Homo sapiens.

Maung Chuangxin, who was on duty, saw the two of them and yawned: "Ha...good morning."

"Chuangxin, let's go rest!" Meng Haiyang patted him on the shoulder.

"Then I'll leave it to you. By the way, the Earth Headquarters issued a notice two hours ago. Three days later, the next batch of astronauts will be launched to change shifts." Maung Chuangxin said while drifting towards the living cabin.

"Yeah." Meng Haiyang nodded.

And Sa Yue Gong checked the work log for nearly eight hours.

At this time, the Homo sapiens space station was unprecedentedly large in scale.

The 13.32 tons of supplies, plus the 5600 tons that the space station itself had before, increased the weight of the entire space station to a scale of 13.88 tons.

37 Tinder spacecraft are combined into a huge "Ferris Wheel" space station.

The length of the fire is 50 meters, and the diameter is 10 meters. After the four fires are docked together, a long arm with a length of 4 meters can be formed.

The 4 sets of long arms are connected to the middle universal connector of the other central axis (which is also composed of 4 fire ships docked front and rear).

In this way, a central axis is inserted in the center of a "ten", and the four outer endpoints of the "ten" are respectively connected with two fire ships, forming a "T" shape.

This used up 28 Tinders.

The remaining 9 fire ships carried a large number of ring-shaped parts. After these parts were assembled, they formed two concentric rings, one large and one small, on the "ten".

The old space station before them is connected to the top of the central axis.

Sakoshi finished checking the work log: "Captain, everything is normal."

"You stay in the control cabin, I'll go to the outer ring area."

"be careful."

"rest assured!"

Meng Haiyang drifted to Huozi No. 12 cabin below.

After opening the negative pressure gate, he stood on the electric scooter, turned the acceleration switch, and the scooter immediately moved forward along the guide rails on the cabin wall.

Through a series of negative pressure gates and a distance of 300 meters, Meng Haiyang finally arrived at the outer ring area of ​​the space station.

He fixed the electric scooter, and then picked up the walkie-talkie: "Sa Yue Gong, start the rotation system."

Sakoshi Gong's voice came from his earphones: "Okay, be careful!"

The 8 Tinder cabins in the outer ring area started to activate the auxiliary EFI thrusters, and the entire space station began to rotate slowly.

The speed was not fast at the beginning, but the specific impulse of the EFI propulsion was very high. After 20 minutes of continuous acceleration.

Meng Haiyang already felt very heavy in his body.

This is when the centrifugal force generated during the rotation of the space station begins to play a role. Inside the cabin in the outer ring area, the pseudo-gravity at this time has reached about 1G, which is almost the same as the gravity coefficient of the earth.

And because the radius of the space station reaches 200 meters, the difference in the centrifugal force gradient in the outer ring area is not obvious.

However, the special detector in Meng Haiyang's hand can clearly see the gradient difference data of centrifugal force. At the same time, he checked the centrifugal force gradient in other areas of the space station.

It can be seen from the data that the closer to the central axis, the greater the difference in the centrifugal force gradient, and the more serious the adverse effects on the body.

"Captain, what's the situation?"

Meng Haiyang pressed the call button: "It's okay, but it's a little bit heavy-headed, but this down-to-earth feeling is really nostalgic!"

"That's good, let me know immediately."

The rotation system was tested for more than seven hours. During this period, Meng Haiyang tried various tests, including eating and bathing in the outer ring area and simulating sleeping. The effect of simulating gravity was not bad.

However, some differences from true gravity can still be clearly felt.

At this time, the other two astronauts on the space station also woke up from the dormant cabin.

After Zhang Gongyu and David woke up, they quickly finished washing.

In the process of going to the control cabin, Zhang Gongyu felt that the space station was slowly rotating. Although it didn't look obvious, he still felt the weak centrifugal force of the rotation.

Come to the control cabin.

"Doctor! David! Good afternoon." Isao Sakoshi and the two nodded.

"How is the test of the rotation system?" Zhang Gongyu asked curiously.

Sakoshi replied with a smile: "The quasi-gravity in the outer ring area is not bad, and it can barely be used. The captain is in the outer ring area."

Soon.

Meng Haiyang also returned to the central axis area from the outer ring area.

As soon as he floated up, he kneaded his temples: "Huhu... the feeling in the rotating arm area is too uncomfortable, especially the tens of meters near the central axis area."

"It seems that there is a lot of trouble in the rotating arm area!" Zhang Gongyu said as he buried himself in recording the incident in his work log.

Meng Haiyang shook his head helplessly: "And the length of the rotating arm is not enough. If it can reach a radius of 500 meters, the gradient difference of centrifugal force will be so small that it cannot be felt."

"500 meters? We can't enjoy it anymore. I guess we can only wait for the next batch of astronauts to come and test it." Zhang Gongyu replied with a smile.

Sakoo interjected: "The next batch of astronauts will arrive at the space station in 3 days."

In fact, their experimental task has been completed.

It is not their job to test centrifugal force to simulate gravity experiments. Their job is to test the changes of biosynthesis technology in microgravity environment.

For the past six months, Meng Haiyang, Zhang Gongyu and others have been doing this.

After a series of tests, they collected a lot of data.

As expected at the beginning, all kinds of biosynthetic fungi and coral polyps have undergone various strange changes in the microgravity environment.

Among these changes, there are good and bad sides.

Regarding this result, the Science Business Department felt troubled.

After all, according to this test result, it means that the application of biosynthesis technology will be limited in the future exploration of the moon, and it must be adjusted again.

Because the gravity of the moon is one-sixth of that of the earth, it is significantly different from the microgravity in low-Earth orbit and the standard gravity of the earth.

And through this experimental test, Homo sapiens has realized the first big problem that will inevitably be encountered in the process of space exploration-the difference in planetary environment.

This is a new cosmic science.

In fact, many of the industrial and agricultural technologies of human beings were built in the earth's environment. Once they leave the earth's environment, it is very likely that they will leave the environment without acclimatization.

Zhang Gongyu chatted with Meng Haiyang for a while, and then left David on duty to guard the control cabin, while he went to the biological experiment cabin.

In a transparent water tank, there are more than a dozen spherical objects floating. These are the spherical objects that coral polyps will automatically synthesize when they have sufficient nutrition in a microgravity environment.

Apparently this is due to the effects of microgravity.

Zhang Gongyu quickly took the sensor pen, wrote and drew on the tablet, and filled in various data into the experiment list.

Although he knew that his shift would be changed three days later, he insisted on standing on the last shift.

And at this time on the earth.

Facing Homo sapiens' rapid advances in the aerospace industry, other forces are so jealous that they are about to separate.

Especially for those big forces, the current situation of being insufficient compared to the top and having more than the bottom makes them feel even more embarrassed and helpless.

Faced with such a predicament and oppression, a big cooperation called Space Union has attracted a lot of attention around the world.

Chapter 4: Difficult to bridge differences

The first year of Xinghe, October 7th.

Europa.

City of Munich.

Conde von Marcus, director of the Europa Space Development Agency, who is the host, is receiving Bill, the head of the space agency of the Liberty Consortium.

In addition to Bill, there are also members of the free association, and many relevant personnel in the aerospace industry have also been sent, and many entrepreneurs have also arrived.

This kind of thing is naturally indispensable for the main force of the space industry in the free association-Space Exploration Corporation, and Musk even went to Munich in person.

Musk glanced at Blue Origin President Kim Duke who was sitting aside: "Dude, you don't think this cooperation negotiation will be successful?"

"Mr. Musk really likes to joke." Kim Duke replied with a half-smile, obviously he didn't want to return to this topic.

Musk showed a hint of cynical sarcasm: "The group photo is full of smiles, but it's a pity that Bill's ideas are too naive."

At this time, on the stage, under the spotlight of the media, the heads of the Europa Space Agency, the Free Consortium Space Agency, and the Lucia Space Department, smiled and held hands, as if we were all a family.

I don't know, I thought they were close partners.

However, in the past few years, they were still in the same situation.

It can only be said that the pressure brought by Homo sapiens made these guys have to let go of some unhappiness in the past and focus on the future.

On the stage, Bill and Comte dealt with questions from journalists in a formulaic manner.

But Musk in the audience was already impatient.

He set his sights on Koichi Sato, the president of Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan: "Fuji Heavy Industries also has aerospace industry?"

Facing the son of the wild father's family, Koichi Sato was very respectful and nodded slightly: "Mr. Musk, our company has recently acquired a part of the aerospace industry."

"What's worth buying that garbage? You might as well invest in my space exploration company." Musk half-joked.

"Hehe... We are only looking at cheap, and those companies have some unique technologies, such as the super high-rise construction technology of the Dalin Group..."

Musk frowned: "Dalin group? Is that the company that plans to build a space elevator?"

Sato Koichi showed an embarrassed smile: "Yes, but this project is too difficult, and our company has no money to continue investing."

"Now the length of carbon nanotubes is only half a meter, there is really no need for you to continue investing." Musk looked disgusted.

Sato Koichi smiled wryly.

The space elevator at this stage is really difficult to realize, otherwise Homo sapiens would not give up making a big fuss about the space elevator project. Although Homo sapiens still has three research institutes doing related research work, there is no investment at this stage Plans for building a space elevator.

In this regard, Koichi Sato, who acquired Obayashi Gumi Co., Ltd., has the most say. After inspecting Obayashi Gumi's space elevator project, he immediately cut off this pure money-losing product.

The reason why the space elevator is a money-losing product is mainly because of three aspects.

The first problem is the huge amount of engineering work. Not to mention Dongying, which is living a dry life now, even the rotten ship America with a few catties of nails cannot handle the huge engineering amount of the space elevator.

The second problem is the cable material problem. At present, the only material suitable for space elevator cables is carbon nanotubes.

Theoretically, the strength requirement of space elevator cables is 90P, while carbon nanotubes can reach 200-800P.

However, the ideal is very full, and the reality is very skinny.

Among the major forces, the one with the strongest carbon nanotube processing technology can only process carbon nanotubes with a length of half a meter.

The carbon nanotube length of the space elevator needs to be more than 3.6 kilometers.

0.5 meters: 3.6 kilometers.

This cannot be said to be hopeless, it can only be said that the possibility is close to zero.

Even Homo sapiens company with biosynthesis technology, its subordinate carbon nanotube laboratory can only synthesize carbon nanotubes with a length of 120 to 150 meters, which is 3.6 kilometers away, and there are still four orders of magnitude.

The third problem is corrosion and aging.

This problem further raised the difficulty of building a space elevator to another level.

Koichi Sato read the relevant test reports of the Obayashi Group before and found this fatal problem, that is, the service life of carbon nanotubes in outer space is less than two years.

Obayashi's group took advantage of Japan's part of the experiment on the International Space Station to send some carbon nanotubes to the International Space Station for a two-year exposure experiment.

The result was very unsatisfactory. After two years of exposure experiments in low-earth orbit, the carbon chains in the carbon nanotubes were corroded by oxygen atoms, and the strength dropped to be worse than that of ordinary nylon ropes.

This is also the problem encountered by the relevant laboratories of Homo sapiens when synthesizing carbon nanotubes and graphene films. The affinity of carbon to oxygen and hydrogen makes the carbon chain easily destroyed.

Regardless of the empty low-Earth orbit, it actually still belongs to the atmosphere—the extension of the thermosphere, in which a large number of oxygen atoms and hydrogen atoms are floating.

However, carbon nanotubes are easy to combine with oxygen atoms, so there is almost no solution to this problem.

What's more, there are various cosmic rays, high-energy neutrons, solar storms and the like in outer space, which seriously damage the carbon chain.

Unless the cables of the space elevator can be replaced once a year, or find a way to resist aging.

After discussing with a group of engineers and researchers, Sato Koichi gave up decisively. It is okay to use PPT to cheat investment in this project, but if it is really carried out according to the plan, 1 Fuji Heavy Industries cannot handle it.

……

After dealing with the news media.