advanced player in arc

Chapter 750 Martian Spaceship (Two Chapters in One)

"Chairman, this is the shipbuilding berth, please be careful, please try not to get close to the edge of this berth."

As soon as the last airlock was opened, Niu Baichuan began to remind Dong Chen to be careful the moment Dong Chen and the others walked out.

Originally, he wanted to ask Dong Chen if he would not be used to walking on this kind of metal ground wearing electromagnetic shoes, but he suddenly realized that the chairman beside him was not an ordinary chairman, he had entered space much earlier than himself. Yes, it was the existence of creating various world records at that time.

He quickly looked from Dong Chen's head to his feet, and paid attention to Dong Chen's walking posture. Sure enough, he found that he was walking more sloppily than himself, and then turned back to look at his young face. It was really unacceptable.

"I know, I still care about my own safety," Dong Chen nodded to show that he knew, then looked around and said, "Tell me about this spaceship, what stage are you building now?" ?”

"Seeing that the date for task execution is approaching, it should be almost finished, right?"

"Okay, chairman," he breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the chairman would not run around, and he didn't want to have a spacewalk to float and see the ship plan from a full perspective.

"The spacecraft that is about to carry out the mission to Mars has no official name yet, so the tentative name within the group is "Yuanhang 001". It is 247 meters long and will be the largest self-powered space flight equipment owned by the group after it is completed. , and will be the world's largest autonomously powered spaceflight device."

As the supervisor of this space station, Niu Baichuan is quite concerned about the things under his management, so he has any information at his fingertips, and he explained it to Dong Chen very clearly.

Although the length of this spacecraft is only 247 meters, it is far worse than the 1000-meter-long Tiangong space station, and it is far worse than the 1100-meter-long new international space station under construction.

However, according to the classification of use, it is really the world's largest autonomous powered space flight device.

The space station is big, and many people even say that as long as the main propeller is added, it will be a huge spaceship. Anyway, there is no air resistance and no gravity in space, so you can fly wherever you want, as long as the fuel is used. Enough, flying out of the solar system is not impossible.

This is also the difference between the space station and the spaceship as space flight equipment, that is, the space station can only fly around the earth because it has no main engine and no independent power source, but the spaceship is different. It has a main engine. , That is to fly wherever you want.

And it's so easy to turn a space station into a spaceship.

Some people had imagined this way a long time ago, especially during the Cold War, both Mao Xiong and Ying Jiang thought about directly changing the space station into a star warship, but then they all gave up.

Only after trying it will I know that it’s good to just float beside the earth, what self-propelled… what star warship is needed.

Yes, the space station can accommodate people and load cargo, and it is also equipped with small engines, and can also transfer orbits. It is not much different from a spaceship except that it is a bit bulkier.

At most, the space station has many compartments, while the original spaceship has one compartment, which is like a barrel.

But it is really necessary to install a high-thrust engine on the space station to ensure that the space station will fall apart due to uneven force during the acceleration process, especially the body of the original International Space Station, which does not look strong.

After all, it was designed that way at the beginning, because of technical and cost issues, it didn't do anything about the spacecraft at all.

Although it is not possible now, many people have not given up on this idea.

Isn't it just that the technology is not enough... Uh, there is also the reason that there is not enough money, this is not a problem, time can solve everything.

One day, when the technology is suitable and a country is willing to spend money like crazy, the people on earth will always create a space station that takes both into account.

Originally they thought they would have to wait for many years, because apart from the International Space Station, no country in the world has the strength to build a space station, and even if it has, it only stays at the PPT stage.

However, the ever-growing science fiction works have given them many satisfactory answers.

In particular, several sci-fi movies or animations or TV series that reflect the world scene in the near future have the design ideas of spaceships that can be realized with today's technology, that is, the communication between the cabins connected one by one. The main body is straight, and there is a rotating gravity simulation chamber that is connected in a circle like a "big pendulum".

Such equipment is the same as the current multi-module, truss structure and building block hybrid structure International Space Station model, but it has changed from an awkward and complex shape to a shape that is more susceptible to force.

Unexpectedly, within a few years, the new Tiangong space station built by the Arclight Group on the basis of the Tiangong space station that was not suitable for spaceships in Huaguo was born.

And its shape is the appearance of people's previous fantasy designs and near-future sci-fi works, that is, a spaceship that theoretically adds a main propeller and then carries enough fuel to fly to a starry sky just far away.

Even because of this, some countries have advocated the "arc threat theory", saying that with the main engine and weapons, it is a space battleship.

However, under the explosive development of the Arc Light Group, when the space station can really be turned into a space battleship or even a space aircraft carrier, they will not talk about it.

This is the same as a joke about "suspected chemical weapons" and "real chemical weapons". The difference between the two words means different treatment.

Many people were waiting helplessly for the Arclight Group to transform the Tiangong space station into a spacecraft, and then set off to explore new areas of space. As a result, the Arclight Group really made it into a space station and developed it into a tourist attraction.

Behind this, I don’t know how many people scolded the Arc Light Group for being wasteful. Such a good thing does not explore the starry sky for the future of mankind, but nests at the door of the house and collects money to open scenic spots.

Of course, such people are still rare, and most people can understand, after all, if there is no money, this "spaceship" can't fly very far.

The Arclight Group is not a state institution, and it has no state financial support behind it. It is a completely private enterprise, and if it cannot make money, it can only wait for death.

Moreover, the Arclight Group is already a technology group at the forefront of the earth, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it itself is a science fiction drama. It is a step in technological development to enter the civilian market. The Arclight Group has done a good job. .

The next nine space stations will be built at the same time, the construction of the moon base and the moon, etc., are all projects that shocked the world, and they have not forgotten the technological breakthroughs after they have money. This is not a spaceship bound for Mars. It's almost done.

This spaceship that is about to perform a mission to Mars is actually similar to the Hermes spaceship in "The Martian", with a straight hull and a rotating gravity simulation cabin, but the difference is that the spaceship of the Arclight Group does not have a solar array. , so it will look "stronger".

The reason why this important source of free energy was given up is because of the success of the controllable nuclear fusion reaction device in the moon base some time ago.

With it, coupled with Arclight Group's helium-3 mine on the moon, this spacecraft has a steady stream of energy to use, and what looks like a solar cell array that looks like crunchy seaweed.

Coupled with Dong Chen's excellent ion engine technology, it will take less than 20 days for this spacecraft to fly to Mars during the optimal landing window. Even if it starts from the farthest distance, it can reach Mars in at most half a year .

This is definitely a super speed in the history of the earth's spaceflight. Any previous Mars missions are rare and extremely troublesome.

At present, the spacecraft or exploration satellites that transport the Mars probe to Mars the fastest, they will take at least half a year to Mars, and this time will appear during the Mars landing window.

Otherwise, if the launch window period is missed, the mission will not be executed at all, and it will be abandoned directly, and then it will have to wait a little more than two years before the Mars mission can be launched again.

And this window period is not fixed, and it does not mean that the Earth and Mars have reached the closest distance, but that it will reach the closest point in a few months, and it is the best time for you to launch the rocket at this time.

It changes according to the change of the vehicle, so you can only prepare in advance. If you are delayed by something during this period, then sorry, not only the mission is cancelled, but the economic loss and other losses are also quite large.

To put it simply, both balls are circling, and they are both circling the sun. Everyone is on the same ecliptic, and the position is suitable. When the calculated Mars is at its closest point to the Earth, Mars also happens to appear at this closest point, just in time to meet the spacecraft probe.

Otherwise, if you miss this time, you have to chase Mars or wait for Mars, which is too risky.

Because if you wait for a period of time in the vast universe, something may happen to your machine. It is good if the service life is reduced, but if it is scrapped in the complex universe environment, it will lose a lot of money.

If you want to chase Mars, let alone, the reason why humans have to wait for this suitable window period is because the rocket capacity is limited, even if the extra fuel allows you to chase Mars, the possibility of you catching up to Mars is not high.

This is still in the state of cargo transportation. If there are astronauts installed here, the variables will be even greater. Fortunately, human beings are not yet able to send astronauts to Mars, so that there will be no tragedy in the history of human spaceflight.

So in such a situation, you have to wait for 26 months, and wait for the next window period before launching.

Of course, such history is about to become a thing of the past.

Because the Arc Light Group’s technology allows human beings to not stick to the launch window period. After installing excellent ion engine technology and a controllable nuclear fusion reaction device that can provide continuous and strong energy, the spaceship can shuttle around the earth in a short time. and Mars.

Even when the distance between Mars and the Earth is the farthest, it can basically be reached in half a year. This is already the shortest time that the current spacecraft can launch during the launch window. It can be seen how great this contrast is.

"Chairman, now the main frame part has been completed, and the rotating simulated gravity cabin, which is the main living cabin of the members, as well as the cockpit, passage, ion engine working fluid storage tank, etc., are all experimentally normal."

"Currently, the controllable nuclear fusion device and the main engine are being built, and their completion rate has reached more than half. In addition, some internal living modules are still being installed, and they will definitely be successfully completed before the mission is carried out."

Niu Baichuan followed Dong Chen from one side of the platform to the other, while giving him a detailed introduction to the situation.

"Well, the construction is quite fast, faster than the original plan, and it's a good job." Dong Chen came to the side of the slipway and praised Niu Baichuan.

Seeing Dong Chen gradually approaching the berth, Niu Baichuan's heart also lifted, but he was still very happy to receive Dong Chen's praise, "This, hehe, the chairman has praised you."

"Actually, engineers are working. They are the hardest. I just need to do the preparatory work. Let the engineers eat well and rest well, so that they can work wholeheartedly."

Dong Chen shook his head and said, "Very good, you have done a lot, and I will never forget any of the heroes you deserve."

"I remember that this spacecraft should still have two transport planes to carry, right? They will be used to land on Mars. How is their manufacturing progress now? Are they finished?"

"It has been completed, Chairman," Niu Baichuan said, "Originally, the Aerospace Corporation had the task of transforming the transport aircraft, because now the moon mission also needs a large number of transport aircraft to participate, and the Mars mission needs transport aircraft to overlap, so we can Use it directly."

"Before, there were transport planes being refitted in the company, so the two transport planes used for the Mars mission are very easy to solve. Only when the hull is completely completed, the two transport planes can come up for mounting, because if they are mounted now, Something hinders the construction of the hull."

"That's good," Dong Chen looked around and said when he saw the passage into the spaceship that he passed by before, "Let's go, let's go inside and have a look."

"Okay, Chairman, this way please." Niu Baichuan said with a gesture of invitation.

"Ah."

Dong Chen looked at the Mars mission spacecraft under construction back and forth, and also used the break time to meet with the engineers on the space station and give them encouragement.

After all, this is the first manned mission to explore Mars in human history, which has never been seen in human history. Unlike the previous trip to the moon, which has already been landed first, this time the Arclight Group's manned mission to Mars, that It's the proper number one.

And this spacecraft is a very important means of transportation for this mission, and it is also the first spacecraft in human history that can travel into space. Dong Chen is also a little excited.

PS: The Qixi Festival still insists on updating, I am touched by myself
(End of this chapter)