Chapter 829 We All Have a Bright Future

"Am I crazy? Or is Master Zhou crazy? Build a permanent orbital mechanical platform next month?"

"I don't even understand the name.

"'Nantianmen' plan, this name is too domineering!"

"As we all know, 'month' is a fluctuating unit of time. For example, I haven't had my period for four months, and I've gained ten pounds, so Master Zhou's next month should be an uncertain number."

"Congratulations."

"What do you mean above? Explain it clearly! ”

The Taitian Tiangong press conference had a greater impact than the one of NASA.

Many people watched Master Zhou’s side first, and then they knew that NASA had been arguing with the Master the day before.

This kind of verbal battle can only be said that Master Zhou is worthy of being a walking news blowout machine, wherever he goes, he sprays.

The so-called space race is that you say you have one foot, and I say I have one foot.

But it’s not enough to just talk, you have to show your stuff and compare it.

In the past few decades, because NASA ended the S1 season of the space race with the moon landing, there was no opponent at all. He could just say that he had the privilege of not showing up, and I said I had one foot, so I had one foot, anyway, no opponent would pull my pants off.

But now it’s re-opening With an opponent, they have to stand up from the altar and sway.

But in comparison, the "Eye of Artemis" and "South Gate of Heaven" on both sides are really not at the same level.

It feels a bit like 1969, when the Soviet Union was still figuring out how to softly land an unmanned probe, and the United States was already having a party on it.

To be honest, if it was the Taitian Artificial Conference first, NASA probably wouldn't announce the "Eye of Artemis" plan at all, or even cut it off directly.

It's better to hold back and do nothing, at least not show cowardice.

But now that the words have been spoken, they have to start and vigilantly evaluate the feasibility of the two plans.

"Impossible! It's nonsense, they can't master this technology!"

"1,000 square meters? The International Space Station is not even 1,000 square meters!"

"Wait, the unit is area instead of volume? What exactly does the other party want to make?"

"The scale of the block has not been announced, but it is impossible for the surface area to be 1,000 square meters."

The discussion was very intense, but there were not many definite conclusions. They knew too little.

NASA Director Nelson looked tired, tapped the table with his fingers and said: "How likely is it that the other party is throwing a smoke bomb?"

Compared to discussing technical details, it seems easier to be sure that the other party is just talking nonsense.

Maybe the person remembered the date of April Fool's Day wrong? He thought today was April 1st?

A Chinese said: "Not much. The social atmosphere there is more repressive and conservative. If it is a smoke bomb, he should say 10 years later, not a month later. "

"And the China Space Administration provides launch services, which does not seem to be information that can be announced casually. ”

For Nelson, he is the director of NASA, but not a scientific researcher.

Sometimes the more achievements the other party has, the more funding he can get.

But it cannot be in a slapping way.

If the other party really does it next month, then he may consider directly cutting off the "Eye of Artemis", damn the 2017 pre-planned return to the moon, he knows best that there is no plan for 2017.

Only the "Eye of Artemis" is a real project, a lonely project.

Although cutting it off will also lose some reputation, as long as the excuse is found It's appropriate, at least it's better than spending hundreds of millions of dollars and then being slapped in the face, right?

Thinking of this, Nelson unconsciously looked at Hansen in the corner of the conference room.

And Hansen gave him a stern look with ambiguous meaning.

It seemed that he had seen through his thoughts and was warning him:

Don't have any crooked ideas, don't touch the "Eye of Artemis".

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On the other side, China, Taicang, Wanhu Base.

Zhou Rui is arranging work plans for everyone.

"The expected launch time is early November, and the window period is about three days, which means there is still a month. "

A group of engineers calculated secretly.

There is plenty of time!

It's not that they are arrogant, but the progress every day is clearly seen. In the past, a rocket, even a mature model, would take several months.

But in this fully intelligent factory, it can basically be calculated according to one-fifth.

Zhou Rui: "But at the Xichang base, at least two weeks must be reserved for power testing, etc. After all, it is a new model so it is more troublesome, so there are only about fifteen or sixteen days left at the Wanhu base. Everyone work hard and burn the thickest incense to God when the time comes!"

The people below laughed happily, and someone said: "Do you want to put a pig head to worship Guan Gong, Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou Rui smiled and said: "Leave it to you, I will start a live broadcast for you. "

On the rocket side, Zhou Rui was more relieved. After arranging the work, he went to Factory No. 1.

Relatively speaking, in the "Nantianmen" plan, mortise and tenon joints play a more important role.

The so-called "permanent orbital mechanical platform" can be understood as a non-enclosed "space station" without astronauts.

In Zhou Rui's design, it will be directly deployed on the orbit in a flat manner, so the unit of measurement is area rather than volume.

By then, all components of the orbital mechanical platform will be intelligent and can support various operations on the orbit, and the platform can also provide support for other subsequent equipment.

In addition, the platform can be moved and changed as long as it does not exceed the maximum and minimum height limits.

If you still find it difficult to understand the abstraction

Well, you can use it as an orbital aircraft carrier.

This will be the orbital relay station of the future "Moon Colonization Plan" and has many important functions. Of course, in theory, it is also within its function to drop some things on the ground.

You can also park some suitable things on it.

For this reason, Zhou Rui specifically asked the space agency for the project code "Nantianmen".

In the original long-term plan of the space agency, this code was used to give the aerospace mothership decades later.

But in fact, it is just a plan, and there is no possibility of actual operation. Now it is given an orbital platform, which seems more appropriate.

There are some clever ideas involved.

If the entire area is filled with mortise and tenon joints, although it looks more "solid", there is no gravity on the track, and there is no need to consider the load-bearing problem, which is a pure waste of load.

So Zhou Rui plans to fill most of the space with simple lightweight metal plates. In this way, four "mortise and tenon joints" with a side length of 2 meters and a metal plate of the same size on the outside can support an area of ​​64 square meters.

If there are six mortise and tenon joints, it can support an area of ​​128 square meters, and nine mortise and tenon joints can support an area of ​​256 square meters.

The 1,000 square meters of space promised at the press conference only needs 25 mortise and tenon joints. Including the metal plates, it can be launched for about 7 times, which is not much.

In the short term, the "Nantianmen" platform is just a "square" floating above the track, a "scaffolding". If it is a purely commercial mindset, it seems difficult to make a profit.

Even if the rocket is its own and recyclable, the launch service of the space agency is discounted. Each launch also has fixed costs and depreciation losses. It is estimated to be 20 million yuan, which means that only seven launches will cost 400 million yuan.

Add the cost of the mortise and tenon joints themselves, that is as high as 400 million!

Well, it seems not too much. Shared bicycles can raise 4 billion yuan. What's wrong with me, Zhou, spending 400 million? It's not that I can't afford it.

Others invest in bicycles, and I invest in space orbital platforms. Is there a problem?

We all have a bright future.