This star is going to the moon

Chapter 244 The Problem with the International Space Station: The United States Does Not Accept That There Is Only One Tiangong Space Station in Space!

Chief Designer Yang: "You mean... the International Space Station is about to collapse?"

Lu Yun shook his head upon hearing this: "No, the International Space Station will even have its lifespan extended for a few more years."

"The reason is to prevent our Tiangong space station from becoming the only operational space station in Earth orbit."

"And extend lifespan?"

Chief Designer Yang was taken aback, then frowned and said, "It has been 22 years since the earliest module of the International Space Station was built. Its original design life was only 10 to 15 years, and it has already been extended twice in 2024."

"If this lifespan is extended further, the early modules definitely won't be able to hold up, and the International Space Station might have to retire in a very undignified manner..."

Chief Designer Yang is not only the chief designer of the Mengtian experimental module, but also the chief designer of the entire Tiangong space station system. Therefore, when it comes to understanding the space station in China, he is basically the best.

This includes space stations decommissioned and burned down by other countries, as well as the existing International Space Station.

There's a lot to say about the operation of the International Space Station.

The International Space Station dares to call itself "international" because it is the product of multinational cooperation, with 16 countries contributing to its development.

Originally, the Chinese wanted to participate, but the Americans wouldn't allow it, which led to the creation of the Tiangong space station, a product that put the Americans in a difficult position.

The International Space Station was originally planned to begin construction in 1998 and complete initial assembly in 2001.

Then, from 2001 to 2006, final assembly was carried out, and it entered the formal operation phase.

However, problems arose when construction actually began.

Multinational cooperation is powerful and can even be touted as "international," but when you actually engage in multinational cooperation, you'll see the intricacies involved.

In particular, these countries are all typical "selfish" capitalist countries.

There are too many things that require wrangling and too many things that require cross-border matching.

The first module of the International Space Station was indeed launched in 1998, and the initial assembly, consisting of six small modules, was completed in 2001.

The largest is only 13 meters long, while the smallest is only 5 meters long.

None of them are as tall as the modules of the Tiangong space station, which are 17 or 18 meters high from the start.

The initial assembly phase of the International Space Station went well, but the final assembly phase fell apart.

It was supposed to be in the final assembly phase between 2001 and 2006, but... not a single module was launched!

Instead, there was a five-year gap in the middle, and the final assembly stage didn't begin until 2007, continuing until 2010.

So the International Space Station was planned to be built in 8 years, but it actually took 12 years to complete.

It's important to know that the International Space Station program is designed to operate for 10 to 15 years.

The initial plan was to operate until 2015, but it was not completed until 2010. It was not cost-effective to use it for only 5 years, so the first life extension was carried out.

His lifespan was extended from 2015 to 2020, which is this year.

They even added a new experimental chamber in 2016.

In 2018, the International Space Station conducted a comprehensive inspection and determined that the module could still be used, so its lifespan was extended to 2024.

When the Tiangong space station began construction in 2019, the Americans were caught off guard.

If the International Space Station is eventually decommissioned in 2024, then only the Tiangong Space Station will remain in space.

This is something the Americans would absolutely not allow.

In order to prevent China from achieving this in the new space race, the US can only extend the lifespan of the International Space Station and then build another space station during the extended lifespan.

After all, it can't be built in the four years from now until 2024.

However, as Chief Designer Yang said, if the lifespan is extended further, the early modules really won't be able to hold up, and the International Space Station could indeed be decommissioned in an undignified manner.

For example, the regular air leaks in the previous life, which were getting faster and faster and couldn't be stopped, were an unsolvable problem caused by the aging of modules. Another issue was that the massive International Space Station didn't have much maneuverability and could only rely on Russian modules for orbital maneuvers. As a result, a problem with one module caused an abnormal engine start, resulting in the International Space Station flipping 540 degrees.

In other words, if the thrust is not strong, it will slowly flip over. If the thrust is strong, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Fortunately, the Tiangong space station won't be like that. After all, the Tiangong space station was designed for a 10-year lifespan, so it could suddenly reach 30 years.

However, the design lifespan of aerospace equipment is meant to be exceeded, and it is normal for the Tiangong space station to have its lifespan extended by 5 or 10 years.

As long as it doesn't aim to operate for 30 years like the International Space Station, it'll be fine.

If the Tiangong space station's lifespan is extended by 10 years, then it will operate until the 40th year.

With Lu Yun's involvement in this life, he really didn't know how far China's aerospace technology would develop in the 1940s.

After all, according to Lu Yun's calculations, he could probably reach level 6 in his [Aerospace Engineering] skill by 28 years.

He can't even imagine what kind of super technology he will get by then.

Before that, Chief Designer Yang and Lu Yun stopped caring about the International Space Station. No matter what the US did, China just needed to stick to its own path.

"Don't worry, the 'space dock' you requested will definitely be completed by the middle of this year, and then we'll spend two months testing it."

Chief Designer Yang said, "If your 'Wooden Kite' tests go smoothly, then once it passes the testing period, it will definitely be able to dock with the Tiangong space station on time."

Lu Yun nodded upon hearing this.

The "Muyuan" spacecraft is not only being followed by the military personnel, but also by the manned space program office of the space agency, since it is both cheaper and more convenient than the "Shenzhou" manned spacecraft.

It will also enable China to have a considerable cargo transport capability for space for the first time, and will be able to transport a large number of space station experimental results to the ground. The manned space program will definitely need it.

Although the new generation of manned spacecraft under construction also has considerable cargo transport capabilities and is reusable, its operating cost is much higher than that of the "Wooden Kite".

Furthermore, its research and development progress is not very good. It will take at least two or three years before it can be used, which is the eve of Lu Yun's planned manned lunar landing in 2024.

However, it's impossible to pile up all the experimental results from the space station over the past three years on the space station, as there's not enough room for them. So, we either need to conduct fewer experiments and produce fewer results.

Alternatively, they could use the "Wooden Kite" to transport it down.

The prerequisite for the "Wooden Kite" to dock with the space station is that the "Space Dock" must first dock with the space station.

The space agency is currently only discussing the difference between buying or leasing spacecraft.

The next-generation manned spacecraft is designed to perform manned lunar landing missions and serve as a backup spacecraft for manned missions to the space station.

Just like the US's development of the "Cyber ​​Dragon" and "Starliner" spacecraft, what they need is a backup.

Firstly, it serves as a check on the other company, preventing it from monopolizing manned missions and then charging exorbitant prices.

Secondly, it's for dealing with emergencies; if one facility fails, the other can step in to help.

………………

"Don't worry, Boeing is already working on resolving the issues with the Starliner, and it will be able to conduct test flights again soon!"

At a NASA space conference, Boeing representative Smith boasted, "Moreover, this test flight is funded by Boeing itself, so it won't cause the project to go over budget!"

"I suggest we move directly to the next topic, which is the return to the moon!"

"We at Boeing are very honored to have been involved in the selection of the lunar module and the construction of the lunar space station."

"The Tiangong space station across the ocean will complete its first phase of construction this March, while the International Space Station will be decommissioned in 2024. We desperately need a lunar space station!"

"It serves as both a transit station for journeys to the moon and ensures that our space station will remain in space even after the International Space Station is decommissioned!"

"And it's a more advanced lunar space station!"

(End of this chapter)