Chapter 682: Requests From Major Sponsors

Caise p Chapter Table of Contents Chapter 682: Requests from the Big Sponsor "Shenzhou One!" Fan Danbing stared at everyone in front of him with his eyes wide open and blurted out. Say that reading is all there is

It doesn't matter if he shouted like this, everyone present was immediately stunned, especially Commander He who grabbed Fan Wubing's hand even more nervously and asked, "How do you know this is Shenzhou-1?!"

No wonder everyone is so nervous. The big guy in front of us is indeed our country's first-generation unmanned experimental spacecraft. This name was just determined by the Internet and has not been announced to the outside world at all. How did Fan Wubing get it? Do you know? You know, if this is a leak. It is very frightening to pursue it.

Fan Wubing felt a little regretful after he shouted it out. Seeing everyone looking very surprised, he said nonsensically, "Isn't this the high-power launch vehicle? I remember someone said that this thing can carry more than ten tons This is the one that transports heavy things into geosynchronous orbit, right?”

"What kind of launch vehicle is this?" When he interrupted everyone, everyone laughed. This is no wonder. This is the first time that a non-manned experimental spacecraft has been launched. There is no way for the outside world to know. Fan Wubing put this It is understandable that it should be regarded as a launch vehicle.

High-power launch vehicles at that time often had several levels connected together, and the Shenzhou-1 spacecraft looked like a section of one, so it was normal for people to misunderstand it.

"This is the first generation of non-manned experimental spacecraft developed by our country. In the future, it may be manned." Commander He explained to Fan Wubing.

Before the seventh series, my country's manned spacecraft was officially included in the national plan for development. This project was later named the "Shenzhou" spacecraft manned space project. The "Shenzhou" spacecraft manned space project consists of the "Shenzhou" manned spacecraft system, the "Long March" launch vehicle system, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center spacecraft range system, spacecraft measurement and control and communication systems, astronaut systems, scientific research and technical tests System and other components, it was my country's largest and most technologically complex aerospace project in the 1990s.

Fan Wubing naturally knew this, so looking at the high-erected spaceship cabin, he felt a little excited and couldn't help but ask, "Can I touch this thing?"

"It's not impossible to touch it, but you need to remove dust and static electricity, and you have to wear special protective gear. It's so late today, so I don't think you should bother." Commander He replied with a smile.

Fan Wubing shook his head, thinking that it was a pity and had to wait until tomorrow to talk about it, but if he could touch Shenzhou-1 before shooting. Very exciting indeed.

They were looking at the spaceship inside through the floor-to-ceiling glass. Fan Wubing sighed while thinking about the time he stole the satellite. This time, the base invited him to come over and see the spacecraft.

In fact, it can be regarded as a kind of reward. Although it does not involve any material reward, for him, wealth is nothing and cannot be seen at all. However, this rare opportunity is, for him, It makes sense.

Fan Wubing carefully looked at the spacecraft not far away, and saw that the staff were constantly conducting tests, so he asked, "If it is officially launched, will there be anything inside? For example, small animals What?"

An expert next to Commander He replied, "That's not possible. After all, this is the first time. We plan to do it step by step. We will first put a dummy on it and put various sensors on it. We got the first After collecting the environmental data in hand, wait until this part of the content is improved, and then add a monkey or a planet. This is also an internationally accepted practice.

The so-called international common practice is actually the practice of the United States and Russia, after all, except for them. No one has independently completed manned spaceflight projects anymore.

"However, we will carry some small things on it, firstly, flags, such as the national flag of the People's Republic of China, the regional flag of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the Olympic Games flag, etc.; secondly, various tickets and commemorative envelopes; thirdly, various grammatical items. Crop seeds such as green root, watermelon, corn, and barley, as well as Chinese medicinal materials such as licorice and isatis root,” the expert added.

Fan Wubing was very happy after reading this. After praising it, he suddenly asked, "By the way, does it cost a lot of money?"

"That's inevitable. We can save it if we can. After all, once this kind of manned spaceflight project starts, it can never be stopped," Commander He replied.

Fan Wubing nodded, understanding the truth. If it weren't for the huge cost of manned spaceflight projects and the lack of direct economic benefits, the country would have already started research in this area. It's not so much that it is now As scientific research strength has improved, it is better to say that the country has a little more money in its hands and can afford to invest.

Jiuquan shooting base is located in the northwest Gobi. This is historically known as the Death Zone. As early as the Neolithic period, Eastern and Western cultures met here. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the magistrates of all dynasties built cities here. It's a pity that after the Ming Dynasty. This place has not been visited by anyone for more than five hundred years. In 1958, New China established its first missile launch site here. The Republic's first missile launch force was formed.

Since the central government approved the manned spaceflight project in 1992, there have been differences of opinion regarding the location of the launch site. At that time, there were mainly two shooting ranges to choose from, one small and one small. One is the Xichang Shooting Range in Sichuan, and the other is the Jiuquan Shooting Range in the northwest Gobi.

One opinion is that the launch range should be built in the Xichang base, because the Xichang base was originally built for launching spacecraft, and the Chang Er Bun large rocket has been launched there. There is a ready-made launch tower, so there is no need to build a new launch range, which can save hundreds of millions of dollars.

Another opinion is that the launch range should be built in the Jiuquan base in the northwest, because the Jiuquan base is located in the Gobi Desert, the launch range covers an area of ​​50,000 square kilometers, with a wide field of vision and good visibility. There are basically no people within 200 kilometers of the flight area, and there are no dense towns and traffic arteries within 600 kilometers. If the astronauts fall, it will be easy to find. In addition, the Gobi Desert has a dry climate, with few thunderstorms. There is no rainy season, and the meteorological conditions for launch are better.

If the spacecraft is launched here, the landing point of the astronauts when they return can be selected on the flat and endless Inner Mongolia grassland, which is convenient for searching. However, the climate in Xichang is bad, with frequent thunderstorms all year round, which is not easy to meet the meteorological conditions for launch. Moreover, the launch range is surrounded by mountains and trees. Once the astronauts fall into the deep mountains and old forests, it will be difficult to rescue them. In addition, the direction of Xichang launch is northwest. If the launch is carried out in winter, the astronauts may fall into the sea, where the water temperature is very low and their safety is not guaranteed.

Later, after more than a year of investigation and demonstration, the location for launching the spacecraft was finally decided to be the Jiuquan base in the northwest.

But there was another fierce debate about what kind of launch range to build.

One opinion advocates building the most advanced and modern launch range, that is, a "three-vertical" model launch range, where rockets can be vertically assembled, vertically tested, and vertically transported. The design of this launch range originated from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States, and was later adopted by France and Japan. It was a very popular launch range internationally at that time. Its advantage is that the launch time is fast. After the rocket is transported to the launch range by ship, it usually takes only three days to launch, while the traditional old model launch range in the past takes at least half a month.

Another opinion advocates continuing to use the old model of the launch range, that is, the parallel test launch range. The reason is that China has been building the old-style shooting range for several years, the technology is very mature, and the construction cost is very low. There is no need to spend a lot of money to build a new shooting range, not to mention that everything has to be redesigned, which is technically risky.

"At that time, the argument was quite intense, because the "three vertical" shooting range in the United States probably costs several hundred million US dollars." Commander Xing said to Fan Wubing, "For this reason, the experts with different opinions argued very fiercely. In particular, some old experts firmly opposed the "three vertical" shooting range. One of the reasons is that they have been used to saving for a long time, and they are used to being poor and afraid of being poor! When each project is demonstrated, they are always reluctant to spend money, let alone spend more. Once you spend money, you feel distressed. If you can save a little, you always want to save a little. At that time, it was fortunate that you sponsored a large sum of money, which was considered to be a solution to the urgent need.

Fan Wubing listened to Commander He's somewhat touching words. He felt a little ashamed in his heart, scratched his head and said, "Did I sponsor a sum of money? Haha, I don't remember it very much. ”

After some arguments and arguments, the top leaders decided to build a new "three-vertical" model launch range, on the premise that the total funding for manned space projects is limited and the investment is controlled within 1 billion yuan.

With such a small amount of funds, it is impossible to build a launch range with international advanced level. At that time, many foreign experts thought it was a fantasy. However, Chinese astronauts designed and built it by themselves based on their actual situation. After four years of hard work, a "three-vertical" model launch range with international advanced level finally stood on the Gobi Desert on the east side of the Ruoshui River in Jiuquan Base.

Oh, no wonder I was invited to visit this time. It turns out that I am the big sponsor. Fan Wubing shook his head and smiled.

"Uh, can't we discuss it? . Fan Wubing asked.

"What?" Commander He said puzzledly.

"I am willing to sponsor another 100 million US dollars to the manned space project, on the condition that two diamond rings are carried on the spacecraft." Fan Wubing touched his head. After careful consideration, he put forward his request to Commander He.

After hearing Fan Wubing's request, everyone was a little shocked. This should be a very profitable deal.