The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Chapter 1278: Space Rescue

Later in the day.

Washington.

Michael Griffin finally completed the last round of physical examinations today accompanied by the medical team. He was now waiting for the final results in the advanced ward with a heavy heart.

Although he had already pushed away all responsibility for the creation of space junk No. 40396, the commotion made by the Chinese this time was really too big. This kind of thing happened in outer space and was related to the International Space Station. It is hard not to link it to NASA.

After today, if nothing is done to divert public attention, even if there is no direct reason to be held accountable, one will inevitably be drowned in the saliva of the public and lawmakers.

The only good news is that the other party is obviously not prepared to take things to the extreme, so they left some room for maneuver in their statement at the press conference.

As soon as he saw the last round of questions and answers, he asked Mayer to contact the Chinese Space Administration and expressed his willingness to bear part of the research funds within a reasonable range.

No matter how much money is given and how it is given, we should stabilize the other party first...

Thinking of this, the idea that flashed through Griffin's mind a few hours ago reappeared in his mind.

He turned his head slightly and looked at the piece of paper on the table which was almost 80% filled.

I was in a state of panic before and my brain wasn't very clear. Now that I've calmed down and thought about it carefully, I have a lot of new ideas.

The military, NASA, Boeing, Raytheon, SpaceX... are involved in this matter. In short, as a whole, none of them are easy to mess with.

But if you can find a way to push the problem onto a specific person, then the problem becomes much simpler.

Of course, in order to avoid joint liability, the unlucky person who takes the blame must not come from a government department, but preferably from a company or research institution...

Just as Griffin began to brainstorm, there was a sudden knock on the ward door.

"Come in."

Griffin couldn't wait to get back to the office, so he stood up quickly and turned the paper on the table over.

"Click——"

With the sound of a door lock turning, the head of the medical team, Achim Sachs, walked in from outside.

Oddly enough, a famous doctor of his level and age actually seldom performs first-hand diagnosis, but whenever he appears in a hospital, he always has a stethoscope hanging around his neck.

It's like an ID.

"Mr. Director, the inspection results are out."

Dr. Sachs came closer with a thick test report in his hand.

"How is the situation? Can I be discharged from the hospital?"

Griffin didn't even try to take the test report, but asked directly.

Although he graduated with a doctorate, he still felt a headache whenever he saw those ridiculously complicated medical terms, let alone understanding the specific values ​​behind them.

"To be honest, all indicators are still not very stable. If there is no emergency, then I still recommend that you stay in the hospital for a while for observation..."

Sachs shook his head and spoke with a hint of seriousness in his tone.

The hospital charges extremely high fees when it is open to the public. For every extra day a patient stays in the hospital, the related expenses will increase by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Even though Griffin, as the head of NASA, does not need to pay the money himself, the hospital can still receive money from the insurance company.

Of course, the current situation is definitely not normal.

Therefore, Sachs only threatened the other party a little, and then changed the subject:

"However, if you really need to be discharged from the hospital immediately, you can use medication for a while, but you must be emotionally stable to avoid putting too much burden on your body. In addition, you will need to come for a checkup every week..."

"..."

Saxlin gave a lot of instructions, but they were all very common things:

"Look, should we give the medicine directly to Assistant Meyer, or..."

Griffin hesitated.

Although Meyer was undoubtedly his confidant, medical advice was something that was best not known to anyone other than the doctor and himself.

"Just give it to me directly..."

After some instructions, Griffin packed his personal belongings and prepared to sign his discharge from the hospital.

As he put the paper on the table back into his briefcase, he did not notice the deliberate gaze from Doctor Sachs not far behind him...

……

Accompanied by Meyer and other entourage, Griffin returned to his office at NASA headquarters before nightfall that day.

Although less than three days had passed since he passed out at the door due to anger, for the latter, it seemed longer than his entire first half of life.

However, now there is no time for him to be sad.

How to calm down the subsequent development of the whole matter is the first priority.

"Lei, I asked you to contact the Chinese Space Agency to test their reaction... Is there any result now?"

Although he was still a little weak, the moment he sat back at his desk, Griffin instinctively regained his momentum as the head of NASA.

Meyer nodded:

"The Chinese side expressed that they are happy to see our two countries moving toward each other and agree with the positive statement we made. All accounts related to the space fishing boat plan will be made public on their official website this morning Beijing time. Of course, a copy will also be sent to all partners involved in this project later..."

He raised his hand to check his watch, then continued:

"Considering the time difference, they should be at work now..."

Griffin didn't have the patience to wait for the official documents to be submitted step by step, so he simply opened his computer and entered the English version of the official website of the China Space Administration.

Sure enough, the accounting documents that Meyer mentioned were found soon.

It filled nearly a hundred pages of PDF.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

The first part of the cost listed was actually for an ocean-going space tracking and control mission that started at the end of February this year...

"As I said, their quick response efficiency definitely cannot have been due to the anti-satellite test..."

Griffin complained in his heart while scrolling his mouse wheel rapidly, reading the carefully compiled financial document at a glance.

He was an aerospace engineer and didn't know much about economics and accounting, but after all, he had been the director of NASA for almost two years and had a good idea of ​​the costs of related tasks and projects.

So when I saw the rest of it, I inexplicably felt this outrageous feeling: “Fuck, why is it so cheap?”

"hiss……"

The more Griffin watched, the more frightened he became, and in the end he couldn't help but gasp.

"Chief, what's wrong?"

Seeing this posture, Meyer thought the other party was unwell, and asked quickly with concern.

"nothing……"

Griffin just frowned slightly but didn't express his worries.

In fact, he just did a simple calculation and found that if the numbers in the account in front of him were true, then the cost incurred by the Chinese to complete a normal space launch was probably less than one-fifth of that of NASA, and it would be even lower if solid rockets were used.

In other words, the ridiculously low launch quotes that the Chinese have always given in the past are not a loss-making deal.

It's not even about small profits but quick turnover.

It is definitely possible to make money.

If the original plan is followed, Congress will draft a proposal in the next two years to completely block the exchanges and contacts between China's aerospace industry and the world, or at least Western countries, then this cost advantage will not be a big deal.

However, due to this unexpected incident, this operation is no longer feasible in the short term.

In this case, it is very important to reduce costs and increase efficiency within NASA.

It’s just a specific implementation method…

When Griffin was the chief engineer, he had a lot of dealings with Boeing. The other party had even reached a point where some aspects of the situation were so bad that it was almost impossible for them to meet the needs of competing with China in the future.

After much thought, he decided to put his money on commercial spaceflight and reusable rockets...

Looking at his leader with a gloomy face, Meyer finally couldn't help but break the silence:

"Mr. Director, do you think we should really pay the other party?"

Griffin was cursing Boeing in his heart, but he came to his senses after hearing Meyer's question:

"I remember that the Chinese side said at the reception that they would announce the specific assistance provided by various institutions, companies and individuals along with this bill?"

According to his idea, as long as he waits until China puts NASA on the list and gives a satisfactory explanation to the public, he can find a reason to postpone the payment.

In fact, this amount of money is a small amount for NASA, but it would be embarrassing to pay it honestly.

But Meyer's expression became subtle:

"It was announced, but..."

"Just what?"

Griffin raised his eyebrows, and an ominous foreboding flashed through his mind.

"However, the Chinese side also stated that they will soon produce an official documentary called "Space Rescue", detailing the entire process of the entire plan from its inception to its successful completion..."