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

Chapter 461 NASA Wants to Dominate the Spaceplane? No Way!

NASA, USA.

“Mr. Steiner, I am pleased to inform you that the government has finally approved an $80 million budget for the spaceplane project. You can now begin the project.” NASA’s top executive, James Montgomery Bergers, was beaming with excitement.

Star Wars is known worldwide. NASA thought they could get a piece of the action, but it turned out to be just a strategic deception project.

They succeeded; the Russians were fooled! All the Russians could think about was how to compete with the Americans in the space field.

But... Russia is developing too fast. Before its economy has been dragged down, many projects have already been completed. The Americans are getting anxious; they have to catch up too!

The spaceplane project is ready to start. After all, they have observed the Russian spaceplane experiments. If they don't speed up in this field, they will be completely left behind.

only……

“Great.” Steiner nodded. “This $80 million should just be the first installment of research and development expenses, right?”

If it were all... that's absolutely impossible; this amount of money simply isn't enough to cover expenses.

"That's right, this is just the beginning. In the future, as long as you have research and development results, you will be able to apply for more funding, but..."

Bergs's expression turned serious: "The higher-ups have given a strict order: the development of this project must be led by the United States."

shuh...

Steiner's expression changed immediately.

Are you kidding me? This project is definitely geared towards Asians, and Northwestern Polytechnical University has top-notch facilities!
“Mr. Bergs, if we are to be in charge... there always needs to be a reason, right?”

"There are many reasons. For example, a spaceplane is a hypersonic aircraft. The Easterners don't even have a hypersonic wind tunnel, so how can they develop it? It must be done here with us!"

"But they have advanced computers."

“That’s right. If they have nothing, why would we cooperate with them?” Bergs said. “If the Easterners want to cooperate with us on this project, they need to put their supercomputer at Boeing, test it in our wind tunnel, and then conduct research there. As for why we’re making this request, you should know, right?”

Spaceplanes are of paramount importance and can be considered one of the key aspects of the space race!

How could this project be located at Northwestern Polytechnical University!

Easterners' space technology has at most crossed the threshold, and they can't even compare with Europeans, so how can they stand on equal footing with the United States?

Giving Easterners a chance to conduct research and development is already a generous act of charity!

Hearing Bergs's words, Steiner felt conflicted. He took a few deep breaths, and then...

"Mr. Bergs, what if the Easterners don't agree?"

"If they won't agree, then we'll do it ourselves! I refuse to believe that Easterners aren't anxious! Although they are very strong in the aviation field, in the aerospace field, the United States is number one! NASA is the true leader!"

"Okay, our Boeing engineers have already headed east. I'll send them a message and tell them about NASA's requirements."

In the east, in Chang'an, it was already dark. Dick Taylor and his companions were traveling by car to Northwestern Polytechnical University when their Beidou terminal beeped.

That's right, it's a handheld BeiDou terminal!
The BeiDou satellite system can not only provide positioning, but also has a short message function, which is equivalent to having satellite communication capabilities. More importantly, it is completely free!

Therefore, after Princeton University also started producing Beidou terminals, many Americans also began to use these terminals. Boeing was one of the early users, and their handheld terminals were genuine Eastern products.

Dick Taylor frowned as he looked at the English message displayed above.

"What is NASA thinking? They think they can make the East bow down with just $80 million? At worst, we can just part ways. It doesn't matter if the East doesn't have this spaceplane project, but for Boeing, this is an important project for the company to open up new markets!"

“However, what they said above isn’t wrong either. The largest wind tunnel in the East is only Mach 3. To develop a spaceplane, a hypersonic wind tunnel is needed. Only the United States can provide technical support in this area. So… it doesn’t seem difficult to make the Easterners bow down, does it?” his companion Goldin said.

"Give in? The Easterners can simply not do it; they have countless projects... Besides, the Easterners have everything they need, and they develop whatever they require, like hypersonic wind tunnels..."

The car had already entered Northwestern Polytechnical University and had just stopped in front of the small building that was specifically for receiving foreigners when we saw some familiar faces.

"Ben Rich! What brings you to Northwestern Polytechnical University?" Dick Taylor got out of the car and went to greet him.

Lockheed's project was top secret, and its competitors couldn't tell it either. At this point, the Boeing employees were just wondering, "Your Lockheed company was shunned by the military because it was too close to the East. Now you're coming here. Are you afraid that you're not being disliked enough?"

"Well, I'm here... just looking around. What are you doing here? I heard you're going to collaborate with people from the East on developing a spaceplane?"

Boeing's projects are really poorly kept secret, especially those that require NASA approval; they've already reached Lockheed's ears long ago.

"Yes, we're jointly developing a spaceplane, and NASA has emphasized that we should take the lead!"

Since the other party already knows, I don't mind saying a few more words and bragging a bit.

"You're in charge? By what right?"

“We Americans have top-notch hypersonic wind tunnels! The East doesn’t have that, so we can’t…” Goldin hadn’t finished speaking when he saw Ben Richie’s disdainful look.

"Who says the East doesn't have hypersonic wind tunnels?"

"where is it?"

"We just visited the new campus today. The wind tunnel there is a full three and a half meters in diameter!"

A hypersonic wind tunnel with a diameter of 3.5 meters!
The Boeing team was stunned. What did this mean? It was even more advanced than ours in the US!

Dick Taylor took a deep breath: "I knew it, I knew it, NASA is a bunch of idiots!"

After saying that, he picked up his Beidou terminal and began editing a text message.

At this moment, Steiner was discussing the details with Berges.

"Our hypersonic wind tunnel is relatively small, so we need to grasp a lot of patterns after the experiments, and then input them into the computer for precise simulation. We must give all the computers used by the Easterners to us, so that they can have the opportunity to understand the laws of hypersonic speed. Of course, giving them a little benefit occasionally will be enough..."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door.

“Mr. Steiner, Mr. Dick Taylor has sent an update.”

"what news?"

"There is a hypersonic wind tunnel in the East with a diameter of 3.5 meters."

"What?" Bergs jumped to his feet. "How is this possible? How could Easterners have a hypersonic wind tunnel of this caliber? We don't even have one in America!"

"The Lockheed team has already visited the site, and they believe that developing their project in the East is the most suitable location..."

Boom!
Bergs plopped back down.

"Those damn Easterners... what's the maximum speed in their wind tunnels?"

"Nine Mach?"

"What?" Bergs stood up again: "Ours is only Mach 7, and their wind tunnel is actually better than ours?"

"Yes. It's already under construction. Given the usual humility of Easterners, once it's completed, it might even reach Mach 10. Moreover, the Easterners plan to build another wind tunnel, which will have an initial speed of Mach 15, and supposedly can reach Mach 30 at its highest..." *Bang!*
Bergs sat down again: "How exactly did the Easterners do that? Doesn't this mean that if we want to develop hypersonic aircraft in the future, we'll have to ask the Easterners for help?"

American wind tunnels are small, have low wind speeds, and short operating times. Now that the East has more advanced wind tunnels, wouldn't everyone flock to the East for help?
This... how could he possibly accept this!
The United States is a nation of immigrants, and everyone who comes to the United States feels a sense of pride deep within their hearts because it is the country with the most advanced technology!
What now?
We can't compete anymore!

If we can't compete in the aviation field, we're about to be surpassed in the aerospace field too!

"Mr. Bergs, considering the rapid advancements in wind tunnel technology in the East, I believe we should place the development of our spaceplane at Northwestern Polytechnical University. This way, we can leverage the university's resources to develop our spaceplane and significantly reduce development costs..."

Bergs's face darkened: "No, no, if this were in the East, would NASA still be in charge? I disagree, I disagree!"

"If you don't agree, then this project simply can't proceed! Mr. Bergs, right now our most important task is to expedite the project!"

Finally, the government has decided to move forward with the Star Wars program and has started allocating funds. NASA will develop like it did during the Apollo moon landing era!

If the spaceplane project fails to be a success, NASA may lose trust again!
"Besides, even if we develop a spaceplane, the Easterners lack heavy rockets and cannot test fly it. In the end, won't we still be the ones in charge?"

Bergs's expression changed several times before he finally took a deep breath and nodded: "Alright, let's hand over the initiative to the Easterners for now. When we enter the test flight phase, they'll be begging us for help!"

Dongfang, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Beidou ground station.

"Senior Brother Qin Liang, those Americans are really despicable. If you ask me, they shouldn't have cooperated with Boeing!" The student on duty was furious after filtering out the Boeing call content.

Qin Liang smiled and said, "How can we not cooperate? Cooperation is the only way to achieve a win-win situation."

"Forget about a win-win situation, it's enough that we win together."

"A win-win situation means we win twice."

The student's eyes widened immediately, and then he gave a thumbs up: "Senior, as expected, you have real insight!"

"Okay, listen for as much useful information as possible. I need to go to the Eighth System."

Northwestern Polytechnical University, Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Night had fallen outside, but every window of the space building was still lit up.

"Qin Liang, you've finally arrived! Let me introduce you. This is Wang Haifeng, a student who graduated this year with a bachelor's degree in Flight Mechanics from our Department 8. He's already worked on several projects, and this time, since we're working on a spaceplane, he'll be leading the team." Professor Wang led Qin Liang to the computer lab, found the student who was busy working there, and introduced him to Qin Liang.

Wang Haifeng? If I remember correctly, this guy later became an academician!

"Yes, senior brother, you're here?" Wang Haifeng looked up, his face full of excitement: "We've already started the initial design, but we've encountered a lot of difficulties. You've come at just the right time."

"Tell me, what's the problem?"

"The main issue is the materials. During the ascent phase, the spaceplane will be subjected to various impacts, and during the return phase, it will also have to withstand various vibrations. We have studied this, and even if it is made of titanium alloy, it may not be able to meet the requirements."

"You've already progressed to the detailed design phase?" Qin Liang's eyes widened.

"That's right! Now that we've got the project, we can't just stand still!"

Even though we now have space shuttles, vertical launch is still possible, as long as the shape is streamlined enough to quickly penetrate the atmosphere.

Spaceplanes fly horizontally out of the atmosphere! During this process, the impact of the engine, the vibration of the aircraft itself, and the force of the air blowing all act on the aircraft, posing a great challenge to the structural strength. Not to mention that during landing, it must withstand various flutters and even the impact of the landing gear touching the ground.

The existing materials cannot meet the usage requirements!
"During flight, the surface temperature of the aircraft is very high, making it even more difficult for our materials to meet the reliability requirements at high temperatures... Senior Brother Qin Liang, you should have a solution to this problem, right?"

"Of course there are, but... these aren't the technical challenges we need to overcome. We can leave that to the Materials Science department. How about this, take our requirements and head to the Materials Science department together!"

This is the benefit of doing scientific research in university!
This evening is destined to be busy.

The Boeing personnel who arrived were somewhat idle, as they had arrived too late and could only contact Qin Liang the next day. They could only chat with the Lockheed personnel, and then... came the long wait.

How am I going to get through this long night?
The next day, in the morning.

“Mr. Ben Ritchie, this spaceplane is a collaborative project between Boeing and Northwestern Polytechnical University. It’s probably not appropriate for you to sit in on it, is it?” Dick Taylor frowned as he watched Ben Ritchie try to follow him.

"Today was supposed to be Qin and us continuing our discussion of the Lockheed project, but you guys came and cut in line. What's wrong with us just listening in? Besides, what we talked about on the first day was definitely just concepts. Are you afraid that Lockheed will interfere with the spaceplane project?"

That's exactly what I'm afraid of! Don't pretend to be harmless; in reality, you want to meddle in everything!
Inside the conference room, Qin Liang heard the commotion outside and, out of curiosity, went out to see what was going on... Hey, what are you doing? Are you about to fight?
"Qin, you've come at the perfect time. Be the judge for us. What business is Lockheed Martin having of interfering in our collaborative project between Boeing and Northwestern Polytechnical University?"

"Qin, you be the judge. Shouldn't there be a first-come, first-served principle? Our cooperation plan with Lockheed hasn't been finalized yet, and we don't even have a professional team to liaise with us, and Boeing has already shown up! We want to attend this meeting too!"

For a moment, Qin Liang felt a headache coming on. You guys really are...

"Since everyone is here, please come in."

Ben Richie was excited, while Dick Taylor's face darkened. "Qin, isn't this a bit unfair of you?"
"The team we're introducing today is responsible for both Boeing and Lockheed projects, so let them introduce themselves together."

This……

Ben Richie and Dick Taylor were both stunned. What to do? Refuse or accept?

Just as he was about to refuse, Dick Taylor strode inside.

Lockheed already knows about Boeing's project, but Boeing doesn't know about Lockheed's project. It's a good opportunity to go in and listen in!
As for whether or not to imitate it...

Boeing's main business is commercial airliners; it has little involvement in military aircraft, let alone any special or complex ones. So, it's just something to listen to for fun.

Inside, the people from the Eighth Division were somewhat surprised. They could entrust the development of the spaceplane to them, but this hypersonic reconnaissance aircraft... hadn't even left the atmosphere. Wasn't it said that only those that left the atmosphere were under their jurisdiction?

However... as the foreigners came in, they quickly began to organize their materials, and Wang Haifeng went up to introduce them.

"Following Senior Brother Qin Liang's suggestion, our designed spaceplane is eight meters long, three and a half meters high, and has a designed total weight of ten tons. It is currently in the experimental stage and is planned to use a liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen engine..."

The shape is not much different from the one in the old Russian spiral project. After all, the old Russians chose the most suitable aerodynamic shape after repeated research. The eight series is not very good at the shape, so they simply adopted it.

"The most important thing for a spaceplane is structural strength. Do you have any preliminary research on that?" Dick Taylor asked.

Sure enough, the Americans had done their research beforehand; a simple PPT presentation wouldn't satisfy them.

"In terms of structural strength, we plan to use a large number of triangular frames inside the fuselage, because we know that triangles have stability..."

This structure is indeed designed according to a triangle, but that alone is certainly not enough. The most crucial element is to showcase a high-purity, lightweight, high-temperature resistant structural material.

Last night, Qin Liang had already arranged for research and development at the Materials Science Department to use a rapid curing powder metallurgy process to manufacture a brand-new titanium-boron alloy that combines the lightweight properties of titanium alloys with the room-temperature strength of titanium alloys at high temperatures.

Of course, this information cannot be shared with the Americans.

"Hmm, the triangular shape is indeed appealing. However, how do we solve the problem of friction and heat generation when a spaceplane enters and exits the atmosphere?"

"Based on our analysis, we believe the highest temperature will be at the nose, reaching 1,800 degrees Celsius. The leading edges of the wings and tail will reach 1,460 degrees Celsius, the lower surface of the fuselage will reach 980 degrees Celsius, and the upper surface, though the lowest, will still reach 760 degrees Celsius," Wang Haifeng explained. "Traditional heat-insulating tiles are far from sufficient, so we will be developing a completely new active cooling and heat protection system..."

These technologies can be used in spaceplanes and hypersonic reconnaissance aircraft! And they certainly sound very innovative!

(End of this chapter)