Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 359 Beidou High-Precision Orbit Insertion: This is the Strength of China's Aerospace Industry!

"The technological level of the East is truly astounding," Professor O'Neill said. "Back home, many colleagues look down on China's aerospace industry, thinking that because you don't have manned spaceflight or high-thrust rockets, your level is very low. I really want them to come and see for themselves! The facilities here are far superior to those in Houston!"

"Currently, we in the East do not have high-thrust carrier rockets or manned spaceflight, but that is not because we lack the technology, but because we do not need it."

Wang Sheng blushed slightly upon hearing Qin Liang's words.

We simply don't have that technology! Almost all of our current aerospace technologies are transplanted from the Dongfeng-5, just by converting an intercontinental ballistic missile into a carrier rocket. The current Long March-3 is just a modified upper stage.

"We in the East have always advocated the peaceful use of space. We have no need to arm space, so we don't need high-thrust rockets. Those heavy rockets carry spy satellites or even space laser cannons. Manned spaceflight is also for fighting space wars. Take the US space shuttle for example, isn't that robotic arm designed to recover enemy satellites during Star Wars?"

Qin Liang really managed to justify himself! Wang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

O'Neill nodded: "Yes, the East has always been peaceful and friendly, unlike the United States and the Soviet Union, which were filled with an atmosphere of confrontation from top to bottom. I like this feeling... Therefore, I really hope that your side can turn Beidou Navigation into a global navigation system. GPS was developed by the US military and is full of Cold War atmosphere, which I don't like."

We've finally gotten back to the topic we discussed earlier.

"Sigh, we also want to serve the whole world, but... we lack funds. As you know, this navigation system was developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University. How much financial resources can a university like ours have? We..."

“We can help!” Professor O’Neill said. “We at Princeton University…”

"You want to provide us with financial support? That's wonderful! Our own navigation satellites only cost 20 million US dollars, and the launch cost is 30 million US dollars. Launching two more satellites would only cost 100 million US dollars. As long as you give us 100 million US dollars, we can build a global network!"

Professor O'Neill was embarrassed. He wanted to say, "I'm not talking about providing you with free funding. I'm talking about participating in the construction and operation of BeiDou with you. We want to have shares!"

But... Qin Liang didn't give him a chance to speak.

The BeiDou satellite system was developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University. Although they keep saying it's for civilian use, it's just a way to fool these people. How could they possibly hand over the key technologies to the Americans? Who knows what these guys are really up to?
"We can also promise here that our BeiDou Navigation Satellite System will be permanently free and open to users worldwide!"

GPS launched its first satellite in 1978. From 1979 to 1987, seven experimental satellites were launched to conduct various tests. It was not until the end of 1993 that it was officially completed and achieved global coverage. At present, this system is only for military use and there is no indication that it will be made available for civilian use.

A year later, in September 1983, the Russians shot down a South Korean passenger plane. At the time, the South Koreans swore that it was a navigation error and that it was absolutely not intentionally flying there. It was after that that the Americans announced that they would open the GPS signal, which was under construction, to civilian use, but at the time they absolutely did not say that it would be free to use.

When GPS was built, the Americans had a simple idea: first, give it to civilians for free to cultivate user habits, and then start charging once those habits were formed.

Just as they were planning to start charging, Galileo in Europe and Beidou in the East emerged, so the Americans gritted their teeth and decided to keep it free.

Although it's free, you can still make money from it. For example, the key chips for satellite receivers are monopolized by a few manufacturers. When these chips are produced, patent fees have to be paid to the GPS management unit, which means the fees are collected at the production end.

Even if receiver chips become cheaper, the sheer number of them—when every mobile phone has one built-in—will amount to an astronomical sum.

Currently, neither the United States nor Russia has ever said that military satellite navigation systems will be open to civilian use, but the East has promised to open them to civilian use, and even to give them to civilians for free!
Princeton University paid 100 million US dollars to Northwestern Polytechnical University, which then built a network for the Western Hemisphere and made it available to the public for free... Looking at it this way, it's practically a public service!
Professor O'Neill was still hesitating when a student next to him reacted first: "You can launch a geostationary communications satellite for only thirty million US dollars?"

Spaceflight is always a money-burning endeavor!
Qin Liang's quote was based on data from the first international launch project undertaken by Dongfang in the future. The geostationary communications satellite launched in 1990 and negotiated in 1986 for Hughes Aircraft Company in the United States was priced at 30 million US dollars. This price was definitely lower than the international market price, but the exact amount lower was unknown.

“This price is really too cheap. The launch cost of the Atlas rocket starts at forty million US dollars, the launch cost of the Ariane rocket starts at fifty million US dollars, and the Titan rocket with the largest thrust costs one hundred million US dollars per launch!” another student said.

China Eastern Aerospace is not only technologically advanced, but also affordable!
Professor O'Neill also realized what was going on: "Yes, the launch of Dongfang rockets is so cheap. We can totally help our domestic clients introduce Dongfang rockets for launches and use our referral fees to offset the launch costs. Qin, what do you think?"

Qin Liang's eyes lit up: "Hmm, if you can introduce a commercial launch order for ten satellites, then I can coordinate with the relevant departments to launch them for us for free. As for the satellites... you can help us coordinate two more spaceborne atomic clocks, you can cover the cost, and we'll cover the other costs for the satellites. What do you think?"

Launching the satellite was no longer expensive. Professor O'Neill only needed to help solve the problem of two onboard atomic clocks, which significantly reduced the cost from the initial $100 million to less than $10 million, thus greatly easing their financial burden.

Once this satellite network is established, it can be used by the whole world for free. If this information gets out, Princeton University will become very famous!

“Okay.” Professor O’Neill nodded. “Then it’s decided! As long as your launch is successful, we will act as a go-between to help you with satellite launch business when we get back! Will we contact Northwestern Polytechnical University?”

Domestic satellite operators can also save on satellite launch costs, which is definitely a win-win situation!

Qin Liang was about to shake his head when he realized that every system needed to establish its own external companies. The aviation system had CATIC, the weapons industry had Norinco, and even the maritime industry had Dongfang Shipbuilding. In later years, the aerospace sector established a launch service market development group in order to expand overseas, which later evolved into the Great Wall Company.

Now, the task of undertaking launch missions for external clients is naturally handed over to a company specifically established by the aerospace sector.

“That’s right, let’s contact Northwestern Polytechnical University!” Wang Sheng said from the side.

He was incredibly excited. The launch cost of ten satellites was thirty million US dollars each. The space sector would be rolling in money!
In reality, the cost of each launch will not exceed ten million, and the remaining twenty million is pure profit. Ten launches would amount to two hundred million US dollars!

Sure enough, Qin Liang is a god of wealth; no matter which department he goes to, that department will make money!

Qin Liang was somewhat helpless. He had only helped to make the connection, but now he had to take charge of the follow-up work?
Negotiations for satellite launches are also very complicated. How to assemble the starships, who will be responsible for the work, who will be responsible if problems arise, how to conduct the tremor test, who will pay for the insurance... I don't have the time for all of this, and my wife is also very busy. How about we find a group of people from the Foreign Languages ​​Department of Northwestern Polytechnical University to be in charge of this project?

That's right, that's how we do it. We absolutely cannot get too involved ourselves; we don't have the energy. It's best to delegate the task to others.

The news quickly spread throughout the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, and everyone was excited. The guards who were initially displeased with the foreigners were now much more polite. Old Zhang and Old Lin, who were drinking, burst into laughter upon hearing the news.

"Old Lin, come on, I have to toast you. Thank you for bringing Liangzi here. You've brought us business so quickly!"

"Well, this is also thanks to you, Lao Zhang. If you hadn't made the decision to let foreigners in, would we have been able to do any business? Come on, have a drink!"

Amidst the excitement, the launch operation proceeded smoothly. After the rocket and satellite completed their tests, they slowly drove out of the assembly workshop. Nearby, teachers and students from Northwestern Polytechnical University followed the rocket to the launch pad, as if they were seeing off children about to embark on a long journey.

The rocket came to a stable stop on the launch pad, supported by the two side support structures. Various tests continued, and commands were issued one after another.

"Test complete!"

"Fuel up!"

"Ten hours until launch!"

Once fuel loading begins, the launch process becomes irreversible. Although there are ways to extract the fuel, the fuel is not only highly toxic but also corrosive. Refueling and then extracting the fuel will corrode the pipeline.

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are not highly toxic or corrosive, but cryogenic fuels require complex operations to refuel and then extract.

No one slept. The atmosphere at the scene infected every visitor. Even Qin Liang watched the whole process intently and listened to each instruction.

In the command and control hall, the large screen was lit up, displaying a spectacular image of the rocket pieced together from more than a dozen screens. The Americans were all standing in the hall, staring at the rocket, lost in thought.

"Three hours countdown. Attention! All unauthorized personnel, evacuate the launch site!"

People gradually left the scene, and in the end, only the rocket remained standing.

Outside, the sky gradually darkened.

The rocket launch window is a very interesting thing. There are very few restrictions on the launch of the launch vehicle itself. After all, the launch vehicle is a modified ballistic missile, which needs to be launched at any time as needed. Generally speaking, as long as the sky above the launch site is not overcast and there is no risk of being struck by lightning, there is not much of a problem.

The launch window is mainly determined by the spacecraft to be launched. The orbit that the spacecraft will eventually enter is related to the timing of the launch. The relationship between the satellite's solar panels and sunlight, the geometric relationship between the satellite, the Earth, and the Sun, etc., all determine the launch window.

Some launch windows are very wide, lasting for months, while others are very narrow, lasting for weeks, or even just days or hours!
The launch window for launching geostationary satellites is not very wide. Once you miss the launch window, you have to wait several months for the next one.

At this moment, Qin Liang was also a little nervous. Would the first launch of the Long March 3 go smoothly? Would the testing of the BeiDou satellites proceed normally? "Three-minute countdown!"

The voice brought Qin Liang back to reality.

Only three minutes left! The atmosphere on site grew even more tense. The staff sat in their seats, looking at the various data on the screens, while those who weren't involved simply stared at the large screen.

"Ten, nine... one, launch!"

White smoke billowed from the bottom of the rocket, conspicuously visible under the lights. The next moment, blazing flames rose, the rocket body trembled slightly, and then began to ascend.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted, and the divine arrow shot into the sky!

Flames rose and engulfed the entire launch site, while countless plumes of white smoke billowed from below—the result of the evaporation of the buffer water tanks at the bottom of the launch pad.

The rocket continued to ascend, and the camera followed, keeping its eyes on the rocket. However, it quickly changed from a side view to an upward view, and only the burning flames remained on the screen. When the flames turned into dots of light, the camera stopped working completely, and the dots of light entered an orbital pattern on the big screen.

The change was incredibly smooth! Professor O'Neill stared wide-eyed at it all. He knew what this meant: the performance of this large-screen system from the East was absolutely the best in the world!

"Dongfeng tracking normal!"

"Tracking in the capital is normal!"

One by one, the voices of the monitoring and control system sounded.

"First stage rocket separation!"

"Second stage rocket separation!"

"The satellite has entered low Earth orbit!"

A round of enthusiastic applause immediately erupted in the command and control hall.

If it were a regular satellite, the launch would already be considered a success. But for a geostationary satellite, it's just the first step in a three-step process!
Amid applause, Mr. Sun continued to monitor the satellite's various data. Next, the three-stage hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine would need to be ignited twice more!
On the computer screen, various data are jumping around, all of them green, indicating that the computer is working normally.

"Yuanwang-1 reporting: Orbital attitude normal!"

"Yuanwang-2 reporting: Tracking normal!"

In an hour and a half, the satellite carrying the third-stage rocket had completed a full orbit, and all the tracking and control data was completely normal!
Another hour and a half passed, and the second lap was over.

On the third lap, it's time to change tracks!
At this time, the Yuanwang tracking ship had sailed to the Atlantic Ocean, its huge antenna pointing into space, and it immediately began precise tracking and control when a satellite appeared.

"Attention, countdown to third-stage rocket ignition."

"Ten, two, one, ignition!"

In Xichang, everyone is still waiting anxiously.

Can a hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine ignite normally in a weightless state? Nobody knows, as data from the Yuanwang tracking ships is constantly being transmitted.

"The track is being lifted!"

"The hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine is functioning normally!"

Old Sun was also very excited; it was a success!
Tens of seconds later.

"Engine shut down!"

"Tracking and control data are normal! The satellite is about to enter an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 300 kilometers and an apogee of 36,000 kilometers!"

If rockets were powerful enough, they could send satellites directly to an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, which would eliminate the need for all this trouble. However, in reality, no country does this. Even if there were rockets with such high thrust, the cost of a single launch would be prohibitively high.

Therefore, launch into low Earth orbit first, then ignite once to propel it into an elliptical orbit. This is sufficient for the apogee. Once the elliptical orbit tracking and control are working properly, ignite again at the apogee to change the orbit to a great circle orbit.

Hydrogen-oxygen rocket engines require two ignitions in outer space! If the orbit is not suitable and the attitude needs to be adjusted, several more ignitions will be required!

"Liangzi, we'll be changing orbits to the great circle in a few hours. Do you want to go get some sleep?" Old Zhang's concerned voice rang out.

"I'm not sleepy, I'll rest after we get into orbit." Qin Liang was so excited that he couldn't possibly sleep!
"Qin, shall we go get a cup of coffee?" Professor O'Neill suggested.

Qin Liang smiled and said, "There's no coffee here, but we can go get some tea!"

The waiting time is long, but if you're chatting and joking with the Americans, the time will pass quickly.

"Qin, what do you think of our Star Wars program?"

"Many industry insiders have already commented that this is absolutely nonsense. President Reagan's approach would collapse the US economy. I don't think those capitalists would agree to it."

"Yes, we also believe that this plan is simply impossible to implement, and turning space into a battlefield is even more infuriating..."

"Qin, does your East have a plan to deal with Star Wars? After all, you are one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council," one of O'Neill's students asked.

"Of course not. Anyone who believes such a fraudulent plan would be truly fooled!"

Are you saying the Soviets were fools?

Everyone laughed. Qin Liang glanced at the student, seemingly casually. It seemed this was a CIA agent planted under Professor O'Neill. He knew these people weren't clean, but they hadn't seen anything top-secret; everything they'd just discussed was civilian stuff.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye, and when everyone returned to the command and control hall, commands were already being given.

"Countdown to the second ignition of the third-stage rocket!"

"Ten, nine... one, ignite!"

On the screen, the bright spot representing the satellite suddenly began to accelerate, starting from the apogee of the elliptical orbit, and then accelerating further until the orbit changed from elliptical to circular!

The second orbital maneuver was successful, and the satellite has successfully entered a great circle orbit!
"Satellite successfully entered orbit! Orbital inclination deviation 0.0001 degrees, orbital radius deviation 0.72 kilometers..."

Professor O'Neill's eyes widened: "Such high precision? As far as I know, this is the highest orbital precision ever achieved by any geostationary satellite in the world!"

Back then, Dongfang undertook a foreign satellite launch mission and achieved a successful first launch with the highest precision in the world. Now, with the support of Northwestern Polytechnical University's electronic technology, the first satellite of Beidou-1 has also achieved the same high precision.

Now we'll have even more confidence to undertake satellite launch business internationally!

"That's for sure, that's the strength of our Eastern Aerospace!"

The scene was one of jubilation!
(End of this chapter)