What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 691 I'll send you money (3200 monthly votes in August)

Unlike low-altitude economic passenger planes, the Qingfeng-1 sports plane doesn't need to be elevated to a higher level. The city level can persuade Gao Yuliang, and after reporting to the province, it can be put into operation directly.

After the first flight of the Qingfeng No. 1 No. 3 prototype, the blueprints were first sent to Echeng Aviation Machinery Factory, which then directly scheduled the production of 100 aircraft to test the waters. In cooperation with the Sports Bureau, Echeng took the lead in establishing a sports aircraft club.

Once Goose City achieves results, people will naturally come knocking on its door.

Once the main design of Qingfeng No. 1 was completed, Qian Lin'an no longer needed to worry about it. The design was then handed over to a few interested young people to continue working on optimization and subsequent versions.

Qian Lin'an's design of this small aircraft was purely on a whim, but the help from other people in the Fifth Academy had another factor in it.

"This is the Shenzhou spacecraft."

Standing in the pristine white assembly workshop, Tang Wen, dressed in a dustproof suit, realized that the Shenzhou spacecraft was indeed... not very big.

Although the Shenzhou spacecraft is the largest among spacecraft configurations like Gemini/Soyuz, it is still significantly smaller than large spacecraft such as Orion, Starliner, and Dreamship, which can only be attributed to the limitations of rockets.

The Shenzhou-1 unmanned spacecraft has now been assembled, but the subsequent electrical installation and testing will take a long time.

But as the most upscale project in China at present, there must be a reason why Tang Wen was able to come in to look at it and even touch it:

In addition to funding the development of GPS satellites, Geigin also donated a considerable sum for manned spaceflight projects.

However, Tang Wen was only curious about the Shenzhou spacecraft itself, and soon he became unsatisfied and started to think about landing on the moon.

To expedite the process, the G7 rocket, being relatively small, requires two launches, which also means two dockings. Furthermore, the lander and spacecraft must dock during the lunar landing, making space docking technology crucial.

This is a technology that China does not yet possess. If we develop the Shenzhou program step by step, it will be a bit slow, and it will not mature until the 2010s.

Under Zang Furen's expectant yet apprehensive gaze, a lightbulb seemed to light up above Tang Wen's head:
"I have a preliminary idea."

As soon as he said this, Qian Lin'an gave Zang Furen a meaningful look:
No matter what he says, agree to it, seize the opportunity, and stick to the budget.

The latter understood immediately, his eyes narrowing slightly.
【learn】

"My idea is, could we first launch a space living module? This way, our astronauts could stay in space for a longer period of time. And technically, could it be considered an enlarged version of the orbital module, allowing for simultaneous research and launch?"

"You mean something like Salyut 1, right? That's definitely in the plans, but our plan will definitely proceed step by step, probably after the manned spaceflight is completed."

Zang Furen glanced at Qian Lin'an and said without changing his expression.

Tang Wen certainly knew what the plan was, but Tiangong-1 wouldn't be around for more than ten years.

At this time, engaging in commercial spaceflight was not realistic, and getting involved in the Shenzhou program was hard to say whether it was good or bad. He quickly came up with an idea:

"I remember the space agency now undertakes launch missions for external clients, right?"

Zang Furen immediately nodded: "Of course, we'll take on any mission we can. We launched Asia One in 90."

Tang Wen: "Would it be feasible for Gaijin Company to purchase several Long March 2F launch opportunities?"

Zang Furen seemed to vaguely sense something, and after recalling the relevant regulations, he continued to nod:

"Yes, as long as it's approved, there won't be any problems."

"So, it's also feasible for commercial companies to purchase spacecraft?"

"Of course, Gaijin currently holds partial rights to use BeiDou and GPS satellites—if things go well in the future."

Tang Wen: "So, Gaijin Company should now buy one Shenzhou spacecraft, one reinforced version that can withstand lunar radiation, and one Long March 2F space station that can be launched. We require that research and production begin immediately."

Zang Furen: "..."

Qian Lin'an: "..."

The engineers who were inspecting the spacecraft on the nearby gimbal couldn't help but look over, wondering if they had misheard something.

Zang Furen was thinking about the budget for the Shenzhou program. The cost of a single rocket is 4.5 million yuan, and currently, manufacturing a spacecraft costs about 3 million yuan, and that's without life support equipment. It is estimated that a manned spacecraft will cost 4.5 to 5 million yuan to complete.

The domestic budget was 92 billion yuan over 10 years starting in 180, with research and development accounting for the majority at around 100 billion yuan, infrastructure and telemetry and control at around 30 billion yuan, and the remainder for rocket and spacecraft manufacturing and launch costs.

Tang Wen needs three rockets, one spaceship, one spaceship plus, and one space station, costing at least 3 billion. At this point, Qian Lin'an finally couldn't stand it anymore. He subtly stepped on Tang Wen's foot before turning to him:
"This is not cheap. The launch pad alone needs to be newly built, and it will put a lot of pressure on telemetry and control."

Tang Wen: "This is a necessary prerequisite technology for the moon landing, so let's just... I won't say."

The two, who had been filled with anticipation, suddenly had a bad feeling. Zang Furen quickly asked:

"Do you have any other questions?"

Tang Wen pointed to the surrounding assembly plant. Due to the tight budget and unhurried plan, the Shenzhou spacecraft was actually only planned to be produced one by one, and the space was very limited and the production capacity was even smaller.

"Given your current state, I find it hard to believe you can complete the task quickly."

Zang Furen was immediately at a loss for words: "This is a spaceship, not a car. How can it be mass-produced?"

"The Alliance, the Alliance can produce four or five ships a year, just like producing rockets."

Tang Wen blurted it out, then seemed to ponder it and said:

"Although the Big Brother has disintegrated, there are still quite a few backup Soyuz spacecraft and spare parts. This should be faster, right? If we buy them back and modify the interfaces, we can also complete the docking technology verification."

Zang Furen subconsciously said, "You can't buy this, can you? And it's not necessarily something you can easily modify."

Tang Wen: "You definitely can't buy it through normal channels."

Are there any unofficial channels?

Yes, brother, yes.

The Soyuz spacecraft is also a product of the 60s. The Big Brother froze most of its technology for flight safety, so it shouldn't be too difficult to replicate.

Furthermore, Tang Wen also thought of the Buran space shuttle and the Energia rocket located on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which had not yet been crushed by the snow and still had the possibility of being salvaged, making them extremely valuable for replication.

While his thoughts had already jumped to how to get his hands on the Blizzard and An-225, Qian Lin'an and Zang Furen had also exchanged countless glances:
What to do when a wealthy, powerful family doubts your financial strength?

I don't know, this has never happened before.

[The Russians are so desperate for money they'll sell anything; they pose a threat.]

I don't know.

[Think of ways to speed up the process (gesturing to Shenzhou-1)]

There's no way around it; it was all planned (and they're innocent).

This order is at least this much (one finger).

[(Hiss) What do you suggest we do?]

[Keep him calm and agree first.]

This is an expert's skill; it's very difficult.

【…】

With a barely perceptible sigh, Qian Lin'an interrupted Tang Wen, who was already contemplating reviving the N1 rocket, and looked him in the eyes:

"Trust me, we can meet the production capacity and we can keep up with the speed."

What Tang Wen heard in his mind was:

[I, Qian Lin'an, am sending money.]

"Okay, but I need to see a feasibility study."

"Chief Engineer Zang will write it."

(End of this chapter)