Military Technology

"I see the progress is going well. Can it be launched next year?" Wu Hao turned around and looked at the big guy in front of him, and then asked with a smile.

Hearing Wu Hao's words, Yu Chengwu and Zhou Xiangming looked at each other, then shook their heads at Wu Hao and said: "I still can't guarantee you this, because it depends on the specific development progress. In addition, there are A series of subsequent testing work will follow.

You also know that once such a big thing is launched into space, it is conservatively estimated that it will take ten years to operate, so it must be ensured that it is safe and reliable enough.

Therefore, the entire development process including the subsequent testing process is very strict, even harsh. We do not allow the Moon Express cis-lunar transfer spacecraft to carry any problems to space, not even a little bit.

Because if something goes wrong with the Moon Express Earth-Moon transfer spacecraft in space, it will have serious consequences.

Even if it does not cause serious consequences, repairs are extremely time-consuming and laborious. It's okay inside the cabin, but outside the cabin, astronauts need to be organized to conduct an extravehicular space walk. The resources and funds consumed by this space walk alone are very huge.

Therefore, we must ensure that it is reliable enough before we can launch it into space. "

Speaking of this, Yu Chengwu couldn't help but smile bitterly: "This project can be said to be groundbreaking. There is no experience to follow, and the technical difficulty is very huge. To be honest, our entire project team is under tremendous pressure from the establishment of the project to the present. .

We also know what this project represents. Not only us, but all parties are now paying attention to this project, so we must proceed steadily and not take any risks.

According to the plan, if everything goes well, we are scheduled to launch from late October to early November in early winter next year. However, the impact of other factors cannot be ruled out and the launch plan has been postponed.

Even if we will launch the Lunar Express Earth-Moon transfer spacecraft by then, we will still need to conduct on-orbit performance tests for a long period of time to let it fly back and forth along the Earth-Moon orbit to verify its overall reliability. And during the test process, we also have to conduct multiple docking experiments, including our docking and separation with the manned spacecraft in earth orbit, and the docking and separation with the landing ascender in lunar orbit.

This process may take several months, or even half a year, until the Lunar Express Earth-lunar transfer spacecraft, including the entire system, is operating normally without any problems and has passed the review and evaluation of the relevant expert group. Only after a real manned lunar landing experiment is successfully verified can it be put into use. "

It’s so troublesome, it feels much more complicated than a manned spacecraft! After hearing Yu Chengwu's introduction, Zhang Jun frowned.

After hearing Zhang Jun's words, Zhou Xiangming explained with a smile: "Of course, the technical difficulty is different. The overall technical difficulty of our Lunar Express Earth-lunar transfer spacecraft is dozens or hundreds of times that of the manned spacecraft.

Moreover, there are precedents for manned spacecraft to follow, and we can refer to them for reference. However, this kind of Earth-moon transfer spacecraft, and this kind of permanent transfer spacecraft back and forth between the Earth and the moon, has no precedent at all.

There was no reference, so we had to fumble through everything, and the development progress was naturally slow.

Besides, this is to carry people. As long as the safety of people is involved, there is no such thing as almost enough. Only when the safety of personnel is ensured can we dare to put it into use with confidence. This is our responsibility for life.

There are 380,000 kilometers between the earth and the moon, and the Moon Express Earth-Moon transfer spacecraft is equivalent to a ferry between the two. The 380,000 kilometers of starry sky is like a surging river. Once something goes wrong during the flight, it will be catastrophic, so there is no room for carelessness. "

After listening to such impassioned speeches by Yu Chengwu and Zhou Xiangming, Wu Hao and Zhang Jun couldn't help but show approval. Indeed, they have not been blinded by fame and fortune, and they can still stick to their bottom line as technicians and their conscience as entrepreneurs and corporate executives. This is not easy.

It may be that some people who are obsessed with profit, in order to seek maximum benefits, make money, and stock growth, may wantonly attach importance to the so-called results, and rush to promote these projects, while ignoring the most fundamental things. In the end, It can only end in a miserable failure.

Seeing the two people's reactions, Yu Chengwu smiled and continued: "Even if manned experiments can be carried out, we cannot land on the moon immediately.

Because our landing ascender is still under development, and the Zhihai Lunar Surface Scientific Research Station cannot yet meet the conditions for personnel occupancy.

Therefore, in the first manned test phase, we will adopt the plan of manned flight around the moon and select a few astronauts to conduct the first flight test around the moon.

Just like the official moon landing process, the astronauts participating in the test flight need to take off on our Walker manned spacecraft, and then dock with the Moon Express Earth-moon transfer spacecraft in the Earth's orbit. The astronauts transfer Go aboard the Moon Express cis-lunar transfer spacecraft.

Then the Moon Express Earth-lunar transfer spacecraft started, entered a lunar orbit, and then headed for the moon. After arriving at the moon, it will begin to decelerate and then fly around the moon.

It will stay in the lunar orbit for about two days, and then the Moon Express Earth-lunar transfer spacecraft will start again, then enter the lunar-Earth transfer orbit and return to the Earth orbit.

When the Lunar Express cis-lunar transfer spacecraft arrived in Earth orbit and orbited the Earth, the astronauts transferred from the Lunar Express cis-lunar transfer spacecraft to the Walker manned spacecraft.

The Walker manned spacecraft then separated from the Moon Express Earth-lunar transfer spacecraft, carrying the astronauts back to the surface of the Earth. The whole process lasted about twelve days, and the total journey reached 8.9 million kilometers.

Except that there is no landing on the moon, the other processes are exactly the same as the lunar landing mission.

This is also a preliminary exercise and accumulation of experience for our future lunar landing missions. Next time, the Moon Express Earth-Moon transfer spacecraft will carry the lunar landing ascender to the moon and carry out a real lunar landing mission. "

After hearing Yu Chengwu's introduction, Wu Hao immediately asked: "How is the development progress of this lunar landing and ascending vehicle?"

Hearing Wu Hao's inquiry, Zhou Xiangming smiled and nodded and said: "It is currently in the main development stage, and the progress is pretty good.

However, there are still some technical difficulties that need to be overcome, some of which involve materials, so it is relatively slow. "