I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

In order to prevent sliding and uniform stress, and to make it easier to hoist, the node cabin is transported upright and uses molds to support the curved bottom, rather than lying horizontally.

The overall height of the transfer trailer plus the standing node cabin exceeds 14.5 meters. From a ground perspective, it almost misses the workshop door, but in fact the distance is less than two meters.

This also determines that the transshipment cabin or rocket shell cannot exceed 14 meters, so even the Xinyuan-4 rocket in PPT state only has a final diameter of 14 meters after strengthening.

If you only consider the aircraft transfer conditions and launch site, this number can actually reach 18 meters, surpassing the N1 and becoming the thickest rocket in the world.

Although this record is meaningless...

However, after the node module is transferred, it will not be immediately taken to Qiongzhou for launch, and the Xinyuan-3 rocket is not ready yet.

It needs to be moved out of the workshop and found somewhere else to store it, otherwise it will take up too much space.

Although the workshop of the B-level base is very large, in theory it is no problem to process two 14-meter-level cabin sections at the same time, but in fact, other things have to be manufactured here, and having a big guy blocking the way is too much trouble.

But although the workers in the workshop think that the guy is too big and is a hindrance, it does not affect their love for this node cabin at all.

This is the cabin with the largest diameter in the world. Although it is only 6 meters long, the internal space is as high as 320 cubic meters. It is so wide that it can be used as a square.

The other two cabins on the axis are even more exaggerated. They are the super cabin with a diameter of 14 meters and a length of 45 meters, which is the core control part of the entire space station.

One of the two cabins is the pilot cabin, which carries navigation equipment fixed by a super-large gyroscope and stores a considerable amount of fuel; the other is a cabin that docks with other spacecraft and stores cargo, and also houses a lot of equipment.

Even though it is not as empty as XS-62, the usable space is still more than 3,000 cubic meters, and two are nearly 7,000 cubic meters.

It is conceivable that the current so-called third- and fourth-generation space stations cannot even compare with this axial compartment. If the entire Forward space station is divided into the fifth generation, the generation difference between them will be too exaggerated. Others Space agencies don’t know how to catch up.

And to build such a large space station, an auxiliary facility is needed: a space shuttle.

It's not enough to be too small. This kind of giant structure needs to be fixed with trusses to increase its strength. The docking interface alone cannot withstand the pull caused by rotation, and there will definitely be problems.

It must be a 100-ton space shuttle, and there is none in service around the world.

Although NACA restarted the space shuttle program, the success of H1 convinced them that miniaturization was the right path. Instead of starting another project or continuing the STS program, they chose to invest directly in Dream Chaser.

But when everyone believed that the 100-ton space shuttle was not feasible, Xinyuan was silently advancing the H2 project.

On June 1, a gray-white H1 space shuttle was loaded onto an IL-62 and took off from the B-level base to the Xinyuan Space Launch Site.

The outside world has speculated that this is a new model of H1 modification, or a special testing machine without thermal insulation material.

The conclusion is similar. This is a specially manufactured unmanned verification aircraft used to verify the relevant technologies of H2.

The reason why its surface has become gray is actually because it has been replaced with new insulation tiles.

In order to reduce the cost of use, H2 decided to use insulating tiles that can be used throughout the entire service life and are integrated into one to completely eliminate risks.

So Xinyuan engineers used the fused heat insulation layer technology expected to be used on the H2 for this H1. The interior is very complicated and cannot be replaced. It can transfer heat from the bottom that bears the most heat, so that the heat insulation layer of the whole body can be Consume evenly until the life of 100 flights is completed.

This set of thermal insulation layers is extremely expensive, accounting for more than half of the cost of the H1, but if it can be exchanged for no need for reuse during the entire life cycle, it is well worth it.

On June 4, the test aircraft, internally coded H1X, was flown by Xinyuan-5B at the Qiongzhou Space Launch Site. It did not land in Qiongzhou on its return trip, but returned directly to Xinyuan Airport.

Xinyuan announced to the outside world that it had conducted a flight test of a major improvement model of H1, leaving major aerospace agencies with questions and then refused to disclose any information.

NACA couldn't see anything, so it could only urge the Sierra Nevada Company to increase the progress of the Dream Chaser again.

…

In the Space Vehicle Design Department, Xiao Gangtian was playing with a huge star map of the solar system, placing magnetic round nails on it. Lin Ju was behind him, sitting casually on the table.

"Boss, do you really want to carry out such a grand plan?"

"Yes, preferably within ten years, we must complete the planet detection in the solar system as much as possible, obtain basic data, and prepare for unmanned or manned landing."

After Lin Ju finished speaking, he also picked up a magnetic nail and placed it on Jupiter's second satellite, Europa.

Naturally, he came to Xiao Gangtian to arrange a mission. Xiao Gangtian was good at space vehicle design, so Lin Ju asked him to organize the launch of probes to all planets in the entire solar system, preferably landing them.

Including the eight major planets, the asteroid belt, several satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, etc., it is extremely complex.

Ten years is the time Lin Ju has set for Xiao Gangtian.

I don’t know where the next system mission will be. Although the probability of Mars is very high, what if it’s not and the place is changed? Or changed to other tasks?

But it should still be roughly within the solar system, and for future missions, it is necessary to detect the entire solar system.

However, Okada was still very shocked, because this is not just a simple matter of throwing a detector in the past century, but also trying to establish a network covering various celestial bodies to achieve long-term monitoring.

This includes the asteroid belt, which although there are no formed planets, is rich in resources and has quite a lot of high-value meteorites, and may become an important source of resources in the future.

To implement this plan, we need to invest tens of billions in 10 to 15 or even 20 years, use quite a few heavy-lift rockets, carefully calculate the orbits of celestial bodies, and form a dedicated team to stare at this deep space. network.

In order to communicate with these deep space detectors whose distance from the earth is calculated in astronomical units, very large antennas need to be built on the ground or in low-Earth orbit to transmit large amounts of data.

Therefore, Lin Ju temporarily named it the "Xingxiu" deep space network, which provides a variety of services for flights throughout the solar system, including selecting landing sites in advance, spacecraft navigation, cosmic meteorite impact prevention, etc.

Xiao Okada naturally knows the importance of this task, and almost wants to hold the entire galaxy in his hands.

"Please rest assured, President, the detailed plan for the Deep Space Network will be submitted before this year. However, I still want to ask how much budget the Star Network can obtain each year?"

Lin Ju: "Not too much, try to keep it within 2 billion, so the financial pressure will be much less."