Galaxy Technology Empire

If we say cosmic rays, solar storms, and high-energy particles are the number one factors causing spacecraft failure.

Then the combustion, explosion or leakage of fuel or oxidizer is the second major factor in spacecraft accidents.

Moreover, the first major factor and the second major factor may interact with each other, triggering a chain reaction and causing an accident to the spacecraft.

Just like the Apollo 13 accident.

Apollo 13 was the third manned lunar landing mission in the Milica Apollo program.

On April 11, 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft was launched into space using a Saturn 5 launch vehicle. Nearly 56 hours after liftoff, the Apollo 13 spacecraft's oxygen storage tank No. 2 exploded.

Fortunately, after being rescued by the ground command center, the three astronauts on Apollo 13 successfully landed on April 17, 1970, after battling various harsh environments.

So what was the situation like on the Apollo 13 spacecraft at that time?

Was the oxygen bottle defective in advance or was it improperly handled during the flight that caused the explosion?

Afterwards, Mi Li's family set up an accident investigation team to find out the cause of the accident.

The reason is that the two thermostat switches installed in the heating system in the liquid oxygen tank of the service cabin caused arc discharge due to overload, which connected them into a path, causing the temperature of the heating pipeline to reach as high as 500 degrees, scorching nearby wires. Cause an oxygen explosion.

Don't think that oxygen as an oxidant will not explode. High-pressure and low-temperature liquid oxygen, even without fuel, will rapidly vaporize and expand once the equipment that maintains the low temperature fails, thereby exploding the liquid oxygen bottle. This is a typical physical explosion.

"From the space accidents in various countries around the world, we can analyze that the failure of electronic components and the explosion of fuel and oxidizer are the main factors in spacecraft accidents." Huang Haojie clicked on these two factors and then zoomed in.

"Our space agency has also studied these two factors, but it can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause." Li Zhongting said helplessly.

"The first factor, the failure of electronic components, I think should be solved from two directions. One is to enhance the radiation resistance of electronic components, and the other is to isolate high-energy particles, solar storms, and cosmic rays."

"The radiation resistance of electronic components can only be solved with some radiation-resistant materials. For example, our spacecraft generally use polyimide aluminum plating and gold foil to resist radiation." Li Zhongting said.

In fact, gold is better at isolating radiation than lead, which is why it is used extensively on spacecraft.

As for why, when ordinary people think of lead now when they think of radiation resistance, it is because lead has huge reserves and is cheap, while gold is expensive and can only be used in specific fields.

In fact, an element with a larger atomic sequence is more resistant to radiation. However, a larger atomic sequence means that the element is rarer and more expensive. Of course, this must exclude elements that themselves have radiation.

"Then increase the use of gold. Instead of using gold foil, use gold plates." Huang Haojie said directly.

As for why he is so confident, it is because Dr. Yuan Quan of the Seawater Desalination Research Institute has recently realized gold filtration membrane technology.

Galaxy Technology has established a gold extraction factory on the east coast of Dongdao. It uses solar thin films to generate self-sustaining electricity and can extract 15 to 20 kilograms of gold from seawater every day.

A factory can produce 5.4 to 7.2 tons of gold a year.

If it's not enough, the worst possible option is to build a few more extraction plants.

Seeing Huang Junjie's confident look, Li Zhongting and others could only nod their heads in agreement.

"In fact, I have another plan to solve the problem of cosmic rays and high-energy particles, which is to use artificial magnetic fields to deflect high-energy particles." Huang Haojie said his plan.

"Artificial magnetic field?..." Li Zhongting certainly knew the principle of this technology.

That is the principle of imitating the planetary magnetic field of Blue Star, isolating high-energy particles, and deflecting those high-energy particles by creating a magnetic field.

Of course, this method is not 100% isolated. High-energy particles that can be deflected by a magnetic field must be charged. Uncharged particles cannot be deflected. For example, neutrons cannot be deflected.

If artificial magnetic fields and radiation-resistant materials are combined, most high-energy particles and cosmic rays can be isolated.

But it is not that easy to create an artificial magnetic field, especially such a large artificial magnetic field.

"Perhaps it can be achieved with room-temperature superconductors." Academician Ma said a method.

"That's right. Academician Ma and I have the same idea, which is to use room-temperature superconductors to realize artificial magnetic fields and cooperate with radiation-resistant materials to reduce cosmic rays and high-energy particles."

As soon as the ideas opened up, everyone became active and expressed their opinions one after another to perfect the plan.

Therefore, there are always more solutions than difficulties, and there is always a way to solve it if you have a direction.

What's more, Galaxy Technology's materials science also greatly reduces the difficulty of implementing many technologies. After all, sometimes it's not that the technology is bad, but that the materials and technology don't match.

Just like the current nuclear fusion power generation, Galaxy Technology has solved the problem of normal temperature superconductors. Only if someone can solve the problem of resistance to neutron irradiation will the problem of nuclear fusion power generation be solved.

After discussing the radiation resistance of electronic components, the next step is the explosion of fuel and oxidizer.

If there is a failure of electronic components, the spacecraft may still be repaired or dragged half-dead. Then a failure caused by the explosion of fuel and oxidizer will definitely lead to a narrow escape.

Especially when spaceflight is still in the atmosphere, 90% of the mass of the spacecraft is fuel and oxidizer, which is scary when you think about it.

Just like the Saturn V, the entire launch vehicle weighs just over 3,000 tons, and the fuel and oxidizer weigh in at 2,900 tons.

This is not 2,900 tons of water, but 2,900 liquid oxygen, kerosene and liquid hydrogen. A little spark or static electricity can blow the entire launch vehicle to pieces.

"This is a hydrogen curing agent developed by our Galaxy Technology. It can turn hydrogen into a kind of sub-metallic hydrogen at normal temperature and pressure." Huang Haojie sent a copy of the information on sub-metallic hydrogen to everyone.

When Wang Guanghai saw this name, he couldn't help but ask: "Submetallic hydrogen? What is its relationship with metallic hydrogen?"

"Let's put it this way! Submetallic hydrogen and metallic hydrogen are almost the same in density, but they do not have the superconducting properties and explosive properties of metallic hydrogen. It is a relatively stable substance. Unless the temperature exceeds 372 degrees Celsius, submetallic hydrogen will not Burn and explode," Li Xiang explained.

Academician Ma also said:

"We have tested it on the experimental spacecraft. This kind of submetallic hydrogen is very stable. As long as the temperature does not exceed 372 degrees Celsius, there will be no problem. Of course, the storage bottle we designed can ensure that the internal temperature does not exceed 100 degrees Celsius."

"Since it is very stable, how can it burn?" Wang Guanghai was very confused.

Academician Ma replied with a smile: "What is burning is not submetallic hydrogen, but hydrogen. Under the stimulation of certain conditions, submetallic hydrogen will quickly release hydrogen gas."

"I see, that means it is in the submetallic hydrogen state when not in use, and in the hydrogen gas state when in use." Wang Guanghai suddenly realized.

"Your technology is very powerful. Even if you don't have a mass projector, you can still do a lot on the launch vehicle." The spacecraft expert marveled.

"Yes! I didn't expect you, Mr. Huang, to still hide this skill." Li Zhongting also lamented that Galaxy Technology has very strong technical reserves.

Changing liquid hydrogen that requires low-temperature and high-pressure storage to submetallic hydrogen that can be stored at normal temperatures and pressures reduces a lot of difficulty in the design of launch vehicles or spacecrafts.

After all, liquid hydrogen needs to be maintained at low temperature and high pressure. Once something goes wrong, it will be catastrophic, and the entire spacecraft may be blown to pieces.

"If submetallic hydrogen is used to replace liquid hydrogen, it will not only be safer and more controllable, but more importantly the density. The density of submetallic hydrogen is 7 times that of liquid hydrogen, which means that the container that previously stored 1 ton of liquid hydrogen can now store 7 tons." Academician Ma continued.

Wang Guanghai, Li Zhongting and others also calculated that generally speaking, the ratio of fuel and oxidant in a hydrogen-oxygen engine, that is, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, is 1:8.

The reason why it is 1:8 is very simple, because the product after the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen is water, that is, H2O. According to the atomic mass of the hydrogen atom is about 1 and the atomic mass of the oxygen atom is about 16, we can calculate the ratio of liquid hydrogen and The specific gravity of liquid oxygen is 1:8.

However, the density ratios of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are very different. The density of liquid hydrogen is 70.8 kilograms per cubic meter, while the density of liquid oxygen is 1141 kilograms per cubic meter.

The density ratio of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen is about 1:16, so 1 ton of liquid hydrogen requires 14 cubic meters to store, while 8 tons of liquid oxygen only requires 7 cubic meters.

If submetallic hydrogen is used instead, 1 ton will only require about 2 cubic meters.

In spaceships, not only weight must be compared, but also volume must be compared.

If you have seen the Shenzhou spacecraft in outer space, you will know how crowded the space inside is.

Astronauts barely have room to operate the dashboard, which is why Dongtang and Mao Xiong's spacecrafts are equipped with a stick. That stick is used to press the dashboard buttons.