Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 549 The Lunar Base Project Launched
In December, many places in the north are already covered in heavy snow, but on Qiongzhou Island, a southern island, it is still warm as spring. A few days ago, the daytime temperature even reached 30 degrees Celsius.

These southern regions, close to the equator, are more suitable as space launch sites. They can utilize the Earth's rotation to effectively save fuel, thus allowing rockets to carry larger launch payloads.

In addition, launching near the equator makes it easier for satellites to enter the correct orbital plane, saving fuel for satellite orbit changes.

Furthermore, the launch site facing the sea can prevent rocket debris from falling into inland areas where people gather, allowing the rocket debris to be controlled and dropped directly into the Pacific Ocean.

These are the key reasons why Nanmen Aerospace chose to locate its headquarters and core launch site on Qiongzhou Island.

Not only did Nanmen Aerospace choose this location for its launch activities, but other domestic aerospace agencies have also subsequently chosen to build launch sites here for their launch activities.

However, Nanmen Aerospace has far more launches than its neighboring agency, Nanmen Aerospace!
Nanmen Aerospace launches dozens of rockets into space every year, accounting for almost one-third of the world's rocket launches. Its launch volume is staggering!
Last year, the number of orbital rocket launches worldwide was over 180, which is comparable to the number of launches during the US-Soviet rivalry. Nanmen Space alone launched over 80 of them... its proportion is quite staggering.

This is because Nanmen Aerospace uses reusable rockets. Its No. 5 and No. 6 heavy rockets have very mature technology, and their launch costs are much cheaper than traditional expendable rockets!
Moreover, even in the field of reusable rockets, Southgate Aerospace's costs and order prices are much lower than those of Musk's SpaceX, giving it a significant competitive advantage in securing commercial launch orders from third-party countries!
Therefore, Nanmen Aerospace has undertaken many commercial launch orders from abroad, as well as many domestic launch orders!
However, most of the orders are actually for self-produced and self-sold products... namely, launch orders for Zhiyun satellites, a joint venture between Zhiyun Group and Nanmen Aerospace!
Zhiyun Satellite Co., Ltd. is building a global low-Earth orbit satellite communication network, with a planned total of tens of thousands of satellites to be launched.

The program is currently in a period of intensive launches, with dozens of rockets being launched into space each year to launch various satellites of the Zhiyun satellite system.

Although Zhiyun Satellite's low-orbit satellite communication network project is currently operating at a loss, it has already begun large-scale commercial applications.

Currently, it mainly supplies users in remote and sparsely populated areas, as well as equipment such as boats and outdoor work equipment to connect to the Internet!
It also provides network connectivity services for some of Xiaojiang Technology's drones, especially low-altitude aircraft.

Meanwhile, Hailan Auto also offers paid in-vehicle satellite network access services.

Zhiyun Group's mobile phones are also expected to connect to the satellite network next year, providing free emergency satellite communication for rescue and daily paid satellite calling functions.

Zhiyun Satellite's low-orbit satellite network plan has a large number of application scenarios, so there is no need to worry about the lack of usage scenarios after the satellites are launched.

Leaving aside external applications, the various mobile terminals of Zhiyun Group, the vehicles of Hailan Auto, and the drones of Xiaojiang Technology alone are enough to provide a large number of usage scenarios.

This low-orbit satellite communication network is also related to Xu Shenxue's plan for future urban intelligent transportation and intelligent drone transportation networks.

Such a large demand for low-orbit satellites has also brought about a large number of launch needs!
This makes Nanmen Space's launch activities very frequent, with a rocket being launched into space almost every few days. During special periods, it can even launch one rocket into space every day!
After all, not every day of the year is suitable for launch. For example, typhoon days and rainy days are obviously not suitable for launch. Therefore, Nanmen Aerospace will seize the window of good weather and carry out intensive launches!
This has led to the launch activities of Nanmen Aerospace becoming a regular feature of local aerospace tourism.

The foundation that enables Nanmen Aerospace to conduct high-frequency and low-cost launches is the enormous rocket manufacturing plant that Xu Shenxue is seeing now!
Nanmen Aerospace is not just a rocket design and development institution; it is a comprehensive large-scale aerospace enterprise!

Its business covers the design, manufacturing, launch, and operation of rockets, manned spacecraft, cargo spacecraft, space shuttles, various satellites, and space stations.

Furthermore, in the past year, Nanmen Aerospace has launched a "Lunar Base" project. The core objective of this project is to mine helium-3 on the moon and bring it back, while also conducting scientific research on the far side of the moon to see if there are any extraterrestrials...

This is no easy task, and it's a very technically challenging project.

The research, development, manufacturing, and operation of these aerospace businesses also require strong manufacturing capabilities to support them.

Therefore, Nanmen Aerospace actually has a very large-scale and technologically advanced manufacturing plant.

"Our Nanmen Aerospace Company currently has thirteen production bases across the country, responsible for manufacturing various parts or finished products!"

"The most important rocket manufacturing plants are currently located on Qiongzhou Island, taking into account factors such as weight and size!"

"The rocket factory next to our company's R&D base currently has three branch factories!"

"The first factory is a rocket engine factory. We use this factory to assemble and produce the Zhuque C-type engine, which is our main engine currently in use. Although it is a liquid oxygen kerosene engine, it has advanced performance and mature technology. Moreover, after years of large-scale production and improvement, its performance has been greatly improved, and its manufacturing cost has also been reduced a lot!"

Nanmen Aerospace's No. 5 and No. 6 rockets actually use the same type of rocket and the same engine... This is to control the technical difficulty and reduce the overall cost.

After all, the Long March 6 rocket is essentially three Long March 5 first-stage rockets bundled together.

The technology of the Long March 5 rocket at Nanmen Aerospace is now very mature, and the launch cost has dropped significantly. Now, using the two-stage rocket non-recoverable mode, the cost per kilogram is only a mere $1,500!
Starting this year, Nanmen Space has begun experimenting with using the White Dragon Space Shuttle as a second-stage rocket to achieve a fully recoverable configuration... Under this configuration, the launch cost per kilogram will be reduced to around one thousand US dollars.

Nanmen Aerospace relies on its extremely low launch costs to secure a large number of commercial launch orders and make a lot of money!

This is still not the limit for Nanmen Aerospace... Nanmen Aerospace continues to pursue even lower launch costs!
This is the liquid oxygen methane engine and the corresponding No. 7 and No. 8 rocket program!
The head of Nanmen Aerospace explained to Xu Shenxue: "In the field of rocket engines, our research and development of liquid oxygen methane engines has entered the mature stage, namely the Bifang engine. This engine will be used in various future rockets!"

"The current Bifang A-type engine we are designing already has a single-unit thrust of 250 tons, but this is not our goal. So we are continuing to upgrade and improve the Bifang engine to enhance safety, stability, reduce manufacturing costs, and most importantly, improve the thrust-to-weight ratio."

"Our current improvement plan is to maintain low cost and keep the weight and volume unchanged, while increasing the thrust of the current Bifang engine to about 300 tons, which is the Bifang B engine. The engine is currently progressing well technically, having completed a large number of ground tests, and is currently being tested on the No. 4 experimental rocket platform."

"We expect to complete the testing of the Bifang B-type engine next year."

"At the latest by next fall, this engine will be installed on our Long March 7 rocket for its maiden flight and testing!"

Xu Shenxue listened, quite curious about the No. 7 rocket, so he asked a few more questions!

The person in charge of Nanmen Aerospace also introduced:

"In our design plan, the Long March 7 rocket is an upgraded version of the Long March 5 rocket, mainly used for low-cost launch missions with conventional payloads."

"In order to reduce the difficulty and cost of technology research and development, we still draw heavily on the technology of the Long March 5 rocket. For example, we continue to use the seven-engine parallel connection technology from the Long March 5 rocket. We have accumulated a lot of experience in this parallel engine layout, and the technology is very mature!"

"The Long March 7 rocket, which uses seven engines in parallel, is designed to achieve a maximum takeoff weight of 2,000 tons. The second stage rocket will not use a traditional two-stage rocket, but will instead use the White Dragon space shuttle currently under development for recovery and reuse!"

"For rocket recovery, we plan to use the cantilever recovery method. When the rocket is recovered, it will return to the recovery tower, where a giant robotic arm will clamp and recover it. We have accumulated a lot of technical expertise in this area and have already succeeded in it many times on the No. 4 experimental rocket. This recovery method can eliminate the need for a heavy return support frame, which can effectively increase the payload and further reduce launch costs."

The support frame for recovering the rocket is also very heavy, weighing over ten tons... After discarding this weight, the effective payload can be increased.

"We have calculated that by using the Long March 7 first-stage rocket and the White Dragon space shuttle, plus the first-stage rocket cantilever recovery mode, and then in the reusable mode, the launch cost per kilogram will continue to decrease significantly compared to the combination of the Long March 5 rocket and the White Dragon space shuttle. It is estimated that the launch cost per kilogram can be reduced to three hundred US dollars!"

"This is a tremendous step forward!"

"The reduction in launch costs will also significantly reduce the costs of our numerous low-Earth orbit micro-launches, as well as the costs of personnel transportation and resupply to the space station!"

"This No. 7 rocket is a crucial conventional transport rocket for our future aerospace project!"
"In addition, we also expect to use this engine in the more powerful Long March 8 rocket, which we expect to use 27 engines in parallel to achieve a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 tons. If used in a single launch, the near-Earth payload can reach 230 tons. This super-heavy rocket is expected to be used to launch various payloads with large volume and heavy weight!"

"It can be said that the Long March 8 rocket is an indispensable part of our lunar base plan. Only with it can we launch a large number of devices into space conveniently and at low cost."

"In the future, we will build Earth spaceports, lunar spaceports, lunar mining bases, and interplanetary spacecraft for round-trip travel between Earth and the Moon. These projects all require super-heavy rockets like the Long March 8 to transport large core modules, spacecraft, and large equipment and components!" Xu Shenxue said, "Then you'd better step up your efforts, so many plans are waiting to be used!"

Unlike Elon Musk from the US, who is obsessed with Mars and thinks about landing on it in everything he does, Xu Shenxue is not very interested in Mars for the time being. Instead, he is more interested in the moon... The reason is actually very simple.

Because there is helium-3 on the moon!

Nanmen Aerospace has launched a series of programs, including the Super Heavy Rocket Program, the Earth Spaceport Program, the Lunar Spaceport Program, the Lunar Mining Base Program, and the Earth-Moon Interplanetary Spacecraft Program... The core objective is to mine Helium-3 on the moon!
Musk's Mars program is primarily for scientific exploration and does not generate short-term commercial benefits.

However, Nanmen Aerospace's lunar base plan is a legitimate commercial project. They want to go to the moon to mine helium-3 and then transport it back to Earth to sell for money!
The difference between these two is huge!
To mine helium-3 on the moon, a rocket with high carrying capacity and low cost is needed to transport a large amount of equipment.

This type of rocket also requires a better and cheaper engine... and the Bifang engine project, which uses liquid oxygen and methane fuel, was born out of this need!

Liquid oxygen-methane engines have lower fuel costs and lower maintenance costs... Lower maintenance costs are very important because Nanmen Aerospace's rockets are all reusable rockets, which have maintenance requirements!

Unlike other traditional disposable rockets, which don't require maintenance... they're just thrown away after one use.

The Long March 7 rocket is responsible for launching routine payloads... The rocket is small, making it simpler and faster to manufacture, and its launch is more flexible and convenient... Given Nanmen Aerospace's work style, this 'small' rocket, weighing one or two thousand tons, can be launched into space in no time if needed!

Just like the current Long March 5 rocket, one is launched into the sky every few days!
Because of its large size, the Long March 8 rocket is more technically challenging and its launch is more complicated, so it is used for launching unconventional large payloads. Of course, if the technology matures further and launches become easier in the future, it can also be used as a rocket to launch conventional payloads.

The Long March 7 and Long March 8 rockets are important future launch vehicle plans for Nanmen Aerospace, and Xu Shenxue attaches great importance to them!
Even with this emphasis, there are no launch tests yet. Although there is a prototype of the Long March 7 rocket, it is only used for ground tests. The maiden flight test is expected to be after next autumn.

Today, Xu Shenxue came not to see the No. 7 rocket, but to see a new launch of the No. 6 rocket!

The launch of the Long March 6 rocket itself is not important. The Long March 6 rocket has been launched many times. It is not only used to launch the core module of the space station, but also to launch some heavy high-orbit communication satellites, and even low-orbit satellites. It can launch a large number of satellites at once, which is highly efficient and low-cost.

Xu Shenxue came today to watch a rather special space station launch!
The Long March 6 rocket will carry a very special unmanned small space station to lunar orbit and be deployed.

This lunar space station is one of the preliminary plans in Nanmen Space's series of lunar landing programs.

This space station, which Nanmen Space City calls the 'Sirius,' undertakes a very special mission.

First, this unmanned space station also carries a large number of probes to conduct detailed and comprehensive exploration of the moon, such as exploring where on the lunar surface is more suitable for building a future lunar helium-3 mining base.

As part of the supporting plan, Nanmen Aerospace will launch an even more special unmanned lunar interplanetary spacecraft, "Yutu-1," next month.

Yutu-1 will conduct experiments on traveling between the Centaurus space station and this unmanned Sirius space station, and docking... to test interplanetary spacecraft technology.

Both the Sirius space station and Yutu-1 were unmanned designs, and the entire process was controlled by an artificial intelligence system and remote signals from the ground or Centaurus space station.

This is because manned spaceflight is too complicated... When manned spaceflight is no longer needed and everything is controlled by artificial intelligence, the design of space stations and spacecraft becomes much more relaxed, and the demand for rocket launches will not be too great!

This was also to save on the initial experimental costs... In fact, Nanmen Aerospace omitted many things to save on experimental costs.

After all, Nanmen Aerospace is a commercial aerospace company that needs to be self-sufficient. So, in the early stages of exploration and experimentation, they naturally try to save money wherever possible. Only after the unmanned experiments and explorations have been completed and the technology is nearly perfected will they begin manned lunar landings and round trips between Earth and the Moon.

Of course, it saves money, but the technical content is by no means low!

Nanmen Aerospace saves money not by cutting corners, but by using more advanced technological innovations.

In the aerospace field, no matter how much corners are cut, it's impossible to reduce the launch cost from $10,000 per kilogram for traditional rockets to $1,000 per kilogram now!

Advanced technology is the best way to reduce costs!
Nanmen Aerospace is a practitioner of this concept!
Xu Shenxue attaches great importance to the Sirius lunar space station... it is the starting point for a series of lunar base plans!
Well, it can't really be called the starting point. In fact, before that, the space agency had already conducted multiple explorations of the moon. Last year, they even used the Long March 6 rocket to launch the Chang'e unmanned lunar lander, which successfully landed on the moon and returned samples to Earth.

For this mission, Nanmen Aerospace also collaborated extensively with aerospace agencies. The aerospace agencies undertook part of the design and construction of the Sirius unmanned lunar space station and provided a great deal of technical support.

After all, such a massive project as a lunar base is not something that Nanmen Aerospace can handle alone... Although the project is led by Nanmen Aerospace, it still requires the cooperation of aerospace agencies and numerous enterprises and research institutions.

What's also interesting is that Nanmen Aerospace did not disclose much detailed information about this Sirius lunar unmanned space station launch mission. They only said that they were launching an unmanned space station that would be permanently stationed in lunar orbit towards the moon!
However, many people do not consider it a space station, but rather a satellite.

After all, the Sirius space station is unmanned... You can call it an unmanned space station, or you can call it a probe satellite.

Around noon that day, the Long March 6 rocket successfully launched, using a single-use mode, and sent the Sirius unmanned space station directly into space!
That afternoon, the Sirius unmanned space station... successfully activated its engines and changed orbit, then continued its journey to the moon.

Subsequently, Nanmen Aerospace officially announced at a press conference that the Sirius lunar probe satellite had been successfully launched. The satellite is currently heading to the moon according to the planned schedule, and the Sirius lunar unmanned space station is expected to enter the planned lunar orbit in four days.

The news was reported at 7:30 p.m.

Nanmen Space's launch has attracted a lot of attention from the outside world... If a domestic space agency were to launch a probe into lunar orbit, people would pay some attention, but it wouldn't be surprising.

After all, this is a space agency, so it's normal for them to do scientific research and exploration.

But Nanmen Space is a commercial space company. A commercial company like that wouldn't fund its own launch of a large probe satellite to the moon...

So why did Nanmen Aerospace do this?
Who exactly funded this project, and what is its purpose?
Many industry professionals and enthusiasts in the aerospace field are quite curious!
But Xu Shenxue obviously couldn't tell them... this was just the preliminary planning part of my series of lunar base projects!
As for your question about why we need to build a lunar base... why are you asking so many questions? I, Xu Shenxue, yearn for the stars and enjoy being a sucker and throwing money around, is that so wrong?

We can't exactly tell them that this lunar base project is for mining helium-3.

Then people will ask, since you've worked on helium-3, does that mean you're about to achieve controlled nuclear fusion?

This can't be discussed; the controlled nuclear fusion program is still a secret project at this stage!

And believe it or not, Xinghai Energy Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fairy Nanshan Holdings, has launched its controlled nuclear fusion project, and it is progressing quite smoothly.

Otherwise, the space agency wouldn't be cooperating with Nanmen Space so much... It's because they saw that the controlled nuclear fusion project was progressing smoothly and had a great chance of success, so they simultaneously launched the plan to mine helium-3 on the moon!
Whether it's controlled nuclear fusion or mining helium-3 at a lunar base, these are important strategic plans concerning the future of the nation. It's said that Xu Shenxue's company is in charge of these projects, but in reality, Xu Shenxue is just a project manager!

These two projects certainly owe much to Xu Shenxue's leadership and the significant role of the scientific research system, but they also require the efforts of numerous institutions, enterprises, and countless researchers in universities!

Such a national strategic mega-project is never the business of a single company or individual!

(End of this chapter)