Rebirth in America

In fact, many years ago, people dreamed of flying into the universe and landing on the moon.

In the middle of the 16th century, the invention of the telescope and a large number of astronomical observations yielded rich information on planetary motion and planetary appearance.

By the 17th century, some writers combined astronomical knowledge with fictional plots to write aerospace science fiction novels, including travel to the moon using rockets and jet propulsion methods such as solar energy. The most influential works of this period were undoubtedly the French writer J. Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Around the Moon".

Many scientists were deeply influenced by these two science fiction novels and developed their interest and ideas in space exploration. Among them, scientists such as Tsiolkovsky and Obert came up with the idea of ​​studying rockets and sailing in the universe after reading these two novels.

The great scientist Tsiolkovsky famously said: "The Earth is the cradle of mankind, but mankind will not live in the cradle forever. At first they will carefully break out of the atmosphere, and then they will conquer the entire solar system."

Tsiolkovsky was born in Russia. His father was a forest ranger and his mother was a craftsman. The boy's family was poor. On his 8th birthday, his mother gave him a science fiction novel "From the Earth to the Moon" and a hydrogen balloon. These two gifts sowed the seeds of space navigation in his heart.

Coincidentally, Obert, who was born in Romania, was attracted by the charm of space navigation when he was 11 years old after reading the science fiction novels "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Around the Moon".

His father was a doctor, and he originally wanted him to study medicine, but he read a lot of science and technology books. He calculated: "You must fly to the moon at a speed of 11.2 kilometers/second."

Shortly after the end of World War II, the war-torn former Soviet Union began research on intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch vehicles.

Perhaps due to the postwar confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union and the thickening clouds of the Cold War, the Soviet government at that time attached great importance to this. However, to develop missiles and rockets, we need funds, technology and talents. The most difficult thing is funds.

The former Soviet Union was the country most severely damaged by the war during World War II, losing almost one-third of its national wealth; 1,700 towns and tens of thousands of villages needed to be rebuilt. And there are millions of people living in wartime bomb shelters, living in poverty and in need of resettlement.

Therefore, funds are extremely scarce. Despite this, the authorities still allocated huge sums of money to develop missiles and rockets.

The second effective measure they took was to mobilize resources and technical forces across the country to ensure the progress of missile and rocket development, especially concentrating some authoritative experts to develop high-thrust rockets.

Since Russia is Tsiolkovsky's hometown. There is no shortage of outstanding Rockets talents. The development work is kept strictly confidential from the outside world. Significant progress continues to be made.

While progress has been made in various tasks, organizational coordination and technical coordination have been strengthened. At that time, it was officially announced that an interdepartmental interstellar communication coordination committee would be established within the scope of the Astronomy Committee of the Academy of Sciences to achieve coordination and supervision of research work.

This is very important. Because developing missiles, rockets and launching satellites is an extremely complex system project, overall technical coordination is often more difficult and time-consuming than research and development work.

The successful development of the launch vehicle not only enabled the former Soviet Union to successfully launch intercontinental missiles, but also made it possible to launch satellites into space.

In November 1953, the former Soviet Union announced at the World Peace Conference in Geneva: "It is entirely possible to create artificial earth satellites."

This indicated that the former Soviet Union would develop artificial earth satellites and its launch vehicles, but it did not attract much attention.

1955. The United States announced that it would launch the "Jianbing" artificial satellite between 1957 and 1958. At that time, no one doubted the capabilities and confidence of the United States. However, in 1956, representatives of the former Soviet Union proposed at an international conference that the "International Geophysical Year" "During this period, an artificial earth satellite will be launched into orbit.

No one paid any attention to this at the time. Some Western journalists believe that this may be just a kind of psychological propaganda.

In fact, the former Soviet Union's artificial earth satellite development work is nearing completion, and it is preparing to convert intercontinental missiles into carriers for launching satellites.

On October 4, 1957, the weather was sunny. It was a rare sunny day not only in the United States, but also in Baikonur, the Soviet Union.

In Baikonur, a small place in Kazakhstan, there is a secret base. This base is actually the Soviet space center.

On this day, a large rocket was erected on the satellite launch tower of the space center. This is a satellite launch vehicle modified using a P-7 intercontinental missile.

The head of the rocket is equipped with a spherical artificial satellite "Sputnik" 1 with four folding rod antennas. With a loud roar from the rocket engine, the rocket took off and disappeared without a trace in less than two minutes.

The satellite is only 580 mm in diameter, weighs 83.6 kg, and has four whip antennas. Inside the sealed aluminum shell, there is a chemical battery, a thermometer, and a small dual-frequency transmitter.

Although this "little star" only stayed in the sky for 92 days, it "pushed" the entire earth and promoted the pace of developing space technology in various countries. It sent an electronic signal announcing its birth to radios and televisions around the world. This shocked and deeply disturbed countries around the world.

Since then, the earth has a "new star". This "new star" has a poetic name: "Earth's traveling companion."

However, to almost everyone's surprise, the "New Star" awakened Americans from their sleep and changed the structure of the Cold War world.

Americans believe that the artificial satellite first launched by the Soviet Union has military significance. It is the sword of Damocles hanging over the people of free countries and may pierce capitalist countries at any time.

The emergence of this satellite also annoyed the then US President Eihausen Will. The most important thing was that it was bombarded by the news media. Not only the people were worried, but even government officials were worried.

The White House advisers were all confused. During those few days, almost all of them surrounded Eisenhower, harassing him like mosquitoes, wirelessly exaggerating the impact of Soviet satellite time.

This made the President of the United States very angry and troubled. After that, he often said: "It is better to act based on intuition than to follow the advice of the shares!" This shows how much he dislikes the White House advisers. I'm afraid it started from this incident.

At that time, in addition to the White House advisers who were constantly chasing and harassing the president, even the president's political opponents, Democratic Senator and later US President John F. Kennedy, were also making noises. He continued to give interviews to the media, exaggerating the impact of the satellite incident on the American people, and intentionally or unintentionally pointed the finger at the current president, believing that it was the government's inaction that allowed the Soviets to take the lead.

The Soviet Union's launch of satellites brought opportunities to Kennedy, giving him more exposure and frequent appearances in front of the American people. This accumulated personal reputation and laid the foundation for his future presidential campaign.

Driven by the young and handsome Kennedy. Americans soon woke up. People began to think that Eisenhower, the former combat hero and five-star general who commanded the Normandy landings, was a glamorous idiot. Eisenhower was accused of only fighting wars and not running a government. He can only be a general but not a president.

People told the media: "The Soviets have put an eye above our heads. Isn't this scary? The people of free countries are under the eyes of Big Brother all the time. Shouldn't we do something?"

The press also began to hype and provoke, and caricatures were flying everywhere. There was a lot of fuss.

"The New York Times" boldly wrote in colorful letters on the front page: "The Soviet Union launched an Earth satellite into space. The satellite flew around the Earth at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour and passed over the United States four times..."

"Newsweek" published a special report, followed by a supplement a week later. "A controlled group of scientists has achieved such an achievement in a dictatorship that has given the word 'satellite' the connotation of slavery," the report read.

"Life" magazine published an article called "The Panic Argument," which satirized Eisenhower for saying too little and doing too little.

Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (who later became President of the United States after Kennedy's assassination) wrote: "On the evening of October 4, after the Soviet Union launched the satellite into space, I was walking on my family's farm in Texas. For some reason, I feel like the sky looks different than it used to.”

Lyndon Johnson also said in an exaggerated and threatening tone: “Controlling space means controlling the world. In the future, the master of space (if not the United States, then the Soviet Union) will be able to control the earth’s weather and create droughts and floods. , changing the tides to raise sea levels. Turning ocean currents, turning warmth into cold..."

From November 25, 1957 to January 23, 1958, the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Lyndon Johnson, held no less than 20 meetings intensively to vent the committee's concerns.

During this time, Hughes sent out his own advocates and canvassed for government support. They continue to lobby the government and publicize to the people, telling them that they have the best rocket technology and satellite technology in the United States.

Congressmen such as Lyndon Johnson were dismissive of such statements. At most, they listened politely without saying a word. In private, he said mockingly: "It's just a private company, but it dares to boast that it has the most advanced technology. Do they think they are Soviets? Haha!"

As for the public, they asked more directly: "You said that your company's technology is advanced, but have you launched satellites into space?"

Not to mention the president, Eisenhower did not even intend to support the rocket research institute of the government department, let alone support a private enterprise.

Some congressmen also asked why a private company wanted to research this kind of military technology, but they were refuted. Satellites can also be used to serve the public. As for whether private companies can do it, God knows.

Alex had already expected that Hughes' people were running into obstacles in Washington, and he didn't care about it at all. But Hughes kept urging him to produce results quickly, which annoyed him to death.

"If you can spend so much money to build rockets and satellites, then I will launch a launch right now!" Alex said to Hughes.

Hughes was silent again. He had no money now. Not only did he have no money, he also needed money urgently. Now that his TWA debt is due and he has no money to repay it, the bank has backed him into a corner. It is precisely because of this that he is anxious to get investment from the government. As long as the funds can be circulated, he will be able to relax quickly.

"I don't have any money. But I do have shares, what do you want?" Hughes said suddenly.

Shares? As soon as Alex heard the word, he knew what Hughes was trying to do. He had long known about Hughes's troubles, and TWA's difficulties had been published in the newspapers. It is said that Hughes is required to appear in court, otherwise 78% of his TWA shares will be repaid.

As a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Hughes has now gradually faded out of people's sight and retreated behind the scenes to control his company. To get Hughes out of court would be like killing him.

But Hughes really doesn't have the money to repay the debt. If he doesn't pay back the money and doesn't appear in court, the court will probably award his shares to the bank. At least it would lose control of TWA. Only ownership rights remain.

"How much?" Alex actually had some thoughts about TWA. But he never had a chance.

"$500 million!" Hughes replied.

Alex almost cursed. $500 million! Hughes is so cruel. His debt to the bank is only a little over 200 million, but he was asked to buy it for 500 million US dollars.

However, he soon realized that the aviation market has developed rapidly in recent years. All airlines in the United States are desperately expanding. It is precisely because of this that Hughes borrowed too much money to invest in TWA, so that there is now a problem in the capital chain.

Hughes has always had a good vision. He did see the prospects of this market. Unfortunately, he took a big step forward. Historically, Hughes lost control of TWA because he failed to appear in court. A few years later, he took advantage of the surge in airline shares to sell off his shares. In one fell swoop, $5 billion was made.

After possessing US$5 billion, Hughes invested the money in Hughes Aerospace Company, which directly affected the development of the US aerospace industry. A large part of the Apollo moon landing was influenced by him.

"How about it! You should be able to get $500 million!" Hughes urged on the other end of the phone.

It can indeed be obtained. Alex’s work over the years has not been in vain. He not only invests everywhere, but also often uses historical events to make huge profits from futures. Many investments are long-term investments, such as fast food and supermarkets. As for the futures market, that is where money comes directly.

But once he takes the US$500 million, his investment company's cash will bottom out. In this case, he will have to wait at least a year or two before he has enough cash to do other things.

Alex actually didn't think about it for long, only a few dozen seconds at most, but these few dozen seconds were a very important decision for him. He finally said: "No problem, when will you prepare the relevant documents?"

"This will be quick. Where is your money? Are you ready? Does it take time?"

"If you want money, I can give it to you right away!"

"Okay, let's finish the formalities quickly. You know those bank things, right? Come over and sign tomorrow!"

"OK!"

After acquiring this global airline, Alex was not happy. He knew that he would become a thorn in the side of some consortium from this moment on. You know, Hughes was at odds with Pan Am because of TWA. He fought with Pan Am's boss for more than 20 years without a winner.

There are even conspiracy theories that the accident on Hughes's last test flight was actually caused by people from Pan Am Airways. It was precisely because of this accident that Hughes almost died and suffered from extremely serious mental illness and was unable to appear in public.

Of course, those people are not all slayers. They may offer a path to reconciliation. If after Alex got 78% of TWA's shares, he would obediently accept Pan Am's recruitment and become one of their younger brothers, then nothing would happen. You can also make money with the boss, don't worry about anything, and live happily counting money.

It's just that Alex is not such a person, and Hughes can also see that he is not such a person. Then there is only one way left, either Pan Am is absorbed, or TWA is absorbed. Historically, it ended with TWA being absorbed.

Now that Alex has changed, I'm afraid it's still too early for Pan Am to unify the U.S. aviation market.

After thinking clearly about the stakes, Alex called home and told his parents in a very calm tone: "I bought an airline for $500 million. It's so expensive!"

"What? What did you do?" Bart yelled on the phone!

"Hey! I can't explain it clearly on the phone. I'll tell you when I get back from the company."

That night. Alex talked about buying TWA shares. The family members at the dinner table were stunned. They did not expect Alex to have so much money, nor did they expect to spend so much money.

Regarding the fact that he has so much money, Alex explained that he earned it from his share of record copyright taxes, novel copyright taxes, patent taxes, the income of several companies, and the futures market. Of course, they did not elaborate on where the money came from. They did not expect that the money mainly came from the futures market.

After listening to this, Bart pondered for a moment, and then asked with concern: "Then you don't have much money now, do you?"

"Yes!" Alex nodded and said, "I have already taken out all the funds from the investment company, and some of the remaining money is going to be used as working capital."

"Let's do this. I'll give you 300 million US dollars, and treat it as money for your family to manage!" Bart suddenly suggested.

$300 million! Among the people present except Angel. Everyone thought that their family already had so much money. It’s not just Richard and Karen. Even Alex didn't know.

Bart continued: "Do you think that 300 million US dollars is a lot? In fact, it is really not much. Let me do the math for you. I won't talk about radios, record companies, and brokerage companies. I will only talk about one thing, our cpt company The computer market can earn almost hundreds of millions of net profits every year!"

Angel nodded beside him, agreeing with Bart's statement. She explained: "When the business gets bigger and bigger, we will find that it is easier and easier to make money. It is just a matter of making more or less, and the risk."

Alex knew what risk Angel was referring to. Generally speaking, families of their level had begun to be exposed to things from the upper class. Once the political stance is chosen incorrectly, it is likely to cause the family to go downhill, and it will be difficult to get back up again.

Someone once said: "A family like Rockefeller will either continue to thrive or decline. There is no third way!"

The Rothschild family, which originally claimed to be in charge of human wealth, was like this. When it was prosperous, it was arrogant. Once it declines, it will be like a boat with a hole in it, quickly sinking to the bottom of the river and becoming a relic of history.

According to ordinary people's thinking, even a broken ship has its three pounds of nails. No matter how destitute the Rothschild family is, they will never be inferior to those consortiums that started from scratch. Then why have they never made a comeback? That's because when a family declines and wants to get back up, the past glory will become a burden to the descendants.

The more glory there is, the more burden there is. Unless there is a descendant who is a hero who has traveled through time, it will be difficult to revive the family.

Now Barr and Angel have also begun to come into contact with this aspect, and are beginning to figure out how to make the Carpenter family truly stand side by side with those large consortium-style families. UU reading www.uukanshu.net

As the helmsmen of the Carpenter family, they also gradually learned about the cruelty of political struggle. Even Hughes Howard did not mention it, but just mentioned the tragedy that was about to happen to the Kennedy family. Sometimes, once their faces are broken, The other party will use all kinds of methods to the best of their ability.

Since Alex was kidnapped, they have also been alerted that someone has noticed a key figure in the Carpenter family. They originally wanted to hide Alex behind them and wait until he was older before coming to the front. Nowadays, this seems impossible.

In addition, Alex spent 500 million US dollars to acquire most of TWA, which means that he can no longer use his celebrity status to confuse others as he did in the past, but will be placed in front of those competitors. . There will definitely be many people coming over to study Alex thoroughly, and their personality, psychology, habits, etc. will all be analyzed clearly.

In this case, they simply handed over the power of the Carpenter family to Alex and let him control the direction of the family's development.

ps:

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