Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 550 Jade Rabbit One Starship

After Nanmen Aerospace successfully launched the Sirius lunar unmanned space station, Xu Shenxue did not leave Qiongzhou Island immediately. On the one hand, he spent time with his family and took a vacation, and on the other hand, he continued to look at some of Nanmen Aerospace's research.

Xu Shenxue often comes to Qiongzhou Island to see the Nanmen Aerospace Center, and the island also has a beautiful coastline, so Xu Shenxue often brings his family here for vacation.

To make vacations more convenient, the logistics office under Liuhe Investment also acquired a seaside resort nearby, making it easier for Xu Shenxue and his family to come for vacations... Security in public places outside is quite troublesome.

It would be much more convenient to run our own resort. When Xu Shenxue and his group don't come over, we can still operate it without wasting resources.

While Lin Yaxian and her friends were playing with the children at the seaside resort, Xu Shenxue continued his inspection at Nanmen Aerospace.

Having seen the massive engine factory... this engine factory is also the world's largest and most technologically advanced 3D printing factory, because the Zhuque engine and the Bifang engine under development both use 3D printing technology on a large scale during their manufacturing.

This rocket engine factory is also the world's largest, most productive, and most technologically advanced rocket engine factory, producing a large number of Zhuque rocket engines every year.

Next to the engine factory is the rocket factory, which is an extremely large factory!

Inside are some standard factories used to produce various rocket components!

The most eye-catching feature is the three extremely tall factory buildings, the smallest of which is 80 meters high, while the newly built tallest one reaches 120 meters high... which is quite exaggerated.

These three giant factory buildings are the final assembly workshops for the rocket. They are equipped with cranes for the final rocket stage... Once assembled, the rocket is very tall; the standard model of the Long March 5 rocket is 68 meters tall.

The Long March 7 and Long March 8 rockets, which are currently under development, are even taller and larger!
To improve assembly and production efficiency, Nanmen Aerospace has built these three giant factories!
This is to avoid the rocket assembly, production, and maintenance processes being carried out outdoors, which could lead to damage from typhoons, rain, and other weather conditions.

From a distance, it looks somewhat like a skyscraper, with the words and logo of Nanmen Aerospace on it, making it very eye-catching!

In one of the newest assembly plants, Xu Shenxue saw a Long March 6 heavy rocket that had already been assembled.

Its enormous arrow body stands upright, looking quite exaggerated!
"This Long March 6 heavy rocket has completed its final testing mission. In half a month, we will use it to launch a heavy communications satellite into an ultra-high orbit to meet the networking needs of Zhiyun Technology's space internet network and provide long-distance, high-quality network communication for the Sirius space station on the moon and the subsequent Yutu lunar rover."

"This rocket is our first batch of Long March 6 rockets, which has already carried out eight launch missions. However, the new Long March 6 rockets we produce now have mature and advanced technology with lower launch costs. These first batch of Long March 6 rockets will be used to undertake heavy-duty one-time launch missions to exhaust their last value!"

"Going forward, we will use the second batch of the new generation Long March 6 rockets for all reusable launch missions. This will effectively reduce launch costs and increase safety!"

Xu Shenxue looked at the rocket in front of him. It was a rocket with three first-stage rockets side by side. You could see the black marks from being baked at high temperatures on the rockets... It was a reusable rocket, so it was just a bit ugly.

However, this does not affect its performance: the Long March 6 Heavy Rocket is the world's newest, most advanced, most mature, and cheapest reusable heavy rocket!

Even this year, Musk's SpaceX successfully launched their Falcon Heavy rocket, which also used a method of bundling three Falcon 9 rockets together. However, their rocket has only recently completed its maiden flight, and there are still some gaps in terms of technical stability and economic cost.

Only a behemoth like the Long March 6 Heavy Rocket can send heavy payloads into space, such as the 60-ton space station core module, the ultra-heavy high-orbit transit satellite, and the Sirius unmanned lunar space station.

However, this is relatively expensive when launching some conventional satellites. For example, the Long March 5 rocket is cheaper... The Long March 5 rocket is used to launch small to medium mass satellites and perform conventional launches such as resupply missions to the space station. It is very useful.

Cheap, plentiful, and filling!

With the model of recovering the first stage of the Long March 5 rocket and the second stage of the White Dragon space shuttle, the launch cost per kilogram has dropped to a mere $1,000, a price that other space companies or organizations wouldn't even dare to dream of—it's too cheap.

A few days later, taking advantage of the good weather, Nanmen Aerospace launched another No. 5 rocket, using a 15-year-old first-stage rocket, plus a 4-year-old Bailong space shuttle, to launch dozens of low-orbit small satellites for Zhiyun Satellite Technology Co., Ltd.

One of the first-stage rockets successfully returned to the land landing site for recovery shortly after launch.

The White Dragon space shuttle also returned successfully after releasing its satellite and landed smoothly at a nearby space shuttle recovery airport several hours later.

Since the successful maiden flight of the White Dragon space shuttle this fall, multiple White Dragon space shuttles have carried out more than ten flight missions, each of which has been successful and recovered... Of course, this is only the success we have seen so far.

Prior to this, during the research and testing phase of the White Dragon space shuttle's formal commercial operation, it also experienced several accidents, disintegrating and exploding twice in space, giving people around the world two very spectacular 'meteor showers'.

Another incident occurred during the descent phase. As the shuttle descended and approached the ground, it encountered a sudden and severe wind shear, ultimately causing the expensive space shuttle to crash and explode!
This accident led Nanmen Aerospace to spend a huge sum of money to rebuild a space shuttle landing site in a location with a better airflow environment!

At the same time, a new round of design was carried out for the space shuttle's flight control system and onboard artificial intelligence system. In order to solve the space shuttle's flight control problem, some aviation companies that play with fighter jets were also asked for help.

After all, these people are more professional when it comes to flight controllers.

Finally, after solving many problems, the test flights were successful this year, and it will officially be put into commercial operation this fall!
The current White Dragon space shuttle is used to launch satellites or provide supplies to the space station. The few White Dragon space shuttles currently in service are all unmanned cargo versions.

Although the White Dragon space shuttle has a manned version, it is currently still in the research and development and testing phase... mainly because the manned version has higher safety requirements and is more technically complex.

Until the safety of the space shuttle reaches its limit, neither the Southgate Space Shuttle nor any space agency will ever use it to carry people... The consequences of an accident would be terrifying.

Moreover, Nanmen Aerospace's Heilong manned spacecraft and the space agency's Shenzhou manned spacecraft may look a bit old-fashioned, but they are safe!

These two traditional manned spacecraft are technologically mature and extremely safe. The probability of an accident is not zero, but it is extremely small... at least much safer than the current White Dragon space shuttle.

With the two types of manned spacecraft serving as backups for each other, this is sufficient for the short term.

The White Dragon space shuttle is not yet suitable for carrying people, or rather, it's not that the technology is inadequate, but rather that no one dares to use it yet... However, it is very useful for carrying cargo.

It's cheap!
Previously, when the Long March 5 rocket was launched, only the first stage was recovered; the second stage could not be recovered. Although the Qinglong cargo spacecraft can be reused, its design life is only five times.

But now, with the first stage of the Long March 5 rocket recoverable, the second stage of the White Dragon space shuttle can also be recovered, which significantly reduces costs.

It's cheap and delicious!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After witnessing the return of the White Dragon Space Shuttle, Xu Shenxue also visited the spacecraft factory of Nanmen Aerospace!
Here, Xu Shenxue saw the Heilong manned spacecraft under construction or undergoing repairs, as well as the Qinglong cargo spacecraft.

Xu Shenxue had seen these two types of spaceships several times, and they were traditional types, so there was nothing new about them.

However, there was a very special spaceship here that made Xu Shenxue linger for a long time.

That's the Yutu-1 Earth-Moon interstellar spacecraft!
Nanmen Aerospace Corporation, in collaboration with aerospace agencies and numerous research institutions and universities, designed, developed, and manufactured the first generation of interstellar spacecraft!
Professor Deng Feiyue, chief scientist of Nanmen Aerospace, felt extremely proud of the Yutu-1 interplanetary spacecraft.

"Our Yutu interstellar spacecraft can be said to be the first truly interstellar spacecraft in human history... It is not a disposable product, but a spacecraft that can be refueled multiple times by the space station and reused repeatedly!"

"We have developed a special space refueling system for it, which can be refueled using our Centaurus space station, allowing it to stay in space for extended periods and perform missions!"

"The spacecraft weighs 28 tons and will be launched by a Long March 6 heavy-lift rocket in a reusable mode. The spacecraft has a slender shape to allow for the deployment of larger solar panels once in space, providing ample power for the spacecraft!"

"The spacecraft can mainly dock with the Centaurus Space Station and the Sirius Lunar Space Station, and it also has a storage compartment, but most of the space is used as a fuel tank!"

Xu Shenxue looked at the thing and felt that it looked a bit like a long, thick cigar.

It doesn't look like one of those interstellar spaceships from science fiction novels at all... How should I put it, it's not sci-fi enough!

However, when the engineers designed the spaceship, they didn't consider the science fiction aspect, but rather the technological limitations, and they also tried to deploy as many solar panels as possible.

Deng Feiyue said, "In addition, the Yutu-1 spacecraft is actually a kind of space station. We have also reserved two additional docking ports, which can be used to dock with the crew capsule in the future to enable manned flight!"

"We have also installed a large number of detection and communication devices on the spacecraft to meet the many technical requirements for its automatic flight!"

"In order to achieve precise unmanned autonomous driving, we have installed a specially developed intelligent spacecraft control system in the spacecraft. This system can automatically operate the spacecraft and control the space robots on board the spacecraft without remote control, and perform routine maintenance and emergency repairs on the spacecraft itself!"

"Right here, we have prepared four space maintenance robots for the spacecraft."

On one side of the spacecraft, Xu Shenxue saw a strangely shaped robot. It wasn't really a robot, but rather a large box with several robotic arms combined together; it had nothing to do with humanoid robots. "For the spacecraft's propulsion, in addition to traditional chemical rockets, we've also adopted multiple state-of-the-art magnetic plasma thrusters. These magnetic plasma thrusters are a new technology from Zhiyun Satellite, a subsidiary of Zhiyun Group, which we've previously used extensively on satellites and space stations."

"Compared to the plasma thrusters we used before, the new generation of magnetic plasma thrusters of Zhiyun Satellite has a higher thrust-to-weight ratio, lower energy consumption, and a significant improvement in overall performance. The single-channel thrust has reached twelve Newtons."

"We previously applied this technology to our new generation of heavy satellites, and the magnetic plasma thruster installed on the Yutu spacecraft is a new generation of magnetic plasma thruster with greater thrust. It can effectively provide continuous supplementary power for the Yutu spacecraft's long-term on-orbit and flight!"

Although the thrust of a single electric propulsion unit is not large, its specific impulse is extremely high, reaching ten times or even more than that of a chemical rocket. This makes it very important for maintaining orbital altitude during long-duration voyages.

Therefore, in the aerospace field, Nanmen Aerospace has adopted a combination of chemical rockets and electric propulsion in its propulsion technology development.

Chemical rockets are responsible for instantaneous high thrust, such as for launches from Earth into space, and for maneuvers or orbit changes that require short bursts of high thrust in space.

In the weightless environment of space, electric propulsion is used for continuous acceleration... For example, electric propulsion technology is already widely used to maintain the orbital altitude of satellites or space stations.

The Centaur space station, owned by Southgate Aerospace, uses electric propulsion technology, which can save at least $200 million in fuel costs every year... and this is the electric propulsion technology that was developed in earlier years and is relatively outdated.

Because electric propulsion has low instantaneous power, but it can output power steadily, it has more advantages for long-distance navigation... The only problem is that it consumes a lot of electricity!
If controlled nuclear fusion technology is developed in the future, and we can miniaturize it and move it into space, then the power supply will be improved. At the same time, electric propulsion technology is also continuously advancing. The electric propulsion technology of Zhiyun Satellite has already advanced towards the 100 Newton level.

In time, electric propulsion technology will surely become a core technology for space travel!
However, Nanmen Aerospace itself does not conduct much research in the field of electric propulsion. Previously, it purchased electric propulsion technology from aerospace agencies, and later it adopted electric propulsion technology from Zhiyun Satellite, a subsidiary of Zhiyun Group.

To meet the electric propulsion requirements of its own satellites, Zhiyun Satellite has invested heavily in the research and development of electric propulsion technology.

The magnetic plasma propulsion technology we've developed now is quite impressive. A single channel can achieve a thrust of 12 Newtons, far ahead of electric propulsion technology in other countries around the world. Electric propulsion technology in other countries is still at the 1-Newton level, requiring several channels to work together to provide 3 or 4 Newtons of thrust.

Zhiyun Satellite's electric propulsion technology can provide 12 Newtons per channel, which is a significant lead over other satellites.

Nanmen Aerospace has adopted the new generation of magnetic plasma propulsion technology from Zhiyun Satellite. Not only Nanmen Aerospace uses it, but aerospace agencies have also purchased and used it extensively.

The current Yutu-1 lunar interplanetary spacecraft uses this new magnetic plasma thruster!
And there are many more similar new technologies!

Some were developed by Nanmen Aerospace itself, some were provided by Zhiyun Group, and some were provided by Fairy Mountain Holdings. Other technologies from various aerospace institutions and research institutes were also indispensable.

The Yutu-1 lunar rover is a culmination of high-tech technologies from numerous enterprises and research institutes, representing the pinnacle of human aerospace technology today!
In terms of technological advancement, it's even more advanced than the Centaurus space station... and such an advanced thing is actually just an experiment.

This spacecraft is just an experimental spacecraft used by Nanmen Aerospace to experiment and explore interstellar flight. Only after the initial experiments are successful will they design a more complete and better interstellar spacecraft that can be truly put into commercial operation!

Xu Shenxue was very interested in, and even looking forward to, the Yutu-1 spacecraft!

He will come again next month to watch the launch of Yutu-1!

However, at that time, Nanmen Aerospace still needed to prepare some publicity materials... After all, the Sirius lunar space station was easy to talk about and could be promoted as a lunar probe.

However, Yutu-1 is a real interstellar spacecraft, and the first interstellar spacecraft in human history to be used repeatedly in space for a long period of time... Although it doesn't look like a spacecraft from a science fiction novel, it looks more like a space station.

But no matter what it looks like, it is an interstellar spaceship!
Once it launches and sets off for the moon, almost every country on Earth with even a little space exploration technology will be able to detect it...

This can't be hidden at all!

Since it can't be hidden anymore, then a reason needs to be prepared in advance for its release. It can't just be said that this stuff is for future mining and transportation of helium-3...

So at that time, they'll only tell half the story and keep half hidden!
The Yutu spacecraft itself will say so, even the Sirius space station will say so, and the future lunar base will say so... but all of these will be promoted as scientific exploration activities, but they will not say anything about mining helium-3 on the moon.

As for commercial space companies like Nanmen Aerospace, why would they engage in this kind of scientific exploration... there's no need for so many questions.

I, Xu Shenxue, have plenty of money; can't I just burn it for fun?

Everyone in the world knows Xu Shenxue's yearning for the stars; he even built a space station. It's perfectly normal for him to spend money on interstellar spaceships and lunar bases now.

It's normal for rich people to have expensive hobbies, but Xu Shenxue's hobbies are quite different from those of other rich people.

While others drive private jets, yachts, and sports cars, Xu Shenxue prefers to drive rockets and spaceships.

Moreover, Xu Shenxue isn't the only one doing this; Elon Musk next door is doing it too, and other super-rich people are also dabbling in space.

These days, it's a trend for the super-rich to play with rockets and spaceships...

It's just that none of them were as successful as Xu Shenxue, and they didn't generate as much media buzz.

Xu Shenxue spent several days on Qiongzhou Island, taking time to spend with his family on vacation and occasionally visiting the South Gate Aerospace Center.

After staying for about a week, they returned to Shenzhen by private plane.

After returning to Shenzhen, Xu Shenxue got back to work!
December is also quite eventful. Zhuyun Group will be holding a winter press conference to launch some new products.

Among them, the most significant product was the next-generation Yun Robot that Zhiyun Group was about to release.

This includes the C-series entry-level robots, the B-series mid-to-high-end robots, and the E-series special robots.

These three robot series will also release some new models. For example, in the C series, a relatively cute wheeled robot will be released to stimulate sales.

Most importantly, all of these robots will use solid-state batteries!
Hailan Battery, a subsidiary of Hailan Auto, has started small-batch production at its solid-state battery production base in Guangcheng in November.

Although the production volume is small and cannot be used on a large scale for automobile mass production, it is sufficient for robots with relatively low demand for solid-state batteries.

A solid-state battery in a car weighs four or five hundred kilograms, while the solid-state battery in the C-series robot only weighs twenty kilograms.

The amount of solid-state battery used to produce one car could be used to produce more than twenty C-series robots.

In addition, the price offered by Zhiyun Group for solid-state batteries has also increased... Therefore, executives such as Bao Yongyan at Hailan Auto prefer to supply Zhiyun Group's robotics business with batteries even if they don't use them themselves first.

Of course, the most important thing is the launch of Hailan Auto's new models, which usually takes place in May!
Hailan Auto's three solid-state battery production bases will all be put into large-scale production in the first half of next year, which will be able to meet the launch in May next year and the subsequent large-scale mass production and sales.

The adoption of solid-state batteries by Zhiyun robots will bring a huge improvement in battery safety... At least we won't have to worry about robots catching fire while charging, and there won't be a lot of battery safety protection designs to prevent robots from spontaneously combusting.

By eliminating these design elements, more costs can be saved, which in turn reduces the structural weight.

Most importantly, the battery life has been significantly improved!

Starting this December, the new robots sold by Zhiyun Group, which use solid-state batteries, generally have a battery life of more than ten hours in normal mode and more than three hours in high-power output mode, which will be a huge improvement.

This will further expand and extend the application scenarios of Zhiyun robots, stimulating further growth in sales!
Xu Shenxue also attaches great importance to this... After all, the robotics business has become a new core business of Zhiyun Group, and one of the main new businesses driving the revenue and profit growth of Zhiyun Group. Xu Shenxue cannot afford to ignore it.

Therefore, Xu Shenxue will personally host this year's press conference!
The outside world had anticipated the launch of Zhiyun Robotics this winter. At least investors in the stock market didn't react much, having already anticipated it and placed their bets in advance. Now it's time to wait for the subsequent sales and revenue.

Therefore, on the eve of the winter robot launch event, the stock price of Zhiyun Group remained calm!

However, this does not mean that the outside world is not paying attention. In fact, the outside world, especially potential robot users, is paying close attention to this press conference.

Many people have already prepared their money and are just waiting to buy the next generation of robots equipped with solid-state batteries!

The fact that many potential users are waiting for the new generation of solid-state battery versions of Zhiyun robots has even led to sluggish sales of older versions of the Zhiyun C and B series robots in the past month or two!
Everyone is waiting for the new version of the robot; even with a price reduction, the old version isn't selling very well!

Therefore, both Zhiyun Group and consumers are waiting for the release and launch of the new solid-state battery version of Zhiyun robot!

(End of this chapter)