Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 212 Explosives in GPS Satellites? (6k)

Hugh Dryden knocked and entered, whispering a reminder: "Professor, it's time."

Lin Ran turned around, walked to his desk, and picked up the heavy report.

The cover of the document read "AS-201 Test Report," and the pages still felt warm from being printed.

Lin Ran nodded, straightened his dark blue suit, and stepped out of the office with the documents in his hand.

As Lin Ran was led into the office, Lyndon Johnson looked up, a weary smile on his face. "Randolph, welcome. Please have a seat." He gestured to the leather chair opposite him, his voice deep and resonant.

Lin Ran could tell at a glance that the other party was overwhelmed by the Vietnam War.

Lin Ran sat down, opened the folder, adjusted his posture, and began his report:
"Mr. President, I am pleased to report to you that the unmanned test flight of the Apollo program was a complete success. Our team worked tirelessly over the past few months and finally launched AS-201 successfully on November 26. This was the first flight test of the Apollo program, and both the rocket and the spacecraft performed better than expected."

Johnson put down his pen, leaned forward slightly, and stared sharply at Lin Ran: "Tell me in detail, Randolph, what does the success of this test mean?"

He desperately needed good news to offset the negative effects of the Vietnam War.

Lin Ran paused, organizing his thoughts: "Mr. President, this test has verified the design reliability of our spacecraft and rockets."

AS-201 successfully entered its designated orbit after launch, and all critical systems, from the thrusters to the navigation equipment, functioned normally.

This paves the way for our next steps, including future manned flights.

Lyndon Johnson nodded, looking quite satisfied. He clearly remembered that NASA's progress was two years ahead of schedule.

This is undoubtedly thanks to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran's work at NASA is widely recognized. Even conservative newspapers used to publish articles suggesting that Lin Ran be replaced by someone else, a well-known scientist in America.

But now, even conservative media outlets are keeping quiet about it.

But then Johnson frowned: "How far are we from Kennedy's promise?"

When exactly will we be able to achieve a solo manned lunar landing?

The people of America desperately hope to see them on the moon.

Lin Ran thought to himself, "The people's wish? I think it's more like you're the one who's wishing."

Lin Ran said firmly, "Mr. President, this success is an important step towards our moon landing."

We plan to gradually advance over the next few years, including more unmanned testing and manned missions. I am confident that we can send Americans to the moon in two years, in 1967.

After a moment of silence, Lyndon Johnson said, "Professor, I have complete faith in you and your team."

This is not only a scientific victory, but also a victory for America. I will do everything in my power to secure the budget for you.

Lin Ran smiled and replied, "I understand, Mr. President. We will optimize resources to ensure that every penny is spent wisely. NASA's team is the best, and we will not let you down."

Lyndon Johnson then asked, "How is the development of reusable rockets progressing?"

Lin Ran said, "Everything is normal. The progress is very fast. We conducted a launch test last year and should be able to complete it before 1970 as planned."

Reusable rockets received a portion of the budget from Congress, similar to joint research and development between the government and enterprises.

The order was placed with General Aerospace, with Lin Ran providing technical guidance.

Lyndon Johnson stood up and patted Lin Ran on the shoulder: "Okay, let's keep going. The country needs this victory, and so do I."

He continued, "McNamara needs to see you. Go to the Pentagon and find him. He has a new task for you."

As Lin Ran left the White House, a cold wind blew across his face, and he pondered what exactly his mission was.

America is currently mired in the quagmire of the Baiyue people.

Lin Ran began to recall the news he had seen about the Baiyue Mudflats.

Recent reports from Saigon by Western journalists acknowledge that America's hopes of reversing her defeat by frantically increasing her troop presence in South Vietnam have been dashed, and the situation is very unfavorable for America.

A report published in The New York Times on the 10th from Saigon stated that, "According to some important military authorities, nine months after increasing numbers of American combat troops took action, America remains in a defensive position in Baiyue."

"People frankly and honestly admit that President Johnson's decision in July to increase the U.S. military for the first time did not achieve the expected results due to wrong assumptions."

“A very responsible person said, ‘I don’t think anyone would say we are in a good offensive position right now.’”

"Current trends indicate that the situation in Baiyue is no longer as hopeful and optimistic as it was two months ago."

"The U.S. military has not yet demonstrated its ability to operate in the jungles and thickets north of Saigon for extended periods. The America Forces' so-called 'endurance' is limited."

"After about three weeks of fighting in rotation around Pomeranian, the 1st Cavalry Division was forced to retreat." A U.S. Army operations officer admitted, "The 1st Cavalry Division suffered heavy combat casualties and malaria casualties, and the division's strength in the foxholes was reduced by two or three thousand men."

An Associated Press report in early December stated, "Despite a significant increase in U.S. forces, the Allied forces in Bai Viet still lack sufficient strength to effectively combat the Viet Cong."

In jungle areas like Zhulai, Anxi, and Biange, "bases have been established, but the question is: 'Where can we get from here?'"

The American Marine Corps stationed at Da Nang Air Base acknowledged that the Vietnamese People's Liberation Army "is still able to infiltrate the defense perimeter, bomb roads with landmines, or launch an attack on the air base."

A recent article in the English newspaper The Observer, written from Saigon, stated that "the Baiyue War is now evolving into a Goryeo-style situation whose duration is unpredictable... This is a situation that US military commanders have been saying should never be entered into since the end of the Goryeo War."

"The people of Baiyue (referring to the South Vietnamese puppet regime) now have a completely new feeling about this war, which is a striking contrast to their feelings at the beginning of this year."

Throughout 1965, the general feeling was that, according to the White House's propaganda, America was achieving victory after victory.

In terms of propaganda victory, the White House of sixty years ago is no different from the White House of sixty years later.

The public perceived it as an increasing number of American troops being deployed to Baiyue.

Negative news from the front lines of Baiyue continues to emerge in the media.

In short, there was absolutely no chance of victory.

Lin Ran wondered if he was to join the command center and be in the Pentagon, making decisions from thousands of miles away.

Now I'm going to become a micro-management master like Baldy?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

After all, he had never proven himself in the military field, and scientists and military commanders are worlds apart.

Would Lyndon Johnson really entrust him with the command duties just because a professor's life has only been one of successes and no failures? He shouldn't be that superstitious.

On the way to the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, southwest of Washington, D.C., Lin Ran was lost in thought.

The Pentagon's conference room was dimly lit, with heavy curtains covering the windows, and the clock on the wall pointing to 3 p.m.

Compared to the previous meeting room, this time, in addition to documents, maps, and casualty reports, there were several portable electronic calculators with the General Electric logo on the table.

A large map of Vietnam occupies the center, with the red and blue markers of the Ia Drang Valley standing out prominently.

The air was filled with the smell of paper and a tense atmosphere.

McNamara tapped on the calculator every now and then, trying to calculate their casualty ratio.

This was a task that could have been handled by a consultant, but because of McNamara's habit, he insisted on calculating it himself, ostensibly to ensure that the consultant wouldn't lie to him.

To put it bluntly, he just wants to calculate it; he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't.

McNamara sat at the head of the table, with a report titled "Summary of the Battle of Ia Drang" spread out in front of him.

His brow furrowed as he scanned the documents, his pen pausing next to the number "151 dead".

McNamara looked up, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said in a heavy tone, "Gentlemen, the outcome of the Battle of Ia Drang deeply troubles me."

The losses at LZ Albany are enormous, with 151 dead and 121 injured.

This demonstrates that North Vietnam's combat effectiveness and tactical flexibility far exceeded our expectations.

He felt slightly frustrated; the data was the cornerstone of his decision-making, but now it revealed the flaws in his strategy.

A voice came through the phone from Westmoreland, far away in Baiyue: "Mr. McNamara, LZ X-Ray demonstrated our firepower advantage, but LZ Albany's ambush exposed our weaknesses in jungle warfare. North Vietnam's close-combat capabilities and retreat speed caught us off guard."

He was heartbroken by the sacrifices of the soldiers on the front lines, but as a commander, he had to remain calm.

Westmoreland really wanted to call McNamara an idiot, but he held back.

I know that speaking up at this point is pointless.

He hoped America would continue to send reinforcements, and at this point he firmly believed that reinforcements were the only way out.

Secretary of State Rusk Bundy cleared his throat: “Bob, our death toll this year has reached 1928, far exceeding last year’s 216. Pressure from Congress and the media is increasing, and public support is wavering.”

Bondi is concerned that high casualties could affect the president's re-election, and he hopes to find a balance between military and political considerations.

McNamara rubbed his temples, pondered for a moment, and said, “I know, Mc, but we can’t let North Vietnam succeed. ’Search and destroy’ has made some progress, but it’s not enough to end the war quickly. We need to reassess our strategy.”

Comer flipped through the documents: “Gentlemen, the bombing of Operation Rolling Thunder has not cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and North Vietnam’s supply lines remain resilient. We need to intensify our air strikes.”

Comer knew that logistics were the lifeblood of war and worried that an endless war of attrition would wear down the U.S. military.

Bondi continued, "Bob, if we escalate the war, it could trigger a larger conflict. We need to strike a balance between military and diplomatic efforts."

“North Vietnamese resistance is exceeding expectations, and we need more troops and resources. I recommend requesting reinforcements from the President, while also strengthening air strikes and intelligence gathering.” McNamara took a deep breath, his tone firm.

Bondi asked, "I heard the president has agreed to let the professor provide technical support to us. When will he arrive?"

Bundy thought to himself, if the war had to be simplified into a mathematical problem, then having a professor wouldn't be any worse than McNamara; in the field of mathematics, professors were invincible. McNamara said, "No, no, no, the professor's support will take time."

We simply have defense research projects to assign to professors, not that we're letting professors command combat operations.

Westmoreland, far away in Baiyue, was initially pleased. Putting aside the professor's own aura, the professor was at least a normal person, while McNamara was far too abnormal.

Moreover, his thinking was similar to Bondi's: in the current situation, no one else would be worse off than McNamara.

McNamara's words quickly extinguished their flames.

We still need to let this micro-management master take the lead.

After hesitating for a moment, Bondi said, "Increasing troops might stabilize the situation, but we need a long-term solution. Secret negotiations might be a way out."

McNamara shook his head and said, "The premise of negotiations is that we have the upper hand on the battlefield; otherwise, North Vietnam will not compromise. We will demonstrate our strength first, and then talk about a political solution."

Where is this?

The war ended in just six months? Where will Commissioner Smith and his associates make their money? How will the military-industrial complex profit? Who will the major conglomerates sell their goods to?

He continued, emphasizing, "Military pressure is the cornerstone of diplomacy! We absolutely cannot back down now!"

After the meeting, McNamara rushed to his office to wait for the professor, without even having time to organize the documents.

“Professor, it’s been a long time.” McNamara’s tone was warm, the fatigue from the war gone. “I told you you should work for the Department of Defense. All the math PhDs recruited by the Department of Defense combined can’t compare to you.”

Lin Ran laughed and said, "If we could match you just by sheer numbers, then humanity's footprints would already be all over the solar system."

McNamara complimented, "That's true."

"Professor, let's get back to the main topic. I have a project I'd like to assign to you. You've participated in this project before, and you're very familiar with the whole process."

Lin Ran said, "I need to see what the specific project is."

McNamara said, "The satellite timing system is the successor to the Transit system."

The Navy had been making slow progress in developing the project, but with your assistance, it was put into operation last year.

The results were very successful; I believe you have seen the report.

Five satellites have reduced the positioning error of the Navy's submarines to a few hundred meters, which is truly a miracle.

Professor, without you, the Transit system wouldn't be running so smoothly.

But you know, Transit was a breakthrough, but it was too limited.

Lin Ran nodded and said, "Of course, Doppler frequency shift positioning is effective for submarines, but for fighter jets, ground troops, and even future missiles, its speed and two-dimensional limitations are a bottleneck."

Lin Ran thought to himself, "Finally, this has happened."

Whether it's reusable rockets or directing Tranist itself, it's all about securing this opportunity.

I personally participated in the satellite timing system, which has another well-known name: GPS.

“Professor, you’re absolutely right. It has very obvious limitations. Although it’s already a miracle, we hope to go further,” McNamara said. “Professor, do you have any better ideas?”

Lin Ran said, "Of course, we need to create a new system that can cover the entire globe and operate in real-time in three dimensions."

I believe that a large number of satellites combined with atomic clocks can achieve this.

Current technology allows for the miniaturization of cesium clock prototypes to the point where they can be deployed on satellites while maintaining an accuracy of one millionth of a second.

In terms of signal design, all that is needed is to design a new code that can resist interference and support accurate ranging.

This is something I excel at; coding is just a special type of mathematics.

As for the orbit, all that's needed is for the Navy to agree to share their ground station data.

This is theoretically entirely feasible.

For me, theoretical feasibility is practical feasibility.

McNamara's pupils widened because the technical solution Lin Ran described was exactly the same as the one the Transit team had spent six months developing.

It was simply that the Transit team's plan specifically told him that at least 24 satellites were needed.

Lin Ran's casual suggestion happened to coincide with Transit's meticulously designed plan.

This surprised McNamara, who was impressed by the professor's reputation, and also strengthened his resolve to entrust the project to Lin Ran.

Otherwise, if we give it to the Transit team, who knows how long it will take them to get it working.

This is what word-of-mouth is.

"Professor, how much investment do you think we need?" McNamara asked.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran replied, "We should be able to handle it for around $10 billion."

Packing it together with reusable rockets and handing it over to NASA for launch and system development should save even more money.

However, there are some issues, namely that the entire project involves the Navy, Air Force, and Army, requiring their extensive cooperation.

McNamara said, "Don't worry, the satellite timing system can pinpoint the accuracy of every aircraft and every missile to within tens of meters. That would change the rules of war, and the military would not refuse it."

Lin Ran picked up a piece of white paper from McNamara and wrote GPS on it: "I suggest calling it the Global Positioning System, or GPS for short."

It's concise, descriptive, and has a futuristic feel.

If funding is secured, we can launch our first test satellite early next year to verify the clock and signal.

By 1970, if the reusable rocket program had gone smoothly, there should have been 20 satellites in operation, covering most of the globe.

A complete global constellation can also be completed in about 75 years. It's a long race, but every step will be rewarding.

After writing down the GPS data, Lin Ran drew a timeline on a piece of paper.

McNamara nodded and said, "GPS? That's a great name!"
Professor, I will communicate with the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Air Force as soon as possible. I think there shouldn't be any major problems.

Additionally, you can have preliminary communication with the Transit team. After I finish communicating with them, their entire team will be transferred from the Navy to NASA.

Subsequent GPS projects were taken over entirely by NASA.

Lin Ran was overjoyed inside, but he pretended to remain calm on the surface: "I guarantee to complete the mission."

In Lin Ran's plan, controlling the development of GPS is very important. It's okay if he doesn't have it, but if he does, his progress in igniting the whole world can be accelerated a lot.

McNamara made rapid progress, and the Transit team began moving to the Redstone base the very next day.

The Transit system team members often consulted Lin Ran at the Redstone Base, so they were quite familiar with the Redstone Base.

Richard Kershaugh, the head of the Transit team, is not only a close follower of Lin Ran because of past collaborations.

"Professor, we plan to use multiple satellites, each equipped with a high-precision clock, to broadcast time signals."

The ground receiver calculates its own position in real time by measuring the time difference of signal arrival.

We have communicated with APL about a small atomic clock, which is small enough to be housed in a satellite.

"Compared to Transit, which uses five satellites to cover the globe, our initial estimate is that GPS requires at least 24 satellites, distributed in different orbits, to ensure that at least four satellites are visible from any point on Earth simultaneously, in order to calculate three-dimensional position and time," Richard Krshaugher reported after a brief exchange of pleasantries.

Lin Ran nodded: "Very good, three to determine the position, and the fourth to correct the clock error of the receiver."

When the core R&D members present heard Lin Ran explain their core design logic in one breath, they only thought the professor was amazing, and were not surprised.

The professor was so omnipotent that it would be strange if Lin Ran didn't know it.

Richard Krshoff went on to say, "In terms of signal modulation, we plan to use pseudo-random noise codes."

Each satellite transmits a unique PRN sequence, and the receiver distinguishes signals through correlation detection. This helps resist interference and improves multipath suppression capabilities.

Our only concern is whether the receiver can handle the load, given the limited number of transistors and the potential for high power consumption.

Lin Ran said, "To do subtraction, the PRN code length is set to 1023 bits, and the gold code is enough."

The relevant calculations can be optimized using Fast Fourier Transform, the receiver only processes the necessary segments, and power consumption is completely controllable.

Richard Kershaugh immediately understood what Lin Ran meant, and he clapped his hands and said, "Working under a professor is too easy."

PRN also supports code division multiple access, allowing all satellites to share frequency bands and avoid frequency conflicts. This is far more advanced than Transit's single-frequency design.

Lin Ran didn't say anything, clearly used to such flattery.

After listening to the general plan, Lin Ran nodded and said, "Your overall design concept is fine, but we still need to have further discussions on specific implementation details such as clock accuracy and track."

After listening to their plan, Lin Ran gave it even higher praise. This made the researchers present feel proud; even the professor said their approach was sound!
The same praise depends on who gives it; Lin Ran's praise is undoubtedly the highest compliment for the R&D staff.

Lin Ran changed his tone and said at the end:
"I don't have many suggestions, but I do have one small suggestion: to add an explosive device design to the GPS satellite so that we can remotely detonate it."

The researchers present were now puzzled. Explosives in a satellite? The professor couldn't be wrong; we must have misunderstood the deeper meaning!

　I'm getting a 10,000-word update, please vote with monthly tickets! The big one is coming soon!

　　I really couldn't update yesterday, I went to bed early and was a bit tired.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)