Super technology leader

Elon Musk of Space X felt slighted. The owner of Blue Origin was being unfair; he had already bowed out of this order competition, yet still got caught in the crossfire.

However, the height of the lunar Starship was indeed a problem. There was no way around it; the fuel tanks and propulsion systems were at the bottom, and such a large spacecraft required a massive power module to drive it.

Moreover, the Starship was designed for single-stage-to-orbit on the Moon, further increasing the size of the power module. Consequently, the lunar Starship exceeded all expectations for lunar landers, with its weight exceeding 100 tons.

As a result of the increased weight and extended construction time, they would miss the first American return to the Moon. Furthermore, they had no involvement in this manned lunar mission.

The Crew Dragon couldn't leave Earth's orbit, and the Starship launch system wasn't needed to send equipment into space, so they could only watch the other two companies compete.

The competition between these two companies was very American in style. After touting their own advantages, they began to relentlessly expose each other's weaknesses.

They criticized each other's lunar equipment, claiming it was inadequate and incapable of executing the mission.

In any case, Elon Musk, having withdrawn from the order competition, found it all quite amusing.

While listening, he couldn't help but recall their previous cooperation with Pathfinder, which involved stimulating their respective national space agencies to spend more money and strengthen their companies.

No one had anticipated that Pathfinder could reach this point.

That young boss was no ordinary individual; he was more than just a technology genius.

Now it seemed that Pathfinder received more national support than they did. In Tianxia, Pathfinder was dominant, without any need to compete for orders.

Unlike the current situation, he glanced at the two company owners exchanging insults and grimaced silently.

Instead of wasting time here, he might as well return and think about how to accelerate the development of the lunar Starship.

Suddenly, he noticed the owner of Blue Origin giving a subtle wink to a high-ranking member of the committee, something he only caught because of his unique position.

This was interesting.

Sure enough, within ten minutes, the committee asked them to stop their presentations, or rather, to stop insulting each other, and the review panel began a closed-door meeting.

With the review panel in a closed-door meeting, they were off the hook. They had said what needed to be said and expressed what needed to be expressed; all that remained was to await the final result.

They could take a short break. Upon leaving the meeting room, the owners of Blue Origin and Dynamics had vanished, presumably off to lobby elsewhere.

This was an old tradition.

Anyway, Elon Musk ignored them and contacted his company via phone to discuss new plans with the technical staff.

Half an hour later, they returned to the meeting room, and the results were announced.

Blue Origin had won the lunar lander order for the return to the Moon. The committee had approved their 'stairs-to-elevator' proposal, and their progress was indeed the fastest, nearing completion.

After all, their technology… well, there wasn't much to say. It was normal that they were the closest to completion.

With the results announced, the Blue Origin owner shook hands with the Dynamics owner, who wore a forced smile, and then with Elon Musk, who offered a genuine smile, before leaving.

Having secured the order, he had many things to do.

The first was to modify the spaceship's exterior in the previous promotional video, replacing the long staircase with a simple elevator.

Everything else could wait, but the publicity had to be prioritized.

This, too, was tradition!

A day later, people saw the new promotional video.

The American Space Agency also announced the latest lunar landing date, along with ambitious plans for a lunar space station and large-scale lunar base construction.

It must be said, the promotional video was exceptionally well-made, comparable to a science fiction blockbuster.

Good heavens, people immediately understood that America was going to compete with Tianxia again.

But this time, it seemed America had lost from the start... or had it?

"It doesn't feel like there's much to compare. America scheduled the lunar landing at the end of the month; it feels like a last-ditch effort."

"In terms of lunar landers, it's definitely lacking. The 'National Team' lunar lander isn't as aesthetically pleasing as the 'Soaring Moon' lander."

"The tonnage is also less, almost 10 tons less. And at a glance, the 'Soaring Moon' lander's propulsion system is more advanced; its power module ratio is smaller, allowing for larger cabins and the exit to be placed one meter above the ground."

"Haha, speaking of that, I can't help but laugh. Initially, the 'National Team' lunar lander's staircase was like a heavenly ladder. How were astronauts supposed to descend? Now they've finally changed it to an elevator."

"Actually, I thought the 'Base' lunar lander was pretty good. The astronauts could get on and off so easily. Why wasn't it selected? Is there some kind of behind-the-scenes manipulation?"

"Indeed, a low exit makes getting in and out convenient, but I feel that America's mission isn't very groundbreaking. It's still replicating decades-old missions, truly returning for the sake of 'returning.' Why not aim for a permanent presence?"

"Yes, seven days is an improvement over the previous three days, but it's far behind Tianxia's permanent residency plan. Is this the legendary advantage of starting later?"

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Netizens had various opinions, but the advantage of Tianxia plus Pathfinder was too obvious. Whether it was the launch time or the nature of the mission, they were superior.

With the media fueling the flames, not to mention the media in other countries not siding with America, even half of the media within America didn't support them.

After all, everyone knew that the American media was aligned with the ruling party. When one side came to power, the other side criticized them almost daily.

Fortunately, the President still controlled half of the media, and after so many years of external propaganda, there were enthusiastic supporters around the world.

Regardless of what the real America was like, the America in their hearts was always the strongest and most perfect.

So at this time, they didn't talk about reality; they specifically started hyping up the promotional videos.

They said how important the American lunar space station was to humanity and how even more important the planned American lunar base was.

They even added alien elements. After all, American science fiction movies had many alien scenes. Coincidentally, there were now aliens in the solar system, so in the spiritual world, America had once again become the absolute leader in fighting aliens.

Anyway, fine. As the time for Tianxia's manned space launch mission approached, America's publicity became more intense.

It was as if other countries on Earth had become invisible.

Especially those spacefaring nations that once had a significant presence.

The Russians also had a lunar landing plan, but unfortunately, they were financially strained, and many things were in the initial stages of preparation.

After dragging their feet for a long time, they finally launched an aging space station core module. They planned to go it alone after the International Space Station expired and were now looking for wealthy but technologically deficient partners.

Although Tianxia and America were also options, some countries didn't get along with Tianxia and America.

Especially America, which had too many pitfalls in cooperating with it. One wrong step, and they could send their own country down the wrong path.

As for Europa, although it was a union, their internal cooperation wasn't very close.

Only the current pretext of breaking free from American control barely brought them together, and America's main focus was now on Tianxia, paying less attention to them, making it a good time to break free.

They also put together a space station plan and a lunar base plan, as a way to independently compete for influence in space, but it was also relatively early.

As for others, there were none, right?

India: "???"

"What about me?"