Super technology leader

In just a few hours, the topic of discussion had shifted.

But there was no helping it. In the eyes of the average person, amateur rockets were only good for playing around, like glorified bottle rockets, and utterly useless.

If they couldn't transport things into space, they were basically trash.

They simply didn't know that cheap amateur rockets could be used as sounding rockets, which are cost-effective devices for conducting near-space exploration and scientific experiments.

Sounding rockets can be used to probe the structure, composition, and parameters of the atmosphere at various altitudes, and to study various Sun-Earth physical phenomena such as the ionosphere, geomagnetic field, cosmic rays, solar ultraviolet and X-rays, and meteor dust.

They fly higher than weather balloons and lower than artificial Earth satellites in low orbit, making them effective exploration tools for altitudes of 30 to 200 kilometers.

Compared to the relatively obscure amateur rockets, the Moon was much more well-known, making lunar exploration programs seem grand and impressive.

Not to mention foreign countries, China was scheduled to launch the Chang'e-5 probe at the end of the year, with the mission of collecting lunar soil and returning it to Earth.

It was the most crucial probe in the third phase of the lunar exploration project and the concluding battle of China's lunar exploration program.

After that would be the manned lunar landing project.

Originally, Chang'e-5 was supposed to be launched two years earlier, but it was delayed due to issues with the Long March 5 rocket, further highlighting the difficulties of lunar exploration.

With the launch just a few months away, the United States suddenly restarted the Lunar Prize Competition, inviting numerous private companies to compete for prize money. The competition rules overlapped with the mission of Chang'e-5, inevitably raising suspicions.

"If private space companies can do this, does China's space program have a future?"

Don't think that no one would think that way.

Some people's thinking is very fragile, not to mention those who are trying to muddy the waters, taking the results of a competition two years later and using them to criticize the Chang'e-5 mission a few months later.

This was also the brilliance of the United States, even a seemingly simple matter could contain several hidden tricks to catch others off guard.

Soon, while ordinary people were still discussing the superficial information of the competition, some big shots had already begun to analyze the hidden agendas.

The analysis concluded that the United States was using this competition to gather some tools to showcase its own space technology strength, showing various international forces that it was still the strongest on Earth.

After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union scoured a large amount of rocket technology and rocket engineers, and then desperately developed space technology.

Subsequently, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the United States almost collapsed because of it.

Fortunately, the Soviet Union collapsed early, allowing it to catch its breath and slowly embark on the path of dominance.

After the Soviet Union disappeared, a bunch of bear cubs remained, and the United States, not trusting them, even tricked a batch of them to death.

In the last decade or so, relying on the complete aerospace industrial system that the United States had built with massive investments in that crazy era, a batch of professional private space companies sprung up like mushrooms and quickly grew into sturdy bamboo.

The strength of various private space companies ultimately stems from the strength of the US space system, after all, the massive investment in those years was not in vain.

This cannot be envied; without investment, one can only watch helplessly.

Linking this to the Lunar Prize Competition, although it was said that private space teams from all over the world could participate, which country's private space teams could compare to the private space strength of the United States?

Even some national teams could not compare to some of the top private space companies in the United States, such as a certain country in Asia...

India: "Definitely not me, I am very strong, I even explored Mars, not the weakest one that hasn't left the Earth-Moon system."

Japan: "Not me either, I even explored asteroids, not the weakest one that hasn't left the Earth-Moon system."

South Korea: "Why are you looking at me? The things you explored are all from my home."

China: "...Limited funds, different development priorities, we are down-to-earth and steady."

The Remaining Few: "???"

"Damn, don't we even have names?!"

Back to the main topic.

Previously, the United States signed commercial lunar landing contracts with several private space companies. Although it was just to safely deliver equipment to the lunar surface, a one-way trip with no return, it was already a symbol of strength.

After all, so far, only three national teams have this capability.

If private companies can do this, it would undoubtedly be a feat and the beginning of the space industry moving to another level.

With landers, landers with return capabilities would not be far away. Several companies are working towards this, all in order to compete for the bidding qualification for the US return to the moon program.

So, although it was said that the whole world could participate and that partners for the lunar landing program would be selected from the winners, in reality, the selection would be made from its own major private space companies.

These companies were already shortlisted, and participating in this competition was just a formality, and they could also get some prize money.

Perfect.

As for the other participating teams...

Sorry, you are just tools.

But if you say their competition is unfair, their competition rules are actually the fairest.

It's all about winning with technology!

Moreover, they will shoot documentaries, show promotional videos of various teams, announce lunar landing details, and even do live broadcasts of the landing. After the samples are returned, they will also hold public exhibitions of lunar soil, etc.

Everything will be done under the supervision of the world.

If this is not fair, then what is fair?

But precisely, their private space technology is the most advanced.

If you want to surpass them, you can, spend money.

This problem can be solved by paying.jpg

If it is a national team, for the sake of face, they might spend a lot of money, referring to that crazy era.

But this competition is limited to private teams.

Not to mention whether private teams have this much money, even if they do, unless everyone in your team is an idealist full of space dreams, no team would spend this money.

So, that's how it is.

Many people can see these things, but there will still be a large number of private teams signing up for this competition.

Even within the United States, knowing the strength of several major companies, and that they are also the lunar landing partners designated by the space agency, there are still a large number of small space companies and small teams signing up to participate.

It doesn't matter if you don't get into the finals, the important thing is to get exposure. Only by getting exposure can you become famous.

Once you become famous, whether you start your own company or join some large company, you will have a halo, and with a halo, it is easier to make money.

And if you are lucky enough to get into the finals, you can definitely get a lot of exposure, and only by getting a lot of exposure can you make a lot of money.

Private space companies in other countries think the same way.

So, soon, within an hour after the press conference, the US Space Agency received the first application form.

It was a small group in the United States that no one had ever heard of, with only five members.

Tom, who was in charge of the review, smiled at the time: "Sure enough, just like last time, the smaller the team, the faster they sign up. The truly strong teams won't sign up at this time."

"Haha, you're right, Tom," Jerry, who was sitting next to him, also said with a smile: "I also received one, the team name is 'Kerbal Lunar Landing Department', a small team from China, claiming to bring the dreams of game players and use Kerbal technology to land on the moon, a bit interesting."

"Oh, is it the Kerbal Space Program we usually play?" Another reviewer, Spike, asked curiously.

"Yes, that's it. They even included game screenshots to show their lunar landing plan steps," Jerry dragged the application form down a bit, "but the team is currently recruiting, so there is only a 23-year-old captain, a truly idealistic young fellow."

"I still hope he succeeds, after all, I like this game," Spike said seriously.

"So I decided to pass him, what do you think?"

"Hahaha, I also hope they can succeed, then I'll pass it too."

"I'll pass it too."

"Pass, even for the sake of the diversity of participating teams, I'll pass it."

Soon, the review office was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.