Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 672 The Heavenly Ladder (Part 1)
The concept of a space elevator was first proposed in the late 19th century by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

It is a super-large-scale, extremely low-cost means of transportation capable of transporting goods, personnel, and equipment between the Earth's surface and space, including between the Earth and the Moon, as well as between the Earth and the Moon.

It maintains the straightness of its main structure by using the centrifugal force of the Earth's rotation and is balanced by the counterweights in its high orbit.

This is like throwing a hammer; before the athlete releases it, the hammer and chain maintain system balance due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation.

However, in order to achieve this requirement, the center of gravity of the space elevator system also needs to be located in geosynchronous orbit, which is about 35786 kilometers above the Earth.

Because the entire axis of the space elevator needs to point towards the Earth's center, the site for this mega-project was chosen in Southeast Asia, which is located on the equator and relatively close to the major Eastern power.

After all, only China, known as the "infrastructure powerhouse," could undertake such a mega-project and complete it quickly and well.

If it were the United States, given their efficiency in spending billions of dollars over several years to build a 500-meter high-speed rail line, they probably wouldn't have been able to build this space elevator by the time the Trisolarans arrived on Earth.

Because the main organizers and contractors of the space elevator project are Chinese, the construction site of the space elevator base, located at the border of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, is filled with Chinese construction workers and familiar yellow faces.

In addition, to protect this key project related to human space exploration, China has also responded to the call of the United Government and stationed a large number of troops here.

After being promoted from the "Wolf Fang" squad, Liu Peiqiang was assigned by his superiors to the "Sky Ladder" defense force after a period of rest, becoming a mid-to-high-level officer representing China.

"Sir, the news says this project will be completed in six months. Is that enough time?"

On the new fighter jet, Xu Shaoyang (played by Cao Jun), Liu Peiqiang's apprentice who had just finished a mission to clear out rioters, looked at the huge, busy space elevator base project outside the plane and couldn't help but ask a question.

"What's the rush?"

Liu Peiqiang calmly piloted the fighter jet across the sea, flying towards the massive project base.

"We can even build a base on Mars and grow potatoes. The title of 'infrastructure maniac' is well-deserved. As long as no one causes trouble, six months is more than enough."

Just as the fighter jets were gradually approaching the base, the anti-aircraft guns around the base all pointed at them.

[Please note that aircraft ATC10171 has entered the inner air defense zone D2 area. Awaiting confirmation.]

[Identity confirmed, alert lifted]

The plane passed through the line of drones patrolling the airspace and landed on the wide-open airport.

Liu Peiqiang and his apprentice Xu Shaoyang get off the plane, and then there is a typical daily scene, mainly the interaction between Liu Peiqiang and his wife Han Duoduo.

Considering that the two were already married, after arranging for Liu Peiqiang to be stationed at the "Sky Ladder" construction project, the organization also transferred Han Duoduo to Zhao Hailun's side to be responsible for her safety.

After all, the main material of this space elevator is the "nano-blade" hybrid carbon nanotube developed by Zhao Hailun. Only this kind of light and high-strength advanced material can withstand the tensile strength requirements generated by the 9-kilometer length of the space elevator.

So after briefly dealing with the Busan zombie incident, Zhao Hailun was transferred here to provide technical support for the project.

Leaving aside the flirtatious banter between Liu Peiqiang and Han Duoduo, the film "Sky Ladder" uses the perspective of Liu Peiqiang's apprentice during a rest to give the audience a comprehensive understanding of the Sky Ladder base.

Because of the Earth's rotation angle, the space elevator base project is located in a large area at the junction of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, extending to the nearby sea.

The main base of the space elevator is located on the seashore, built on reclaimed land for safety reasons, with its foundation located at a very deep underwater location for anchoring.

As for the large area of ​​land on land, it was mainly for housing the ancillary projects during the construction of the space elevator.

It's important to know that a space elevator is composed of several parts. The ground-based base mainly serves to fix the structure and is located above the equator.

The nanofiber woven cable serves to connect the various parts and extends vertically to the ground for 9 kilometers.

Then there's the geostationary orbit, located 36,000 kilometers above the ground, which is the center of gravity of the entire system.

There is also a counterweight at the top, which is mainly used to maintain the verticality of the cable between the ground and the counterweight.

Therefore, the construction of the space elevator is not like building a regular high-rise building from the bottom up, but rather the cables are lowered down from space in sections, like fishing.

Therefore, land reclamation and foundation laying on the ground are only part of the project. They also need to launch rockets into space to build several geostationary orbit stations.

That large expanse of land on the mainland was used for this purpose. It houses a material factory that produces space elevator cables, a space rocket production base, a launch site, a dispatch center under the leadership of the United Government that can command spacecraft around the world, a transportation hub, a large number of unmanned warehouses, supplies gathered from all over the world, a personnel logistics and living center, and service personnel who provide services to the staff of these bases.

It can be said that after several years of development, this "space elevator" base is no longer just a base, but a super-large modern aerospace technology city built in the originally backward Southeast Asia. It includes various facilities such as military seaports, docks, high-speed rail stations, airports, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, and schools. In the future, after the space elevator is completed, it will also facilitate the transfer of goods and passengers to enter space.

The audience followed Xu Shaoyang, taking a tour of this huge project base from his perspective, and also witnessed the daily life of the pilots during their rest.

They also learned that Liu Peiqiang, Xu Shaoyang, and others were transferred here not only to maintain local security and protect the project from sabotage, but also to become the first batch of trainee astronauts for the Ark International Space Station after the space elevator is successfully built.

As for the "Ark" International Space Station, that is the name of a spacecraft in the "Ark" program. It is not the name of a single space station, but the name of a series.

In fact, in the face of the Trisolaran crisis, humanity has more than just the "Wallfacer Project"; the "Ark Project" is also one of the response plans.

Although "escapeism" is suppressed and downplayed in the official coalition government meetings, downplaying it does not mean it is absolutely prohibited.

Even a fool knows that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket, so "Project Ark" is not escapism, but a strategic retreat.

In this matter, the authorities did not publicize it extensively. They even launched the "Wallfacer Project" involving Luo Ji and others to attract the attention of the public, the ETO resistance organization, and even the Trisolaran civilization.

Privately, through communication, exchange, and discussion in virtual consciousness space, the joint government named this global collaborative space station immigration plan the "Ark" project.

The goal of this plan is to pool global resources to build as many of these space stations as possible, leading a portion of humanity to deep space to find a new home before the arrival of the Trisolaran fleet, thus preserving the seeds of civilization for humankind.

Of course, since the space elevator has not yet been built, the Ark Space Station is currently only in the design stage.

The space station is designed to weigh approximately 50 tons, have a diameter of about 1.5 kilometers, and cost approximately US$15000 trillion, making it over a thousand times the mass of the ISS, the largest space station ever built. The main materials of the space station are high-temperature resistant composite materials, allowing it to operate for extended periods at temperatures between 1500°C and 2000°C, completing its designated missions in deep space.

Its interior also includes an artificial ecological cycle system, a hibernation system, a virtual reality regional server, and a biological gene seed bank, capable of supporting 3 astronauts who can be considered human elites to carry out interstellar migration plans.

Although these points are not explicitly stated in the film, they are subtly conveyed to the audience in the theater as the plot unfolds, letting them know just how important this "sky ladder" project is to humanity.

Such an important project is naturally unlikely to proceed smoothly.

After a period of calm and harmonious plot development, the film's pace begins to pick up.

The main issue is that the people of Southeast Asia and other countries are increasingly opposed to the "Sky Ladder" project, and armed attacks against the project are escalating.

The opponents' weapons are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and their personnel are becoming increasingly qualified.

Liu Peiqiang, who is in charge of the protection base project, has a clear understanding of this.

"There must be a well-organized military organization supporting these guys!"

"Is it that ETO organization?"

Xu Shaoyang asked with some doubt and a hint of worry on his face.

However, Liu Peiqiang shook his head and didn't say anything more.

There are some things he can't let his apprentice know. This isn't because he's guarding against Xu Shaoyang, but rather because he's protecting him.

After all, according to the information Liu Peiqiang obtained, there is a high possibility that another major Western power is behind those opposition groups.

For a certain Western power, the establishment of this space elevator will help China consolidate its foothold in Southeast Asia and further expand its influence.

Furthermore, the subsequent use of the "Sky Ladder" to ensure the smooth implementation of the "Ark" project will allow China to occupy a leading position in both the coalition government and the space program.

This is intolerable to a certain major power.

What? You're saying aliens have already arrived, and a certain major power is still causing internal strife and dragging its allies down? That's irrational.

Please, this great power has a tradition of factional strife that has lasted for over two hundred years. For them, the arrival of aliens is still a hundred years away, but the struggle for power and interests is happening right now.

Moreover, only they can take the lead in saving humanity and setting an example for it.

As for whether the project delays or failures caused by this will affect the grand plan of all mankind on Earth?

Sorry, but the future of humanity is not within the consideration of certain Western politicians.

It's like when a certain American country said it wanted to bring manufacturing back, but South Korea built a high-end electric vehicle factory in their country and then arrested more than 300 senior engineers sent by the American company to build the factory, chained them up and threw them into a temporary prison.

Why? It's because this project was brought in by the previous president when he was in office. It wasn't his achievement, so he didn't pay tribute to the current president.

It can only be said that the short-sightedness of some people's thinking is unimaginable.

In addition, the space elevator project is not actually limited to just the "sky elevator".

When the coalition government was discussing the project, the issue of surplus coefficient was taken into consideration, so two space elevator projects were finally approved: one was "Sky Ladder" and the other was "Tower of Babel".

However, while the "Sky Ladder" project was located in Southeast Asia, the "Tower of Babel" base was set up on the coast of Egypt in Africa.

However, the problem of low efficiency in Western engineering construction is no joke.

The project in China will be completed in six months, while their project is only one-third complete. With the project deadline fast approaching, how can some guys not be anxious?

Because of the looming "Three-Body Crisis" and the watchful eyes of the United Government, any actions could only be carried out in secret.

Besides the opposition's military buildup, rumors about the "Sky Ladder" project, including plans for a space station colonization, have also been circulating widely on the global internet.

It's important to understand that "escapeism" had only been suppressed by the United Government for a short time, and then someone told them that China was actually preparing to carry out interstellar migration behind the backs of the people of the world, sending a portion of them away. How could anyone accept this? They immediately became even more dissatisfied with the "Sky Ladder" project.

This situation undoubtedly proves that a certain major power is indeed behind this.

Because the "Ark" project was initially discussed in a virtual dream space, the participants were a small group. Most people only knew that the "Ark" was a space station and did not know that the "Ark" would later undertake interstellar voyages.

Therefore, the fact that the news was leaked can only mean that there was an insider who leaked the information.

As for who the mole is, it goes without saying.

Fortunately, China had already prepared for the worst-case scenario of having a "pig teammate" (someone who is incompetent or unhelpful). It would only cause some conflict and disruption, at most interfering with the overall project, but it would not be able to interrupt the project's progress.

Unless, of course, new forces intervene.

Amidst the tense plot, a new movie character also appears: engineer Zhao Shulei (played by Zhao Liying), Chu Yan's wife in the movie "Operation Red Sea".

Her disheveled appearance offered viewers a completely different perspective—the perspective of a builder and worker, the perspective of a participant in a mega-project.

From this perspective, viewers no longer see the external difficulties faced by the project, but rather the internal challenges, the difficulties encountered during the construction process, and the efforts made by Chinese builders to overcome these difficulties.

It is also through the perspective of engineer Zhao Shulei that the audience learns that China's construction of the "Sky Ladder" is not simply about building a super project.

(End of this chapter)