Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 609 Interview with Xu Shenxue

Following the successful recovery of the first-stage booster of the Long March 8 rocket, Nanmen Aerospace held a small-scale, high-level technical discussion to finalize some of the more obvious and prominent issues related to the Long March 8 rocket, as well as potential solutions.

In this technical discussion that lasted no more than forty minutes, the technical team, based on a lot of data collected during the first test flight of the Long March 8 rocket, made a preliminary judgment that there were significant safety hazards in the propulsion system of the first stage rocket. At the same time, there were also problems with the propulsion system of the Red Dragon space shuttle. The first stage rocket and the Red Dragon space shuttle actually used the same engine. The only difference was that the Red Dragon space shuttle also used three vacuum-equipped Bifang C engines.

However, the core technology of the sea-level and vacuum versions of the Bifang C engine is the same. The only difference is the nozzle shape, which is used to control different tail nozzle patterns to correspond to flight in the atmosphere or in a vacuum.

One of the engines of the first-stage rocket failed to ignite during takeoff, and another engine was forced to shut down due to a malfunction.

The two vacuum-powered engines of the Red Dragon space shuttle overheated shortly after ignition.

That means four engines have malfunctioned.

The technical team further concluded that the Bifang C engine had an unknown technical defect, which caused the connection failure during actual flight!
These technical malfunctions were not detected during the long and rigorous testing on the ground... so they may be related to other flight systems.

The technical team needs to analyze the large amount of data collected and then conduct further testing to pinpoint the specific problem.

However, Deng Feiyue stated that the Long March 8 rocket test was generally successful, especially the successful recovery of the first-stage booster, which verified the recovery technology of large-tonnage aircraft such as the first-stage booster, particularly the cantilever recovery technology.

The fact that a single experimental flight can be successful speaks volumes about how impressive Nanmen Aerospace's recovery technology is, putting everything else aside!
As for the engine problem, it's unlikely that the technical defects will be identified and resolved later.

As for the Red Dragon space shuttle, it exploded shortly after autonomous flight due to engine technology defects. Subsequent procedures such as satellite release, orbit adjustment, and recovery could not be tested, so we still need to wait and see.

However, Deng Feiyue stated that the core technology of the Red Dragon space shuttle originated from the White Dragon space shuttle... The main difference between the two lies in their size and engines. Almost all other subsystems are copied from the White Dragon II space shuttle. Theoretically speaking, as long as the problem of the Bifang C engine is solved, then it will be about the same.

Xu Shenxue expressed satisfaction with the technical team's report, saying that it was actually a good thing that the problem was exposed so clearly, as they now knew where the problem lay and could then address it accordingly.

The worst thing is if it explodes and you don't even know what the problem is; that would be a real problem.

Just like during the early development of the Long March 5 rocket, because it was the first time developing a reusable rocket, all sorts of problems arose one after another. At that time, the ability to collect and analyze information was also somewhat lacking... The technical level at that time was still somewhat insufficient.

Back then, the No. 1 to No. 4 experimental rockets were constantly exploding. Every now and then, they would set off a big firework. Many times, after an explosion, it was very difficult to find the problem. We could only rely on some cumbersome methods, collect the debris one by one, analyze it, and then conduct research!
In other words, Nanmen Aerospace had a large number of technical talents back then, and even by using rudimentary methods, they were able to find and solve various problems...

This is also a major advantage of Nanmen Aerospace and other companies under Xu Shenxue: a large number of engineers...

To develop a new technology, even with limited technical reserves and insufficient experience, we should take the brute-force approach and rely on the sheer number of skilled technical personnel...

If one team isn't enough, then form two teams, three teams, or even ten teams, break down the tasks, and solve them separately.

Otherwise, we could simply pursue a parallel research and development approach.

Parallel development is a common practice among many of Xu Shenxue's companies, where several teams work on a single project at the same time. A typical example, and one that is more widely known to the general public, is the development of the S series mobile phones.

The development of the S series phones involves two different teams... For each new generation of models, these two teams submit their respective prototypes, which are then reviewed, and finally, one of them is chosen as the new generation of the S series model.

So... if you go to the Zhiyun Exhibition Hall in the Qianshan International Convention Center, you can see many mobile phones that have never been released on the market. These mobile phone models are all the unreleased models from previous generations of the S series!
This is a research and development approach that other companies can only envy: it not only requires a large number of talented people, but also requires even more research and development funding.

Developing two world-class S-series phones every year requires a significant amount of R&D expenditure.

When we got to the South Gate Aerospace area, it was pretty much the same; there were plenty of engineers.

In addition, although Nanmen Aerospace keeps complaining about being poor, it is actually not short of money for research and development... Even without other external income, Xu Shenxue's personal funds alone can cover Nanmen Aerospace.

Otherwise, Nanmen Aerospace wouldn't be conducting experimental rocket explosions every few days.

With a large workforce, ample funding, and cutting-edge technology, it's no surprise that Nanmen Aerospace is developing at an increasingly rapid pace.

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One hour after the successful recovery of the No. 8 first-stage booster of Nanmen Aerospace, Nanmen Aerospace held a press conference to officially announce the relevant information about the maiden flight of the No. 8 rocket.

The presentation began with a brief overview of the Red Dragon space shuttle's mission failure and the successful recovery of the first-stage booster.

They also disclosed some technical details.

These things are not important. What is most important is that many reporters present heard a piece of news that left them speechless.

"Our Long March 8 rocket test plan will remain unchanged, and the second flight, originally scheduled for three months later, will proceed as planned."

These words caused many people at the scene, especially many foreign journalists, to break down...

Brother, open your eyes and look at the sky... the wreckage of your Red Dragon space shuttle is still floating in the sky.

You destroyed a space shuttle, and you yourself just reported that there was a serious technical defect in the propulsion system. Don't you care about such a major space accident and such a serious technical defect?
Shouldn't a comprehensive technical review be conducted?
How can you determine the problem without investigating for a year or two?

And then targeted improvements would take at least one or two years, right?
It will take at least two or three years before the second test flight can be conducted, right?
And you guys... are you crazy to be taking the second flight in three months?
How can such a short time be enough to find and solve problems?

If nothing is changed, what's the point of repeating failures?
Then several reporters raised questions and raised concerns about this issue.

In response, the spokesperson for Nanmen Aerospace looked around and said with a calm smile, "Please do not doubt the technical capabilities of Nanmen Aerospace!"

"Our technical team has preliminarily identified the main problems that led to the mission failure!"

"The second test flight will take place in three months. This is the preliminary timeline given by our technical team!"

"Finally, even if the second flight fails, that's normal. It's normal for rockets to fail during experimental flights in the development phase... at least for Nanmen Aerospace, it's normal. You don't need to over-interpret it!"

"I'd like to borrow the words of Professor Deng Feiyue, the chief rocket scientist at Nanmen Aerospace: One success is the result of the accumulation of ten failures!"

After the press conference ended, as reporters were leaving the venue, they spotted Xu Shenxue riding in a Golf car towards the distant rocket factory!
Despite the fact that the Long March 8 rocket's maiden flight was a failure, Xu Shenxue has never spoken publicly about it. Reporters know that Xu Shenxue has been staying at Nanmen Aerospace during this period, but they can't find any reporters to interview him.

Once they finally saw the person, a large group of reporters shouted from more than 200 meters away:

"Chairman Xu, could you please grant us an interview? Just five minutes would be fine!"

"It won't take five minutes, just one minute will do. Mr. Xu, could you please say something?"

Xu Shenxue, who had just left the office building and was about to head to the probe project with Deng Feiyue and several other senior executives from Nanmen Aerospace to inspect the new lunar landing probe, heard the reporters shouting from not far away!
Although Xu Shenxue does not usually give interviews, he felt it was necessary to do so given the failure of the Long March 8 rocket's maiden flight.
He immediately stopped the car and instructed his staff, "Go and invite three or five reporters over. Give them a few minutes to conduct an interview!"

Staff members immediately went over and selected five reporters from a large group of journalists. The selected reporters were all from heavyweight media outlets, both domestic and international.

The reporters cherished the time to conduct the interviews... It was a rare opportunity to interview Xu Shenxue, and the staff only told them that Chairman Xu would only give them five minutes.

They need to make the most of these five minutes!
At the beginning, the question was asked by a reporter from a major domestic media outlet: "Mr. Xu, our Long March 8 rocket achieved a major technological breakthrough in its maiden flight, successfully recovering the first-stage booster, which weighs more than 200 tons. How do you feel now?"

Xu Shenxue said, "My feeling is that it's pretty good. The No. 8 first-stage booster is a behemoth. Getting such a big guy to be recovered in a controlled manner is not an easy task. However, our technical team solved many problems and finally achieved a successful recovery on the first test flight. To be honest, this has exceeded my expectations. I originally thought it would fail!"

"After all, the land and sea recovery tests of the Long March 5 rocket and the cantilever recovery of the Long March 7 rocket were all successful only after many failures. But with the Long March 8 rocket, we achieved a successful recovery on our maiden flight, which is a huge step forward!"

Then, an American reporter asked in slightly awkward Chinese: "Mr. Xu, hello. We learned from the press conference that the Red Dragon space shuttle exploded shortly after separation. Is there a major technical problem involved? Will it affect Nanmen Aerospace's subsequent plans? Many technical experts in the aerospace industry also believe that the combination of a super-heavy rocket and a space shuttle is extremely risky and an impossible technical route. What is your opinion on this?"

After a brief moment of contemplation, Xu Shenxue said, "The Red Dragon space shuttle does indeed have some technical issues, but they aren't too serious. My expert team has already provided me with a preliminary technical solution, and you'll soon see the improved Red Dragon space shuttle continue its flights!" "The technical issues with the Red Dragon space shuttle will not affect our subsequent plans at Nanmen Aerospace. Our spaceport project and lunar research base will remain unchanged and will continue to be promoted as planned!"

"As for the external experts' view that the combination of super-heavy rockets and large space shuttles is technically risky, it is normal for different people to have different opinions, but I trust the judgment of my technical team... After all, we have the best technical team in the world, and their excellent capabilities give me full confidence!"

Next, other reporters asked other questions... The domestic reporters were generally friendly and focused on the success of the first-stage rocket booster and the significance of the Long March 8 rocket, basically avoiding questions about the failure of the Red Dragon space shuttle.

Foreign journalists, on the other hand, ignored the successful recovery of the boosters and focused on asking questions related to the failure of the Red Dragon space shuttle, along with some rather pointed questions.

For example, a reporter asked, "Aerospace exploration is a matter for all mankind, and the success of space exploration is also a common success for all mankind. Why doesn't Nanmen Aerospace share its space technology and the success of lunar exploration?"
Xu Shenxue was too lazy to answer such questions.

Some reporters, seeing the difficulty of this interview opportunity, even though they came specifically for aerospace-related questions, still took the opportunity to ask about other areas as well.

For example, the issue of solid-state batteries, which is of great concern to many people!
"Chairman Xu, as we all know, Hailan Automotive Group has developed solid-state batteries. Currently, in addition to Hailan Automotive Group's own use, this solid-state battery technology has also been gradually applied to a large number of smart terminal products from different brands. So, will Hailan Automotive open up its solid-state batteries to other manufacturers?"

Xu Shenxue did not answer immediately, but pondered for a few seconds before saying, "The emergence of solid-state batteries is a huge technological advancement. Various smart terminals or electric vehicles that adopt solid-state batteries will completely eliminate the risk of battery fires."

"At the same time, our Hailan Automotive Group has always adhered to the spirit of seeking benefits for people around the world and maintaining openness and sharing in some key technologies. We have successively opened up and shared more than 3,000 technology patents in the field of intelligent electric vehicles, including hundreds of core patent technologies."

"Especially in charging pile technology, we have always made our technology freely available, and all companies in the world can use it for free!"

"Our lithium iron phosphate battery technology and semi-solid-state battery technology have also been shared. Through technical cooperation with Ningdai Battery, our technology has been opened up to the outside world. Currently, dozens of car brands around the world have adopted our lithium iron phosphate batteries and semi-solid-state batteries!"

"In the field of solid-state batteries, in order to enable people around the world to use safe and efficient solid-state battery technology, we began to supply solid-state batteries to various smart terminal manufacturers last year."

"The same applies to the field of power batteries for electric vehicles. We will continue to open our arms to provide high-quality solid-state battery products to car brands around the world. However, solid-state batteries are technically difficult and it is hard to expand production capacity. At present, our solid-state power battery production capacity is still relatively limited. It is not even enough for our own use, so we are not able to supply it to the outside world on a large scale for the time being!"

"However, I can confirm that once we resolve the production capacity issue, we will supply other automakers!"

"I have always believed that the development of a new industry cannot rely on individual efforts; everyone needs to work together to make the market bigger!"

It's inevitable that Hailan Automotive Group will supply solid-state batteries to external customers... There are many reasons for this.

The simplest reason is that the cost of the power battery accounts for more than 50% of the cost of an electric vehicle, and even more than 60% for some models!

At the same time, no matter how excellent Hailan Auto's products are, how many cutting-edge technologies they have, or how cheap they are, it is impossible for them to occupy the entire market share... According to Hailan Auto Group's internal estimates, even if they include mid-to-low-end sub-brands, and even if they cooperate with automakers in some countries to establish local joint ventures, they will still be unable to capture the entire market share.

For Hailan Auto, achieving sales of tens of millions of vehicles in the passenger car market is basically the limit.

Going further up the spectrum, it's no longer a matter of normal technological or commercial competition, but rather involves a series of issues such as industry protection.

No country with an automotive industry can stand by and watch cars from the Hailan Automotive Group dominate their entire market... that's impossible.

When a critical threshold is reached, various local restrictions will follow.

Under such circumstances, auto parts business has become the next candidate for Hailan Auto... especially in the area of ​​power batteries, which account for too high a cost in the whole vehicle.

As long as they can control the power battery sector, Hailan Auto can still generate substantial revenue and profits.

Imagine if a large number of car companies around the world used Hailan Auto's solid-state batteries on a large scale, and 50,000 yuan of their 100,000 yuan car cost had to be used to purchase Hailan Auto's solid-state batteries. What a huge market that would be!

Furthermore, it has an additional advantage: by dumping solid-state batteries, it can stifle the development of the traditional lithium battery industry in other countries.

Xu Shenxue has always believed that in certain fields, especially in technological fields where the other party also has a certain degree of competition, this is the case.

The best form of technological blockade is not to hide it, but to dump finished products directly... After squeezing out the competitor's related businesses, you can then raise prices to earn higher profits.

They could even use this as leverage to hold us hostage, as a special bargaining chip—that would be easy.

This is how Zhiyun Group has been playing the computing chip game for the past few years... If Zhiyun Group hadn't sold APO graphics cards in the first place, perhaps companies like AMD and Qualcomm would have been able to develop computing cards by now.

Because computing cards are in high demand, if Zhiyun doesn't sell them, they can't just give up on artificial intelligence. Instead, they will try every means to obtain other computing cards... Even if AMD's computing cards are much worse, they will have no choice but to use them.

With this, AMD will have ample resources for continuous upgrades and iterations, and it's hard to say what the future holds.

However, AMD's computing card business is now being completely suppressed by Zhiyun, and its technology has fallen far behind, so it can only barely survive by relying on some support orders.

The APO6000, a top-tier computing power, is being sold openly. Other companies would be crazy to use AMD's computing cards that are several generations behind... That's money, not a small amount, but a huge sum of billions or even tens of billions of dollars.

Xu Shenxue will do the same with solid-state batteries as he does with APO computing chips... He even worries that other car companies are unwilling to abandon gasoline cars and the outdated traditional lithium battery technology route, and instead adopt solid-state battery technology route on a large scale.

After all, not all car companies are willing to put their necks in someone else's noose!
Therefore, if other car companies are willing to adopt Hailan Auto's solid-state batteries on a large scale in the future, Xu Shenxue will even give them a preferential price!
I'm not afraid of you using it, I'm just afraid you won't use it enough!
Xu Shenxue has always liked to pursue industrial paths, and the electric vehicle field is no exception; solid-state batteries are just one part of that.

After answering the question about solid-state batteries, Xu Shenxue did not continue answering the reporters' questions, ending the brief interview. He then drove his Golf to the distant factory area to see the new generation of lunar probes.

These reporters, on the other hand, had a lot to prepare for various press releases.

The news of interviewing Xu Shenxue is of great reporting value. After all, Xu Shenxue rarely gives interviews, and he has a huge influence. He is also quite cautious in his public statements and does not speak recklessly.

Therefore, his public statements are highly credible and have a huge influence!

Indeed, this was the case in real time. As soon as Xu Shenxue's interview was completed, about five minutes later, the first reporter published a brief interview report.

The report mentioned that Xu Shenxue clearly stated that there are plans to open up the supply of solid-state batteries to other automakers in the next few years.

Before automakers could even react to the news, Ningdai Battery, another company under Xu Shenxue's control, saw its stock price plummet to the daily limit. Subsequently, the stock prices of other listed power lithium battery companies, such as LG Chem in South Korea and Panasonic Chemicals in Japan, also experienced sharp declines!
Investors are selling off these battery manufacturers' stocks for a simple reason... Solid-state batteries have too great a technological advantage. If Hailan Auto opens up its supply of solid-state batteries and can achieve the same power capacity at a cost that is not much higher, then it will basically be a massacre of traditional lithium-ion batteries!

Subsequently, the stock prices of some automakers that remained committed to gasoline-powered vehicles also fell.

In response, the stock prices of Hailan Auto and many companies in its related supply chain have also seen a significant increase!
Interestingly, BYD's stock price is also rising... because some time ago, BYD executives said that the company has been working hard to secure a supply of solid-state batteries.

Then they said that BYD has close ties with companies under Chairman Xu, such as BYD Electronics being an important contract manufacturer for Zhuyun Group and Weiku Electronics, and BYD Auto being the only automaker that obtained complete lithium iron phosphate battery technology from Hailan Auto.

If Hailan Auto opens up its solid-state battery supply, then BYD will definitely be the first to get solid-state batteries.

Then, after Xu Shenxue said that solid-state batteries would be available for external supply in the future, their stock price rose... Investors believed that BYD would be the first manufacturer to obtain solid-state batteries from Hailan Auto.

Behind these battery manufacturers and car manufacturers are a whole host of supply chain companies. Many of these supply chain car companies are also publicly listed companies, so fluctuations in the end-user manufacturers will naturally cause fluctuations in their supply chains as well.

As a result, Xu Shenxue's words directly caused the stock prices of at least a hundred large and medium-sized listed companies at home and abroad to fluctuate wildly... This is also why he usually doesn't give interviews, because his casual remarks can have a huge impact.

No matter what he says, some people will suffer and some will benefit, and the number of people affected is very large.

Over time, he simply stopped publicly expressing his views on the industry...

This time it's an exception, mainly to leverage personal influence to further promote the global popularization of smart electric vehicles!

(End of this chapter)