This star is going to the moon

Chapter 465 Follow the American path and leave the Americans with nowhere to go!

Late at night on the last day of September.

China National Space Administration.

Lu Yun and a group of veterans of the manned lunar landing mission watched the live broadcast of the maiden flight of the American X-33 single-stage-to-orbit demonstrator.

I also listened to a group of older, respected figures comment on their current American counterparts.

"Not bad, those old friends on the other side didn't let us down, their skills are still there."

"Indeed, I knew from the public information the Americans had released that they were going back to the Apollo moon landing model. If they wanted to get things done in a short time, they had to use the method of 'concentrating resources to accomplish big things.' No one can escape the objective laws."

"However, the US is too narrow-minded now, and it can't compare to its former domineering spirit. It has to implement a 'centralized model' in secret, and it doesn't even admit it."

"Not only is the scope small, but the scale of the project is also small. If they were going to build a space shuttle, they should have gone all out. Instead, they used the 'centralized mode' and produced a twenty-year-old artifact that is far inferior to the Muyuan-class space shuttle. I thought they would go for the most advanced technology if they were going to do it. Even if they didn't completely break through the limits, they should at least build the 1000-ton Adventure Star in one go. And this is what they got?"

"Indeed, back when we were on our honeymoon, we were exchanging space technology information with the other side, and we were truly envious..."

Lu Yun was aware of this matter; it was a required history lesson for aerospace students.

Despite the current standoff between China and the United States, there was a brief honeymoon period in history, and the same applies to the space industry.

That was in the 1980s. In order to contain Russia, the United States decided to win over Russia in various ways, including many collaborations in the aerospace field.

At that time, China was in the early stages of reform and opening up, and the aerospace industry was in dire need of funds. It urgently needed to enter the international market to earn money to support the aerospace industry.

The two countries then signed a Memorandum of Understanding on International Trade Issues Concerning Commercial Launch Services, under which Laos and China used a Long March 2E rocket to launch a commercial satellite manufactured by Hughes Aircraft Company for Australia.

At that time, the Laos and China did not have the technology for the Long March 2E rocket. In fact, the configuration of the Long March 2E was drawn up by the chief designer on the spot to discuss cooperation.

However, after finalizing the cooperation, which was a very demanding one, Laos and China completed 440,000 drawings and conducted more than 300 ground tests in just 18 months, developing the Long March 2E rocket, which is capable of sending an 8.8-ton spacecraft into low Earth orbit.

However, China's aerospace technology was not mature at the time, so problems arose during the first launch of the Australian satellite.

After the rocket ignited, the two booster engines malfunctioned and automatically shut down after 7 seconds. As a result, the rocket lacked sufficient thrust to leave the launch pad and did not constitute a launch.

The situation was urgent, and some workers lost their lives to evacuate the toxic fuel from the rocket.

Fortunately, the rocket was ultimately a one-time failure, but the satellite remained intact.

The accident was caused by the melting of 0.15 milligrams of excess aluminum at the control point of the program distributor in the rocket control system. This caused a short circuit in the control contact, which in turn caused the oxidizer auxiliary system shut-off valve of the booster rocket engine to close prematurely, leading to the engine's automatic emergency shutdown.

The failure of this launch has had a significant negative impact on China's space program. In order to remember this painful lesson, the space agency has decided to designate March 22nd of each year as Space Quality Day.

It wasn't until five months later, on the second launch, that the first Australian satellite was successfully launched.

However, problems arose again when launching the second Australian satellite.

However, this time it wasn't the rocket that malfunctioned, but the satellite that exploded.

The "Aussat 2" satellite exploded approximately 48 seconds after liftoff, and the rocket delivered the remaining debris into its intended orbit.

The joint statement from the two countries regarding the investigation of the failure indicated that there were no defects in the design, manufacturing, or assembly of the rocket or fairing that led to the failure.

However... perhaps the two countries really needed to cooperate, so they did not find any defects in the satellite's design and manufacturing that caused this malfunction.

Anyway, that was the end of it. China proved its space capabilities and entered the international market.

However, a later, even larger explosion resulted in multiple deaths and served as a wake-up call for China's "aerospace quality" development. After that, China worked diligently, absorbing advanced external knowledge during the honeymoon period. Many of their technical personnel even befriended their counterparts on the other side, gaining access to even more advanced technologies.

But this honeymoon period ended quickly.

By the late 1990s, the US released the Cox Report, accusing China of stealing technology and terminating business cooperation.

Later, there was even the Wolf Act, which directly prohibited NASA from having any technical cooperation with Laos and China, completely severing space cooperation between the two countries!

After so many years apart, the roles of offense and defense between the two countries have, in some respects, reversed.

"...However, even though their X-33 successfully completed its maiden flight, and even if it insists on calling itself a space shuttle, it was not originally designed for manned transport. It was only intended for technology verification and could at most transport a little over a ton of cargo. It still couldn't compare to the manned Muyuan."

"Indeed, even if it were forcibly converted to carry people, it would probably only be able to carry four people at most, and it would still be a stuffy container without windows. After its original design was successfully completed on its maiden flight, it would be very troublesome to modify the structure and add windows."

"It was probably just used as a test machine to prove that we Americans are still capable, to give the White House, Congress, and the people below an explanation, and then they should go to develop the Adventure Star that they really want. After all, that big thing was the ultimate dream of Americans more than 20 years ago."

"Haha, if that's the case, wouldn't we be walking right into Chief Engineer Lu's line of fire?"

Upon hearing this, all the elderly men with white hair and beards looked at the only young man in his prime present.

Lu Yun: “…”

"Don't stay silent," the senior sitting next to Lu Yun nudged him, "You said you wanted to build a larger space shuttle when the Wooden Kite was test-flying before. How about we give the Americans another warning?"

“Exactly,” another senior colleague chimed in with a laugh, “I’ve noticed you’re quite cunning. Everything you come up with is either a size bigger than the Americans’ PowerPoint presentations, a generation more advanced, or developed much faster.”

"This is called—specifically taking the American route, leaving the Americans with nowhere to go."

Everyone burst into laughter at these words.

It has to be said that having young people in the project team creates a completely different atmosphere.

If this young person can stand on equal footing with the senior colleagues and has sufficient technical skills, then the atmosphere in the project team will be even more different.

Inspired by a group of seniors who seemed younger because of his presence, Lu Yun, who had lived two lives, also felt young.

Of course, the combined age of his two lifetimes only reached the minimum age threshold for his predecessors.

"Since the seniors have spoken, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Lu Yun stood up and said, "Once they announce their Adventure Star Project, or something similar, I will immediately release the latest progress of Blue Star Aerospace's large space shuttle and chase after them!"

Upon hearing this, the older generation immediately clapped and cheered, as if they had become younger!
Many of them are indeed friends with some of their American counterparts, but they have also witnessed more of the technological blockades and suppression imposed on China by the United States.

Previously, the US was suppressing China's aerospace technology development; now it's just fighting back!

"Yay—good!"

"Well done, that's great spirit!"

"That's more like a young person, full of vigor!"

"Good, as expected of our youngest chief designer!"

"It's time to let the Americans taste what it's like to be beaten up!"

(End of this chapter)