buran would probably be proud of space.
Now that the International Space Station is being built, the space shuttle also plays a big role. Almost all American modules are launched by the space shuttle, but its carrying capacity is definitely not as good as the domineering Starship Mk1, and its cost higher.
It would definitely be more appropriate if Starship Mk1 was used to launch it, but is this good?
How will the country view it? The space shuttle was relegated to limbo because of this? Since NASA has no money, the limited funds must first meet the needs of domestic aerospace operations.
Howard Hu rolled his eyes: "Mr. Qin, Starship Mk1 has only launched once, which is not enough to prove its reliability. We cannot give you the precious International Space Station module for launch. Moreover, then I’m afraid it will be difficult to transport large sections from our country.”
"These are not problems. If you decide to launch with our rocket, as long as you give us an advance payment, we can carry out the second launch. If we succeed twice, we will dispel your concerns. After the third launch When it is launched, it will be mature and there will be no problems. Moreover, we will also insure it to ensure safety. As for transportation, it is not a problem. Our An-225 can transport those big guys over on piggyback. "
The An-225 was used to carry the Buran on its back, and now of course it can also be used to transport modules of the International Space Station.
"Please consider our proposal. Doing so will also help eliminate misunderstandings. Your reputation in the international community is not very good recently. If we can work together, it will definitely be a good news."
There are tangible benefits in terms of profit, and there are benefits in terms of reputation. If the other party still doesn't agree, then Qin Tao has nothing to say. If it's time to suppress, continue to suppress, and if it's time to build momentum, continue to build momentum.
Howard Hu thought seriously for a few minutes: "I personally think this is a good thing that is beneficial to both of us. However, I have to report it to my superiors. Also, are you sure that as long as we cooperate in the space field, we can eliminate misunderstandings?" , asking you to give up the Starlink project?”
"I can guarantee that as long as we can continue to cooperate, the Starlink project will be frozen indefinitely." Qin Tao said.
"good."
After Howard Hu got a positive answer, he left the conference room and embarked on the return journey. After he left, Max walked over from the side room.
"Max, what do you think?" Qin Tao asked.
"It would be the best choice to cooperate with NASA. After all, our starship carrying capacity is too strong. Apart from the construction of the International Space Station, I really can't think of anything that will require us to transport in the future." Marks said.
"In this case, let's cooperate more. If we contract the construction of the International Space Station, we can form a healthy development trend." Qin Tao said.
Max nodded.
Starlink is important, but it is definitely not as good as flying to Mars. With NASA's support, they can conduct multiple launches every year, and there are still people paying for it. Of course he is happy to see this.
As for the current public opinion, it can change at any time: NASA bowed its head and compromised with Starship Company! It would also put Starship on the map.
Since Max agreed and didn't get emotional, then the matter is settled. Howard said it was a report, but in fact it was just a process. Moreover, Max can also go to the United States and work out his connections at NASA. His ability as a person Still very strong.
After this relaxing trip, Qin Tao returned to the capital with his wife and others. As soon as he returned, he attended a meeting of the aerospace department.
"We are really ashamed. What our aerospace department failed to do, Mr. Qin did." After entering the conference room, Mr. Qi first said: "Back then, when we heard that we were going to build the International Space Station, we rushed there. If you want to join, who would have thought that neither the United States, China, nor even the European Space Agency would pay attention to us or take us along."
After the collapse of the Red Empire, relations between the East and the West were harmonious. At that time, the International Space Station was highly anticipated. Of course China Aerospace also wanted to join, but was rejected.
Even the European Space Agency looks down upon Dongfang and feels that Dongfang has no capabilities. When the manned space project was approved, they held their breath. If you don't lead us, then we can do it ourselves!
Chinese astronauts have ideals, ambitions, and the ability to realize their ideals. In future generations, with the end of the International Space Station, the Chinese Space Station will become the only spacecraft in orbit in the world. If foreigners want to go to space for a long time If you want to stay, you have to come to China and learn Chinese!
You used to be indifferent to me, but I will make it impossible for you to reach higher in the future!
Qin Tao also respects these astronauts very much. When he heard Mr. Qi say this, Qin Tao quickly shook his head: "Mr. Qi, we are guerrillas, and you are the regular army. Now, our manned space project is progressing smoothly. , I guess the first unmanned spacecraft will be launched soon, right?”
According to the timetable of China's manned space program, Shenzhou 1, the first unmanned test spacecraft, must be launched in 1998 to ensure that it can enter space in 1999. Now, Qin Tao came to attend the aerospace conference and asked here by the way.
"We are currently preparing intensively and strive to send God One to heaven this year." Mr. Qi said: "Now, according to our three-step plan for manned spaceflight, sooner or later we will build a large-scale manned International Space Station. You The guerrillas have the world’s most powerful rockets, and when the time comes, we will be counting on you.”
Qin Tao quickly shook his head: "No, no, our aerospace department still has to follow its own footsteps and develop a high-thrust rocket engine. Our plan of using a parallel engine is just a trick. Your regular army still has to follow the path of the regular army."
While the aerospace department is developing the Shenzhou spacecraft, it is of course also developing advanced rockets. This is the famous Fat Five. Qin Tao does not want to delay the development of the Fat Five for his own reasons. In the future, he will have to use the Fat Five to build a space station. Plant a big guy.
If we don't continue to engage in research and development, there will be a gap. Especially the Fat Five not only has great thrust, but also changes the fuel. From the combination of undimethylhydrazine and nitric acid to the combination of liquid oxygen and kerosene, it is A huge leap forward.
"We will talk about this space station in the future. However, our Beidou will be launched into the sky soon. If your starship mk1 can be launched, we will give you the launch mission of one of them." Mr. Sun said.
The happiest person this time is of course Mr. Sun. Under the blow of a series of combined punches, the proposal to cancel the S-band will definitely not be passed. The trap blocking Beidou is gone, how can he be unhappy?
Therefore, the Beidou launch mission can also be handed over to the Starship Company, allowing them to make some money.
Qin Tao shook his head: "Starship Mk1 has just carried out a launch, and its performance is not very stable. What if it explodes? Even if there is compensation from the insurance company, it will hinder our Beidou network. This cannot be delayed."
If Howard Hu were here, he would definitely be very annoyed. Where is the safety you are so proud of? Your Beidou is important, but our International Space Station is not?
Of course, this is not the most important thing, the important thing is another point.
"Moreover, our Starship Mk1 is a two-stage rocket. It is currently only suitable for launching satellites in short-range orbits and medium-range orbits, and is not suitable for synchronous orbits."
Generally speaking, a three-stage rocket is used to launch a geostationary satellite. The first-stage rocket is the largest and ignites first to push the rocket out of the atmosphere. After falling off, the second-stage rocket ignites to push the whole thing forward and reach a low-Earth circular orbit. This Even if the launch is temporarily over, check it on the circular orbit. If there is no problem, the three-stage rocket will ignite, and the projectile will move centrifugally, changing from a circular orbit to an elliptical orbit.
If the thrust is small, one time is not enough. You have to wait until it returns to the position where it was just ignited, that is, the perigee, and then ignite it. Continue to push the projectile to fly. The ellipse will become more elliptical, and the apogee will finally fly to 36,000 kilometers. The height of the synchronous orbit, if calculated in radius, is 42,000 kilometers.
At this apogee, the three-stage rocket continues to ignite, pushing the missile to fly along a circular orbit, and finally settles on the equator, which is considered a success.
Therefore, the launch of geostationary satellites is the most difficult. The domestic Long March 2 cannot do this job. The Long March 3 is needed. This rocket is specially developed for the launch of geostationary satellites. The third stage uses a special Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines are suitable for vacuum environments and have high specific impulse.
In fact, Starship Mk1 can also complete the launch mission. After all, it is powerful and does not require complicated orbit changes. It can be launched directly into the sky and directly reach an orbital altitude of 36,000 kilometers. However, he Don't dare to take risks. If the starship explodes, it will seriously hinder the Beidou-1 network.
After hearing Qin Tao's words, Mr. Sun nodded: "Okay, then when we want to launch close-range satellites in the future, we will contact your starship company. By the way, how is your starlink doing?"
"What else can we do? We were forced to give up under the coercion of the Americans." Qin Tao said, "The imperialists are determined to destroy me."
His words were just a joke, but everyone present turned serious.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Qin Tao asked curiously.
"President Qin, our aerospace development is faced with many difficulties and we face severe external pressure," Mr. Qi said.
"There is motivation only when there is pressure. We will break through whatever others have blocked. Don't be afraid." After Qin Tao finished speaking, he thought of something: "However, we still have to be careful. We old experts should try to avoid going abroad as much as possible. activities, especially going to the United States for conferences.”
Everyone's expressions became more serious. The meaning in Qin Tao's words was very clear. The other party could not suppress it secretly, but he might be playing it openly!
"Okay, let's have a meeting. The first topic of this meeting is that our Beidou satellite will be launched soon. This is a new beginning for our domestic navigation industry." Mr. Qi said: "Now , please tell us the progress of the project."
"Okay, let me tell you something. Beidou is scheduled to be launched within a month. The latest launch window is five days later..."
So fast? Qin Tao is very excited. This means that the domestic navigation system will be released soon. In the future, the navy will not have to rely entirely on GPS when it is on the ocean. The system will fall off at any time.
After Mr. Sun finished the introduction, he looked at Qin Tao: "Now, Mr. Qin, please tell us about the application of Beidou client."
Qin Tao came to the meeting not only because of the recent actions of Mingzhou Group, but also because they have been the research and development unit of the Beidou client from the beginning.
Qin Tao picked up a tablet: "Everyone, this is our civilian terminal."
so small? Everyone's eyes widened.
"It uses a 7-inch LCD monitor produced by BOE as the display device. It is equipped with our latest 0.13 micron process chip inside, which generates less heat. It uses a built-in battery that can be used for six hours. When using external power, it has unlimited battery life."
"What is this display for?"
"Yes, it's just a coordinate display. Is it really necessary?"
In this day and age, LCD screens are still very expensive and easily broken. Qin Tao was swinging this civilian receiving terminal back and forth for fear of accidentally dropping it.
"If it's just to display coordinates, of course it doesn't need to be so big, but if you want to display a map, this screen is just right."
"map?"
"Yes, our Goose Factory is developing Beidou navigation software. The key is the digital map. After using the Beidou terminal and the digital map, you can know where you are more intuitively, set the destination, and then choose the navigation route. .”
Destination, navigation?
Everyone felt incredible.
"Right now, we have only mapped the streets of the capital." Qin Tao said, "We are now at the Second Aerospace Academy. I can set the destination to Gongzhufen."
Qin Tao said as he began to slide the cotton swab on it.
The technology of this era is still backward.
Take touch screen technology as an example. It has become very common in later generations, but now, there are only a few devices with this kind of operation capability.
The theory of touch screens was proposed in the 1940s, but it was not until the 1970s that Professor Sam Hurst, who taught at the University of Kentucky, invented resistive touch that uses pressure to change current transmission. After improvements, it was used in computers. on the drawing.
In the 1980s, Dr. Bob Bowin of Bell Labs developed a multi-touch screen based on capacitive touch technology. Users could draw images at different locations on the screen at the same time, which was considered a true multi-touch Operation screen.
In the 1990s, there were even more. For example, in 1993, IBM and the telephone company Bellsouth jointly released Simon, the first mobile phone product that combined a touch screen and a telephone. This mobile phone came with a calendar, address book and notepad. It’s considered a smartphone.
However, these are very expensive and have not been widely used. The navigation terminal Qin Tao is holding now is of course a high-end product.
In addition to touch screens, another technology is storage.
If it is just a simple receiving terminal, then a capacity of tens of megabytes or at most one to two hundred megabytes is enough. However, if you want to put a digital map, no matter how big the capacity is, it will not be too big.
When designing this terminal, technicians considered using a laptop's 2.5-inch hard drive, which would be enough to hold the entire domestic digital map. However, whether the hard drive would be damaged early on a bumpy vehicle has always been a concern. Therefore, I still use memory cards. At most, I have one memory card for each city. When I go to different cities, I just need to change different memory cards. The machine itself is loaded with the national main road traffic map.
In a few years, the storage problem will no longer be an issue.
"Mr. Qin, your technology is so advanced that you actually have such a good thing." Watching Qin Tao operate, the aerospace experts on the side sighed.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that either."
Qin Tao doesn't know how to do everything by himself, which would make him exhausted. He is used to delegating power. Anyway, he entrusts only capable people.
After recently observing ***, he wanted to use technical means to help vehicle formations position themselves better. When his proposal was sent to Loongson Company, he discovered that this thing already existed, as long as it was based on this tablet navigation Just add a camera and change the program.
Now, Qin Tao brought it to the aerospace department meeting.
Veteran drivers are all living maps, and new drivers in the future can use dumb things.
"Navigate to Gongzhufen Courtyard. The system path has been planned. Please confirm the method." The big tablet rang, and it actually had a voice function!
"This device is mainly used for vehicles. When driving, the driver can use the corner of his eyes to look at the screen, but this may miss information, such as turning left, turning right, etc., and a voice reminder is required." Qin Tao The introduction said: "At present, this system still has many imperfections, and it will be gradually added in the future."
Qin Tao thought about the voice package. He could choose Lin Chiling or Guo Degang. Don't rush with these, take your time.
"For vehicles?" Mr. Sun opened his eyes wide: "Then there will be a lot of clients, right?"
In the 1990s, the number of private cars continued to develop. For example, in 1990, the number of private cars was only 816,000. However, after that, private cars began to grow at an average annual rate of 23%.
Now, there are already millions of private cars. Coupled with the large number of public buses, even if only one-tenth of them are equipped with navigation terminals, it is still a market of hundreds of thousands!
"Our Beidou hasn't been launched yet, how come your navigation can start?" someone asked.
"We have adopted a dual-mode approach. In addition to the Beidou module, there is also a GPS module." Qin Tao said: "This way the navigation will be more accurate. We cannot confuse users, otherwise it will affect our reputation. Of course, the name of our navigation terminal is still called Beidou Navigation."
Rather than being registered by an unrelated organization and then making money by defrauding patriotism, it is better to do it yourself, generously, Beidou Navigation!
"In the future, when our second- and third-generation navigation systems are launched, the GPS can be removed. However, this kind of module does not cost much, and it can be built-in. After all, we must not only rely on patriotism, but also rely on strength to win customers. recognition.”
Things for civilian use still have to rely on strength.
Everyone nodded.
"In the civilian market, there are vehicles and ships. We expect there to be millions of terminals. These terminals are enough to support our Beidou project. In the military market, there are even more. Our ground combat vehicles, airborne Aircraft and maritime ships will all be equipped with Beidou modules. At present, the equipment manufactured by our Mingzhou Group has been reserved and can be installed at any time. Moreover, we have also developed a special module that can be installed on bombs to become accurate. Guided bombs.”
Speaking of precision-guided weapons, Jedam is definitely a star. It is modified from an ordinary aerial bomb. Without wasting previous ammunition, it can be transformed into a satellite navigation terminal, control system, inertial navigation and other system components. It has become a precision-guided killer.
The previous precision guidance used lasers. Although the accuracy was high, it had great limitations: the carrier aircraft or ground personnel had to continuously illuminate the laser beam, which was easily affected by weather such as clouds and fog, and was expensive. Jedam is cheap, just throw it away.
Of course, the Jeddam bomb also has its shortcomings. It can only deal with fixed targets and is helpless against moving targets. However, this is already very good.
There are currently no advanced precision-guided bombs in China. With the Beidou terminal, this attack capability can be achieved.
"Yes, our weapons must use a large number of Beidou terminals. Even various ground attack missiles can be added with this module to improve accuracy. Our Dongfeng-21d also needs to use this Beidou terminal to assist positioning. "An expert present spoke.
Qin Tao felt his eyelids beating: "Have our anti-ship ballistic missiles been developed maturely?"
Anti-ship ballistic missiles are the anti-aircraft carrier killer that Qin Tao has longed for. They had demonstrated this kind of missile when there was a crisis back then, but they did so in a tricky way. Now, have they truly matured? ?
Now that these land-based ones are available, sea-based ones are not far away, right?
