Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 627 Xi Wanqing, Who Can't Afford to Raise Her

The second test flight of the Long March 8 rocket was a complete success, and the news spread around the world in an instant.

Countless people witnessed the spectacular launch of the Long March 8 rocket, the subsequent recovery of the massive first-stage booster, and the landing of the Red Dragon space shuttle online.

Globally, news about Nanmen Space and its Long March 8 rocket has practically dominated social media!
This Long March 8 rocket is not only the largest rocket in human history, but it also carries the most important space mission in human history: providing massive core carrying capacity for the lunar base project!

According to some plans announced by Nanmen Aerospace, the Long March 8 rocket is required to undertake the core transportation mission of the subsequent large-scale expansion plan of the Centaurus space station, so as to build the Centaurus space station into a true space port, which can not only meet various scientific research experiments, but also better support the docking, resupply, transfer and maintenance of interplanetary spacecraft.

While the current Centaurus space station is capable of docking and providing logistical support for the Yutu interplanetary spacecraft, its limitations are still too great. After all, the Centaurus space station is not very large to begin with. The four core modules launched in succession have a total mass of only 240 tons. The space station is too small, so its various support capabilities are naturally limited.

According to the plan announced by Nanmen Space, Nanmen Space will build a super-large space station with a total mass of more than 1,500 tons, based on the existing Centaurus space station.

It will not only provide various sci-fi environments, but also offer docking, resupply, and transportation services for interstellar spacecraft. It will also provide limited interstellar spacecraft repair capabilities. Of course, it will not be able to solve major problems, but it can handle some common minor issues, which can effectively extend the service life of interstellar spacecraft.

Starships are much more expensive than rockets. The current Yutu starship cost several hundred million US dollars to build. Such expensive things should naturally be used for as long as possible.

At the same time, the space environment is actually very harsh. Space may seem like a vacuum, but it is not a true vacuum. Space has a large amount of various kinds of harsh radiation, such as particle impacts from the solar wind, and collisions from space particles. The reason why people on Earth cannot feel it clearly is because Earth has a very thick atmosphere, which blocks almost all kinds of attacks from space.

However, interstellar spacecraft are constantly exposed to the harsh environment of space... so maintenance and repairs are necessary to extend their service life.

To provide sufficient logistical support for interstellar spacecraft, the spaceport cannot be too small, otherwise it will be difficult to operate!

Besides the spaceport, the Long March 8 rocket is also the core transport vehicle for the lunar base project. Although most of the materials or equipment needed to build the lunar base can be transported from Earth to the space station in the form of parts, then transferred by the Earth-Moon interplanetary spacecraft, and then landed on the Moon, some core equipment cannot be disassembled and transported.

This requires the Long March 8 rocket to transport these large components to the Centaurus space station for further transfer!
Furthermore, future new interplanetary spacecraft will also weigh tens or even hundreds of tons, requiring the Long March 8 rocket to transport them into space.

Basically, the Earth Spaceport project, the Lunar Spaceport project, and the Lunar Base project all require a large number of large equipment or components, and even interstellar spacecraft, all of which need to be transported by the Long March 8 rocket... The Long March 7 rocket's carrying capacity is not sufficient to support the transportation of these large components.

In addition, the Long March 8 rocket also has a very good capacity for transporting general cargo.

If there is sufficient cargo and the carrying capacity of the Long March 8 rocket can be fully utilized, then the transportation cost of the Long March 8 rocket can be significantly reduced compared to the Long March 7 rocket.

According to Nanmen Aerospace's internal cost estimates, the cost of launching the Long March 7 rocket with two reusable stages and a full load to transport supplies to the Centaurus space station is approximately $450 per kilogram. This makes it the cheapest rocket in human history... Of course, this price is only an internal cost calculation, and the price would be many times higher if it were to be ordered from outside.

Currently, the Long March 7 rocket is accepting orders from external parties. Under the two-stage recovery mode, the price for each launch to low Earth orbit fluctuates between US$100 million and US$150 million. Based on a full-load transport capacity of 55 tons, the price is approximately US$1,800 to US$2,700 per kilogram. Of course, the actual price depends on the partner and the cooperation model.

If the Long March 8 rocket is reusable in both stages and can be launched fully loaded, it can also transport supplies to the Centaurus space station. The internal cost is estimated to be reduced to $320 per kilogram... The future goal is to reduce it to below $300, or even gradually approach the design target of $200.

Currently, in terms of internal costs, the transportation cost per kilogram of the Long March 8 rocket is $130 cheaper than that of the Long March 7 rocket!
It may not seem like much, but you have to understand that the transportation of supplies in the future will not be just a few kilograms, but thousands or even tens of thousands of tons. Once the quantity increases, the savings will amount to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan.

Of course, all of this is on the premise that the Long March 8 rocket can launch fully loaded... Currently, only Nanmen Aerospace has enough launch payloads for it to use, so don't count on external orders... Each flight requires more than 100 tons of cargo, which is not easy to gather.

Moreover, the Long March 8 rocket is too large, making launch and recovery more complicated. Its launch frequency is far less than that of the Long March 7 rocket, and its flexibility is limited. Nanmen Aerospace will mainly use it for the full-load transportation of conventional bulk cargo in the future.

Regular launches will primarily rely on the Long March 7 rocket and its future improved versions.

Regardless of the circumstances, the successful test of the Long March 8 rocket has enabled Nanmen Aerospace's long-planned spaceport and lunar base projects to reach a new level!

While the outside world was awestruck by the successful maiden flight of the Long March 8 rocket, Xu Shenxue was observing the second-generation interstellar spacecraft from the South Gate Aerospace Center.

Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft!

Professor Qu Bowen, the chief scientist of the interplanetary spacecraft project at Nanmen Aerospace, introduced the Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft to Xu Shenxue.

"Our Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft is an upgrade and improvement of the Yutu-1 interplanetary spacecraft. Its overall structure is designed to resemble a submarine so that it can be carried by the Bailong-2 space shuttle."

"The entire Yutu-2 interstellar spacecraft is 23 meters long, with a maximum hull diameter of 6 meters. Without carrying fuel, it weighs 50 tons. The interior is designed with a crew/cockpit and a living quarters. These two compartments can operate independently of each other and each has its own independent oxygen supply and life support system."

"In addition, the spacecraft also has a large cargo bay, a robotic arm storage and operation bay, a personnel space activity preparation bay, a space robot storage and maintenance bay, in addition to these internal activity bays that personnel can access."

"However, these personnel activity compartments only occupy a small portion of the space. Most of the spaceship's space is dedicated to fuel tanks. After all, it needs to carry enough fuel to support a round trip between Earth and the Moon. If there are too few fuel tanks, the fuel carried will not be enough!"

"The spacecraft's main power comes from two Jinwu B-type vacuum liquid oxygen methane engines at the tail. The two engines are provided as a safety backup to prevent the spacecraft from becoming unable to fly due to engine failure."

"One engine can also support the spacecraft to continue accelerating or decelerating, but the speed will be slower!"
"

"In addition, we have also designed an external escape spacecraft that can be attached to the Yutu-2 rover. One escape spacecraft can accommodate ten crew members to ride and evacuate the spacecraft. The fuel and miniature engines on the escape spacecraft are still sufficient to support the escape spacecraft to return to the Centaurus space station independently from lunar orbit, ensuring the safety of the crew to the greatest extent."

"The Yutu-2 interstellar spacecraft currently has three fixed points for attaching three escape ships each, and can carry even more escape ships if necessary!"

"In fact, if an accident really occurs and the escape spacecraft is unable to return to Centaurus Space Station due to insufficient power, we can also send the backup Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft to pick up the people!"

"We have made ample safety margins in terms of personnel safety!"

"At the same time, these attachment points can also be used to secure large goods that cannot be placed in the warehouse, especially large equipment, for external transport!"

"The main power source of Yutu-2, namely the Jinwu series vacuum engine, is a small-sized, low-power vacuum plate liquid oxygen methane engine that we developed specifically for interstellar spacecraft. We relaxed some performance indicators in terms of thrust and thrust-to-weight ratio, focusing on the design of service life and reliability!"

"The application of the Jinwu A engine on the Yutu-1 interplanetary spacecraft has been very successful. We have upgraded and improved the Jinwu A engine, mainly focusing on further extending its service life and improving its reliability!"

"According to our design specifications, the Jinwu B-type engine, with proper maintenance and logistical support including the replacement of some easily worn parts, can support the Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft to complete hundreds of round-trip flights between Earth and the Moon. Furthermore, we have reserved a design margin for engine replacement, so that if the corresponding equipment is available at the spaceport in the future, the engine can be replaced directly at the spaceport, further extending the service life of the Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft!"

Chemical fuel rocket engines have this problem: their lifespan is not very long!

Traditional rocket engines used to have lifespans measured in seconds... while Nanmen Aerospace's liquid oxygen-methane engine is technologically advanced globally. The Bifang C-type engine used on the Long March 7 and Long March 8 rockets, although technologically advanced, has not yet transcended the current limits of human technology.

The Golden Crow series engines used on interstellar spacecraft, in particular, sacrificed thrust and thrust-to-weight ratio to enhance service life, which is why they can support the interstellar spacecraft for dozens or even hundreds of round trips between Earth and the Moon.

Qu Bowen continued, "In addition, we have also applied a new generation of high-power electric propulsion engines developed by Zhiyun Satellite on the Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft!"

"However, the thrust is still relatively small, and it is mainly used for attitude adjustment. It cannot be used as the main power source for current conventional interstellar spacecraft."

Xu Shenxue did know about this electric propulsion engine. Although Zhiyun Satellite's technology in electric propulsion engines was far ahead of other space agencies or companies in various countries, electric propulsion technology is inherently characterized by low thrust and high specific impulse!
In layman's terms, this thing is not suitable for short-distance, high-speed travel; it is only suitable for long-distance, long-duration travel!

Therefore, electric propulsion technology is currently mainly used in the field of satellites or space stations to maintain orbital altitude or adjust attitude for a long time.

It can also be used in some deep space probes... Deep space probes often fly continuously for several years or even decades, so this electric propulsion is quite suitable: it has a large specific impulse and a very long service life!

The farther the distance in deep space, the more suitable electric propulsion engines become!

Gradually increase the speed, and eventually you can achieve a very high speed with a small amount of working fluid... but it takes a long time to continuously accelerate.

At the beginning of the year, Nanmen Space launched a probe into deep space. The main engine it carried was an electric propulsion engine. The probe had huge solar panels and also carried nuclear batteries to ensure that it had enough power during its long deep space flight. This probe, called Nanmen 14, will gradually accelerate by using the gravitational slingshots of various planets along the way, and finally fly towards the edge of the solar system like other deep space probes.

Then, in the distant future, it will fly out of the solar system and continue its journey towards the Southern Alpha Galaxy...

However, by then, the nuclear power battery it carries will have run out of power, and the solar panels will be unable to collect enough electricity because they are too far from the sun.

It will inevitably lose contact completely, and then become a dead object in space, continuing its journey through the sky until it reaches the South Gate Interstellar Space in the distant future!
However, given the current pace of technological development, it's possible that we might reach the Southern Interstellar Space System ahead of others in a few hundred years through more advanced methods…

So, although the Alpha Centauri probe was nominally heading towards the Alpha Centauri system, its main mission was actually to explore the planets in the solar system, especially the planets at the edge of the solar system.

This Nanmen 18 probe is the most advanced and fastest deep space probe ever manufactured by Nanmen Space... Before it, Nanmen Space had launched seventeen other deep space probes into deep space, mainly for exploring several planets near Earth and the asteroid belt.

Nanmen Space currently has three probes orbiting Mars...

For other space agencies, launching a probe may be extremely difficult, but for Nanmen Space, the cost of launching such a probe is actually very low.

Rockets are mass-produced and reusable... launch costs are extremely low.

The probes are all mass-produced on industrial assembly lines. Even specially designed probes often have subsystems that are basically from the same batch. Some of Nanmen Aerospace's deep space probes are actually modified from lunar orbiters or various satellites using mature technologies... their cost is much lower than the outside world imagines!

After all, no matter what kind of industrial product it is, once it is mass-produced, the cost can plummet instantly... because the research and development costs are significantly reduced.

Nanmen Space rarely develops new technologies or builds a special probe for deep space exploration for a specific mission. Nanmen Space's new technology research and development is mainly focused on various commercially applicable projects, such as the lunar base project and the spaceport project.
As for sending a probe to explore deep space, that's just a side effect...

For Nanmen Aerospace at present, the most important plan is still the lunar base. Deep space exploration is just some preliminary scientific research. The main purpose is to find some asteroids or other special resources that can be easily mined in the future. It doesn't cost much money, so we just do it as an afterthought.

Mining helium-3 on the moon is Nanmen Aerospace's core objective for the present and for many years to come. To this end, the Long March 8 rocket, the Long March 7 rocket, as well as the spaceport project, the Earth-Moon interplanetary spacecraft project, the lunar reusable transport rocket project, and the lunar base project are all serving this goal!

Meanwhile, the controlled nuclear fusion technology that requires helium-3 is also progressing steadily. The development plan for its first prototype, Xinghai-1, is progressing steadily, and some subsystems have completed technical development and entered the manufacturing stage.

In mid-July, Xu Shenxue visited Xinghai Energy Technology Co., Ltd., checked on the development progress of Xinghai-1, chatted with local scientists, and discussed the huge potential of future commercial applications of controlled nuclear fusion. He then flew to Beijing for a meeting.

He goes to the capital for meetings quite often. There's no way around it; when you're doing business to this extent, various meetings are unavoidable.

After returning from the meeting, Xu Shenxue stayed at Zhihaiyuan for a few days before heading to the seaside villa.

In the past six months, he has preferred to spend time with Xi Wanqing, not just because of the novelty, but more because Xi Wanqing is a strong career woman whose abilities, knowledge, and even values ​​are admirable.

Xu Shenxue had seen plenty of simply beautiful women, and he was also surrounded by many beautiful women with gentle personalities... In any case, no woman ever threw a tantrum in front of him; they all knew how to provide emotional support.

But Xi Wanqing is truly the only beautiful, highly educated professional woman!
This allows Xu Shenxue and her to talk about work in their daily interactions, which gives them a lot in common.

Moreover, Xi Wanqing is quite independent and has her own ideas... which is different from most of the women in Zhihai Garden.

Many women in Zhihai Garden basically revolve around Xu Shenxue every day, racking their brains to figure out his preferences and how to please him... A few years ago, Xu Shenxue quite enjoyed this pattern, but later he found it rather boring.

Therefore, in the later years, he often preferred to stay with his wife Lin Yaxian, spend time with the children, and chat about everyday things, rather than go to other women to see them trying to please him.

Of course, it cannot be denied that this is also related to Xu Shenxue losing interest in the women in Zhihai Garden. After all, many of these women have been with Xu Shenxue for many years, even more than ten years. Although they are well-maintained, one gets tired of seeing them after ten years.

The only one Xu Shenxue could spend a lot of time with was his secretary, Li Linlin… She was well-maintained, had spent a lot of time with Xu Shenxue in his early years, and was the second woman to give birth to his child. Xu Shenxue also paid more attention to the children born earlier, and out of affection for Li Linlin, he also paid more attention to her.

Well, I did develop some feelings for Li Linlin... though not many!
Even so, Xu Shenxue actually visits Secretary Li's office less often now.

Xi Wanqing's presence was refreshing, and coupled with her characteristics as a highly educated professional woman, Xu Shenxue felt a different kind of connection with her. They got along quite well in their daily conversations, creating a kind of abbreviated version of a confidante.

Humans are emotional beings, so naturally they tend to prefer women they can get along with.

Xi Wanqing was quite happy when Xu Shenxue came over... She had been resting at home recently, and it was not advisable to walk around too much in the early stages of pregnancy, so she was quite bored on weekdays. Moreover, her morning sickness had been a bit severe before, but it had only gotten a little better now.

Although I don't vomit as much now, I've changed my mind again. This food tastes bland, that food doesn't taste good... Plus, there's nothing to do, so I'm quite bored... This makes me prone to overthinking.

Once a person starts thinking too much, they are more likely to fall into melancholy... Even a highly educated woman like Xi Wanqing is no exception. She knows it's not good, but she can't help but overthink!

In addition, Xu Shenxue was busy every day, and he often went on business trips to inspect and attend meetings.

While she was in Shenzhen, although she had been visiting quite frequently, she couldn't really abandon Zhihai Garden, so she didn't actually see Xu Shenxue very often.

Seeing Xu Shenxue arrive, she was happy and even ate more at dinner. However, Xu Shenxue could still tell that she didn't like the food tonight and frowned while eating it.

After she finished eating, Xu Shenxue gently hugged her.
"It's alright. A batch of newly purchased local fruits and ingredients from South America will be airlifted over tomorrow. Try these then; they might improve your appetite."

"I've also arranged for a few new chefs, all top chefs specializing in international cuisines. Try them out and see if you can handle the food!"

I know many women who experience pregnancy symptoms, but none of them are like Xi Wanqing. She vomited every day at first, and now that she's finally stopped vomiting so much, nothing tastes good... she has no appetite!

In an effort to get her to eat more, Xu Shenxue scoured almost every kind of ingredient in the country, from rare delicacies to those found at roadside stalls. Over twenty top chefs devised various dishes, all in an effort to get her to eat more... but the results were still not very good.

To date, Xi Wanqing has no appetite for anything.

Many dishes that looked delicious and appealed to Xu Shenxue made her want to eat them, but the smell made her feel nauseous!

Now, Xu Shenxue has started instructing people to find various local specialties from overseas, and also brought back some top chefs from overseas to cook for Xi Wanqing.

Just so she can eat more!

The next day, before going to the company in the morning, Xu Shenxue specifically instructed the logistics department to hand over the ingredients and chefs.

In the afternoon, Xu Shenxue finally received good news: a Cantonese chef who came today used several ingredients air-freighted from South America, along with some domestic ingredients, to make a dish that he had temporarily researched.

Wanqing thought it was quite delicious, finding the dish fresh with a hint of sweet and sour, and quite refreshing. She said it was also very appetizing and she ate quite a bit of it today.

This finally put Xu Shenxue at ease, as he was able to get Xi Wanqing a full meal... but it really wasn't easy!

It's only because she has some money. If it were an ordinary family, they probably wouldn't be able to support a pregnant Xi Wanqing... Her appetite is too picky!
Of course, ordinary families probably wouldn't go through all that trouble. If they don't have a good appetite, they'll force themselves to eat a few more bites and then get through the first few months.

No family would go through the same trouble and hassle as Xu Shenxue's family, just to make Xi Wanqing eat more comfortably.

(End of this chapter)