Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 626 The Second Test Flight of Rocket No. 8
As a special type of large-scale industrial consumer product, automobiles exhibit very obvious and strong protectionism. This exists in almost any country with even a slight automobile industry system; the difference lies only in the different protection strategies adopted based on their own interests.

This is also one of the reasons why Xu Shenxue adopted the "factory-for-market" approach in Hailan Auto's overseas market expansion... He didn't even set up an assembly plant because the other party wouldn't let him in and imposed various restrictions.

Of course, more importantly, they control many core technologies, the kind that can hold others hostage...

The most typical example is computing power chips... Computing power chips not only bring huge revenue and profits to Zhiyun Group, but also become a bargaining chip for Xu Shenxue in negotiations with foreign conglomerates on many occasions.

If the other party wants to develop artificial intelligence technology, it must have computing power chips, especially APO series graphics cards... and these graphics cards are in short supply, and are even supplied in limited quantities in some countries.

The most typical example is in India... Zhuyun Group only allocates 50,000 of the most advanced APO6000 graphics cards to the Indian market each year. If the Indian market wants to buy more APO graphics cards, it can only buy the APO5000S graphics cards, which are one generation behind.

The reason is that the production capacity of the APO6000 graphics card is limited, and priority should be given to supplying it to strategic partners.

Indian companies are not strategic partners of Zhiyun Group... As for how to become a strategic partner, there are many things to discuss.

For example, Zhiyun's various smart terminal products have always had to bear considerable tariffs when entering the Indian market. India has been trying to get Zhiyun Group to set up assembly plants in India to produce mobile phones and other products, but Zhiyun Group has been ignoring them... and even prohibiting other manufacturers and various supply chain manufacturers from setting up factories in India.

I'm not going, and none of you are allowed to go. Anyone who dares to go will be blacklisted!
If various manufacturers also set up factories there, they can use tariff advantages to attack Zhiyun products.

Zhiyun Group stated: We must compete fairly. I am willing to pay high tariffs to sell my products in the Indian market, and you must also pay high tariffs to sell your products in the Indian market!
Finally, everyone worked together to force India to lower tariffs on smart devices...

Anyone who dares to set up a factory in India, bypassing tariff barriers and becoming a traitor to global smart terminal manufacturers, then don't blame me, Xu Shenxue, for being ruthless!

Therefore, mobile phones are relatively expensive in the contemporary Indian market... and they are generally low-end phones with outdated performance. Local incomes are already low, and tariffs are high, so naturally, they can only be sold in India at low prices.

In this time and space, India's smart terminal manufacturing industry has barely developed.

Some so-called local mobile phone brands are actually just OEM products manufactured in China and then rebranded...

If this is true for smart terminals like mobile phones, then it goes without saying that the automotive industry is even more affected, and the tariffs on automobiles are even higher!

India has little solution for mobile phone products; they have almost no independent research and development or production capabilities.

However, the situation is different when it comes to automobiles. India also has an automotive industry, although it mainly produces low-end fuel-powered models with relatively low technological levels. Nevertheless, India's stance on automobile tariffs is very firm.

They have some domestically produced low-end gasoline-powered cars in India, such as Tata, plus some joint venture assembly plants of Japanese, American, German and other car companies in the local area, so they have the ability to independently manufacture cars.

It's not that it's unusable just because it's a little less perfect!
So regardless of whether it's Las Vegas Motors, Tesla, or any other car manufacturer, if they want to enter the Indian market, they either have to sell under extremely high tariffs or set up factories locally.

Then, Hailan Automotive Group ignored the Indian market... Anyway, the local per capita income is not high, and there are not many sales, so why bother? Go there and spend a lot of money to build an assembly plant, and who knows how many years it will take to recoup the cost.

Moreover, the large investment and long payback period are minor issues compared to the fact that the local business environment is extremely unfavorable for foreign companies!
Once you invest in and build a factory there, it's hard to say who will ultimately own it.

Forget about AeroCars, even Tesla is ignoring the Indian market...

Xu Shenxue has also promoted core technologies in the field of informal smart terminals and electric vehicles, such as power batteries and other core component technologies.

The issue is……

India wants to develop electric vehicles, whether they are passenger cars or two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicles... but they can only purchase my power batteries, battery management chips, and other core components.

The issue of automobile tariffs has long been a major point of contention between Xu Shenxue and some local Indian conglomerates, and is also the main reason why the Indian market has been unable to obtain sufficient APO graphics card quotas for a long time.

If it weren't for AMD trying to seize market share and maintain the reputation of APO graphics cards as a globally popular product, thus avoiding concerns from users in major countries who might then reluctantly switch to using AMD's computing cards...

Xu Shenxue even considered banning the sale of APO graphics cards to India.

India is in a similar situation, and many other countries are in similar situations, only to varying degrees.

The issue of automobile tariffs is very complex, and a complete solution is not possible at this stage.

It can only be done step by step. For example, as solid-state batteries mature further and are used on a large scale, a wave of widespread use of solid-state battery electric vehicles has formed globally, and other countries, including India, will follow suit sooner or later.

Even if they are unwilling to import complete vehicles directly, they will still have to import solid-state batteries!
Selling batteries is a good business... after all, power batteries account for more than half of the cost of electric vehicles.

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.

Xu Shenxue's main strategy in many industrial layouts is to rely on continuous technological progress to form unique, even monopolistic, technological advantages, and even create bottlenecks, thereby offsetting protectionism in overseas markets.

After all, to open up overseas markets, you either need to rely on powerful ships and cannons, or you need to have products so good that the other party has no choice but to buy them.

In the modern world, powerful ships and cannons are no longer reliable. After all, relying on such methods to penetrate the markets of ordinary small countries is not very effective, as the market size is too small. The main markets for industrial and consumer goods are located in economically developed medium-sized or even large countries. Not only is it too difficult to develop powerful ships and cannons against such countries, but it could also easily lead to a global restart...

The strategy is to either force customers to buy by offering products that offer competitive pricing... This is the model adopted by most industries in China. However, it is not very useful for the industries under Xu Shenxue's control, because the products of Xu Shenxue's companies, especially Zhiyun Group and Hailan Auto, are all high-end products.

There's never any value for money to speak of!

If you can't compete on cost-effectiveness, then you can only compete on technological advantages, which is also the strength of many of Xu Shenxue's companies.

As long as your product is powerful and advanced enough, ideally irreplaceable, the other party will eventually be begging you to sell it to them!

APO graphics cards are a prime example!

Globally, no country imposes any additional tariffs on APO graphics cards.

Most companies have to beg the Zhuyun Group to buy more APO graphics cards for them.

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 entering July, Xu Shenxue reviewed reports from several of his important companies and then flew to Qiongzhou Island.

Every time he comes to Qiongzhou Island, it's basically to watch important launch events.

This time is no exception!
Today marks the second test flight of the Long March 8 rocket!
In the first test of the Long March 8 rocket, although the first-stage booster was successfully recovered, the second-stage Red Dragon space shuttle failed, resulting in an expensive meteor shower performance for audiences around the world.

Meanwhile, although the first-stage booster was successfully recovered, several engines malfunctioned during the launch process. Although the recovery was successful, there were still huge technical risks.

Deng Feiyue, chief rocket scientist at Nanmen Aerospace, briefed Xu Shenxue on the test flight: "After the first test flight, we upgraded and improved several major subsystems, including the Zhuque C engine, the engine parallel control system on the Long March 8 rocket, and the fuel delivery system, and cumulatively corrected or optimized more than fifty technical issues!"

“A month ago, we conducted a separate flight test on the improved first-stage booster. During the flight test at an altitude of 10 kilometers, our power system did not experience any problems, no engine malfunctions occurred, and the recovery was also completed successfully!”

"Based on our assessment, the first-stage booster of the Long March 8 rocket is no longer in serious condition!"

"For the second-stage Red Dragon space shuttle, we also made in-depth improvements to the propulsion system, correcting more than 30 technical issues. The improved Red Dragon space shuttle successfully passed ground tests!"

"However, due to the size and weight of the Red Dragon space shuttle, as well as its propulsion system, we cannot allow it to take off independently for flight experiments!"

"The main purpose of this Long March 8 rocket flight test is to verify the improved Red Dragon space shuttle!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shenxue said, "The improvement of the first-stage booster is a significant technological advancement, which is cause for celebration. As for the space shuttle, let's see how this flight test goes. Success would be great, but if it fails, there's no need to be discouraged; we can just continue to improve it!"

Deng Feiyue said, "To be honest, we are quite confident this time. After all, we have been working on the space shuttle for many years. From the White Dragon 1 space shuttle to the White Dragon 2 space shuttle, we have solved a lot of technical problems of the space shuttle. Although the Red Dragon space shuttle is newly developed, a lot of the technology still uses the mature technology of the White Dragon 2 space shuttle!"

"Theoretically speaking, its technical challenges are not as great as those of a first-stage booster rocket. Now that we've almost finished developing the first-stage booster, there's no reason why we can't develop the Red Dragon space shuttle!" "Even if it explodes this time, we'll eventually succeed with a few more tries!"

Having worked on rockets under Xu Shenxue for many years, Deng Feiyue had unknowingly developed a mindset that he didn't care much about the failure of rocket experiments.

Exploding while simultaneously conducting research and development is the norm for Nanmen Aerospace, and it is also the core reason why it has been able to achieve major technological breakthroughs in a short period of time.

On the evening of the day Xu Shenxue arrived at Nanmen Aerospace, Nanmen Aerospace took some time to launch a No. 7 rocket from its own launch site.

Nanmen Space has a relatively large number of launch missions, and the weather is not suitable every day of the year, especially since Nanmen Space's launch site is located on Qiongzhou Island, which is frequently hit by typhoons and other disasters.

Therefore, when the weather is good, Nanmen Aerospace will often launch a rocket.

After all, Nanmen Aerospace has too many launch missions, with a large number of launch orders from Zhiyun Satellite's Earth and Lunar Satellite Communication Network, launching hundreds of rockets every year.

Sometimes, when the schedule is tight, two or even three rockets can be launched in a single day... Anyway, after several expansions, the Nanmen Aerospace launch site has been divided into three launch sites, each of which can undertake the launch of the No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 rockets as well as the recovery of the first-stage boosters.

The Long March 8 rocket is quite special... it's too big and too heavy.

Therefore, only the newly built Launch Site No. 3 can meet its transportation, launch, and recovery needs!
The Long March 7 rocket, with a maximum takeoff thrust of 2,000 tons, soared into the night sky, a truly awe-inspiring sight. Despite being just a low-level rocket in Nanmen Aerospace's new generation rocket program, this rocket is still quite impressive.

In fact, the Long March 7 rocket is currently the rocket with the largest carrying capacity in service... It uses the Zhuque C liquid oxygen methane engine, which has powerful thrust and extremely low weight, resulting in a very high overall thrust-to-weight ratio. In addition, the Long March 7 rocket uses seven Zhuque C engines in parallel, which gives it a very large takeoff thrust.

Its first-stage booster is disposable, and in the mode of recovery by the Bailong II space shuttle, it still has a launch payload capacity of 75 tons to low Earth orbit. In the mode of cantilever recovery of the first-stage booster, its launch payload capacity to low Earth orbit is 50 tons.

In reality, the Long March 7 rocket is launched in the most cases using the reusable mode, so the 50-ton payload capacity in the reusable launch mode is sufficient.

Today's Long March 7 rocket uses a two-stage recovery system!
Its payload is not an ordinary flight, but a heavy communications satellite!

This heavy-duty communication satellite was developed by Zhiyun Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. It is their new generation of heavy-duty communication satellite and adopts a large number of new technologies, including a new generation of laser communication technology, with a very large communication bandwidth.

This heavy communications satellite will be launched into geostationary orbit to serve as an important communication node for the Zhiyun satellite network, as well as a crucial node for relay communication with lunar satellites and base networks.

Zhiyun Satellite is building a high-speed, high-bandwidth communication network connecting Earth and the Moon, providing ample high-speed network bandwidth support for future lunar base plans.

After all, the entire lunar base project involves the unmanned and automated operation of all kinds of equipment. While the unmanned equipment can be controlled by automated programs and artificial intelligence algorithms in daily life, it is still necessary to exchange information with the command center on Earth or on the space station.

Therefore, high-speed network bandwidth between the Earth and the Moon has become a critical requirement!
The previous Earth-Moon communication network was usable, but the bandwidth was too small and it was unstable, so it wasn't smooth to use!
To this end, Zhiyun Satellite has created a new generation of Earth-Moon satellite communication system, and the first heavy communication satellite to be launched tonight by the Long March 7 rocket will be used for this network.

The Long March 7 rocket is a very mature rocket, and its launch process went smoothly. Not long after the rocket lifted off, the first-stage booster was successfully recovered.

The second-stage White Dragon space shuttle will arrive later. It will continue to ascend for some time and undergo multiple orbital maneuvers before it can deliver the heavy communications satellite to the designated altitude and location. After completing this series of tasks, the White Dragon space shuttle will initiate its return journey, which is expected to take place tomorrow during the day.

The next day, Xu Shenxue also witnessed the successful return of the space shuttle, Bailong 18. Bailong 18 means that this is the eighteenth space shuttle manufactured by Nanmen Space Institute, and this is its fourth flight mission.

The White Dragon 18 space shuttle will be put into its next flight mission after a period of maintenance.

This period of time will not be too long, after all, the launch missions of Nanmen Space are very tight. Even if multiple space shuttles take turns to perform missions, it is not enough, especially as the storage life of the No. 5 and No. 6 rockets gradually expires, and the supporting Bailong-1 space shuttle also reaches the end of its service life.

After the Long March 5 and Long March 6 rockets and their accompanying Long March 1 space shuttle are retired, the Long March 7 rocket and its accompanying Long March 2 space shuttle will become the core rocket system of Nanmen Space, and its launch missions will be very demanding.

For this reason, Nanmen Aerospace is continuing to produce the first-stage booster of the Long March 7 rocket and the supporting Bailong 2 space shuttle, with the total output expected to be very large.

As for the even more impressive Long March 8 rocket, it is not yet ready for commercial operation. Even if it is put into commercial operation in the future, its operating costs for routine missions will not be much cheaper than those of the Long March 7 rocket system.

However, in terms of mission execution flexibility, it is far inferior to the Long March 7 rocket.

After all, a rocket like the Long March 7 can launch a single high-orbit heavy satellite without any waste, but if you use the Long March 8 rocket to launch it, there will be a huge waste of carrying capacity. You would have to launch multiple payloads together, which would be more troublesome.

On the third day after Xu Shenxue arrived on Qiongzhou Island, the second test flight of the Long March 8 rocket began.

This test flight also attracted a large number of on-site spectators, as well as many netizens and television viewers who watched it through various online or television broadcasts.

Unsurprisingly, the Long March 8 rocket was also covered with various advertising slogans during this flight... Although this experimental flight did not receive as much attention as the first flight, Nanmen Aerospace is very good at creating buzz, and its second test still attracted a lot of attention.

For many businesses, its advertising value is still considerable... and if there were a big bang, it would be even better!
As the massive No. 8 rocket soared into the sky once again, both the audience at the scene and those watching the live broadcast were awestruck by this pinnacle of human creation.

The sight of an 8,000-ton rocket taking off was truly astonishing.

The second test flight of the Long March 8 rocket proceeded as predicted by engineers such as Deng Feiyue. There were no problems with the first-stage booster, and in particular, no engine malfunctions occurred in the most critical power system.

Shortly after liftoff, the first-stage booster of the Long March 8 rocket successfully separated from the second-stage Red Dragon space shuttle, and the first-stage booster began its return journey according to the predetermined procedure.

During the separation, Xu Shenxue, Deng Feiyue, and others were closely watching the large screen... During the last test flight, the Red Dragon space shuttle experienced engine failure shortly after separation, leading to the failure of the experiment and its forced self-destruction.

Now, the real test has begun.

"Red Dragon space shuttle engine ignition!"

"Ignition successful! The Red Dragon space shuttle continues its ascent as planned!"

Five seconds, ten seconds, thirty seconds... Xu Shenxue watched the images on the big screen while keeping track of the timer.

Thirty seconds passed, and the Red Dragon space shuttle continued to climb without any problems, especially with its engines.

Shortly after, another voice came from the command center: "Red Dragon space shuttle engines shut down!"

This is part of the Red Dragon space shuttle's planned experimental program, which involves repeated engine ignition, shutdown, attitude adjustment, and satellite release experiments.

Of course, to avoid huge losses due to experimental failure, the satellite carried this time is a relatively inexpensive low-orbit satellite from Zhiyun Satellite. These low-orbit satellites are industrially mass-produced products and are very cheap. Zhiyun Satellite launches several thousand of them into space every year, so there's no need to feel bad if they explode...

Let alone explosions, hundreds of low-orbit satellites from Zhiyun Satellite fall off every year.

Because low-Earth orbit satellites operate in a thin atmosphere and their orbits are already quite low, their lifespan is generally quite short.

Moreover, in order to control costs, Zhiyun satellites use a lot of cheap materials and components, which results in a relatively short design life for these satellites. The early low-orbit satellites had a design life of only about five years, and the design life of the newer low-orbit satellites is no more than ten years.

Therefore, we can see that hundreds of low-orbit satellites launched by Zhiyun Satellite are lost every year, and we will see even more in a few years... Especially after the early batches of low-orbit satellites reach the end of their service life, it is not uncommon for thousands to be lost every year.

It is precisely because these low-orbit satellites are cheap enough that they were carried on the Long March 2 space shuttle aboard the Long March 8 rocket as experimental payloads... so that it wouldn't be a big deal if they exploded.

While the Red Dragon 2 space shuttle continued its experimental mission in space, the first-stage booster of the Long March 8 rocket returned to Earth and was eventually successfully recovered via a cantilever recovery method.

Not long after, more good news came: the Red Dragon 2 space shuttle reached its predetermined altitude and orientation, successfully released a batch of low-orbit satellites from the Zhiyun satellite system, and then initiated the return-to-home procedure.

That afternoon, people at the Nanmen Aerospace Space Shuttle Recovery Airport saw the Red Dragon II space shuttle returning from space and then smoothly landing at the airport.

Subsequently, Nanmen Aerospace officially announced that the second test flight of the Long March 8 rocket was a complete success!

(End of this chapter)