Live Stream 1980: Netizens Teach Me How to Make a Rocket by Hand

boom!

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in the small conference room.

Chief Engineer Gao's mouth was half-open, and Secretary Zhao's pen fell to the ground.

Space rendezvous and docking.

This is a significant milestone in manned spaceflight.

Lin Xi actually planned to overcome this obstacle directly in China's first and second generation spaceships.

Lin Xi didn't stop. He pointed to the cylinder with two wings on the blackboard and uttered his last and most important sentence.

"Seniors, this is not a spaceship that can be destroyed simply by attacking it."

"As long as it can stay in the air, as long as we can connect the subsequent modules one by one."

"It is the spaceport where Chinese people will be cared for in the long term."

"It is the first cornerstone of China's space station!"

Silence fell over the meeting room.

For a full half minute, no one uttered a sound.

Mr. Qian had been listening with his eyes half-closed, but at this moment, he slowly opened them.

He stared intently at Lin Xi, as if trying to ascertain just how far the young man had seen.

After a moment, Mr. Qian uttered three words.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Mr. Qian's voice trembled slightly, yet it revealed his immense magnanimity.

"What a fine first cornerstone!"

"He who does not plan for the long term is not fit to plan for the short term."

"Those of us undertaking large-scale projects can't just focus on the step beneath our feet; we have to keep our eyes on the ladder to heaven above!"

He turned to look at Old Qin beside him:

"Xiao Lin's plan to use one module for two purposes not only saved money, but also paved the way for China's space station in advance."

"This is true strategic thinking!"

With Mr. Qian's definitive statement, Mr. Qin finally took a deep breath.

He shoved the cigarette butt, which had burned down to the filter, into the ashtray.

Old Qin's eyes were bloodshot, and his chest was heaving violently.

"What a brilliant plan to keep it on the tracks..."

Old Qin's voice was hoarse, yet it carried an irrepressible sense of pride.

"Mr. Gao, we won't be copying the Soviet blueprints!"

The chief engineer suddenly stood up, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"We'll design it ourselves from scratch!"

......

The meeting continued without pause, immediately diving into the most crucial issue:

Number of spacecraft crew.

This problem is more critical than the configuration.

The number of people that can ride directly determines the diameter of the return capsule, the weight of the entire spacecraft, the scale of the life support system, and how much thrust the rocket needs to send this lump of iron up there.

Engineer Li spoke first:

"I have done preliminary feasibility studies on a single-person approach."

"For one astronaut, the diameter of the return capsule can be compressed to within two meters, and the entire spacecraft can be controlled to around six tons."

"With the existing low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of the Hongxing-2 rocket, it is more than enough to launch it."

"and......"

He added,

"The first time the United States sent a man into space, the Mercury program, only carried one person."

"The Soviet Union's Dongfang No. 1 is also a person."

"First, solve the problem of whether we have it or not; don't aim too high."

Chief Engineer Gao continued:

"I have also discussed the five-person plan, which is directly comparable to the Apollo program in the United States."

"But the diameter of the return capsule is over four meters, and the weight of the entire ship is approaching twelve tons."

"Red Star No. 2 cannot withstand it."

"Unless it's a heavy-lift rocket."

He shook his head:

"It's not realistic at this stage."

Zhao Zhijian flipped through the documents in his hand:

"What's a compromise? Two people?"

"Two people are a safer bet."

Old Qin took over the conversation,

"The diameter of the return capsule is controlled at around 2.4 meters, and the entire ship weighs about 7.5 to 8 tons."

"The Red Star II can be reached with a bit of grit, and the complexity of the life support system is also manageable."

Several experts nodded in agreement.

"The two-person plan is the most pragmatic."

Don't take too big a step.

"Get them up there first."

"In the final analysis, the carrying capacity of the Hongxing-2 rocket has indeed been improved, but the specific impulse of the conventional engines we have is not enough, and the thrust is still insufficient."

The senior experts nodded silently.

This is a limitation of the times; the thrust of the launch vehicle determines how big a dream aerospace engineers can have.

Bringing one more person means bringing several hundred kilograms more life support equipment, food rations, and a chair.

Forcing it to start will only crush the rocket.

Lin Xi sat in the chair, listening to the rigorous yet conservative deductions of the seniors.

A moment later, he looked up at Engineer Li and Old Qin.

"Engineer Li, Elder Qin."

"I suggest we go straight for the three-person plan."

The meeting room fell silent instantly.

Li Gong gave a wry smile:

"Kobayashi, we want to have three of us too."

"But where do we get those hundreds of kilograms of dead weight?"

"The engine thrust is what it is; it's a physical law, you can't conjure it up with magic."

Lin Xi shook her head and stood up.

He took a top-secret document out of his briefcase and handed it to Mr. Qian and Mr. Qin with both hands.

"The laws of physics remain unchanged, but we are about to break through the ceiling of our transportation capacity."

Lin Xi's tone was calm, yet it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

"We are working on a new type of engine."

"Liquid oxygen and kerosene, high-pressure combustion cycle."

Old Qin's hand froze in mid-air.

Chief Engineer Gao was stunned for a moment:

"What do you mean by 'cycle'?"

"High-pressure combustion".

Lin Xi repeated it.

"It's at least a step above our existing conventional engines."

"With the optimized configuration of the Hongxing-2 rocket, the near-Earth orbit carrying capacity can be increased from eight tons to more than ten tons."

The room fell silent.

Anyone in the aerospace industry knows that the engine is the heart of a rocket.

The liquid oxygen-kerosene high-pressure combustion cycle is a top-tier technology that only the Soviet Union truly mastered.

"How confident are you about this?"

Old Qin's voice was a few decibels lower than before.

Lin Xi thought about how to phrase it.

"The core technology path is being validated, and the research on materials is also progressing."

He chose a version that did not violate the rules.

I wouldn't dare say 100%.

"But we are at least 70% confident that we can produce a qualified engine before the 851 project milestone."

Old Qin grabbed the briefing and scanned it quickly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging as he gripped the pages.

"It's not just about thrust."

Lin Xi continued to throw out chips,

"The special carbon fiber load-bearing frame of Hongxing New Materials Company can reduce the weight of the spacecraft shell by 15 percent."

"The computing power of the Fuxi chip can eliminate all those bulky and heavy mechanical instruments and replace them with lightweight devices."

"The thrust increases, and the weight decreases."

"This combination of entry and exit provides enough leeway for the three astronauts."

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments.

[President Lin is starting to flex his muscles!]

[The RD-120 "gift package" from Russia, coupled with the enhancements of modern materials science, means insufficient thrust? Not a chance!]

Exactly! Three people make a group, let's play Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game)!

After finishing reading the documents in his hand, Mr. Qian slammed his hand on the table.

The muffled thud made everyone hold their breath.

"China started its space program more than 20 years later than the United States and the Soviet Union."

"We lag behind in every aspect, and are controlled by others in every way!"

Mr. Qian's voice was loud and clear, carrying a resolute determination.

"The first time a person from the United States went to space was by himself."

"The first person from Su went to space was also a single person."

"Now that we have a solid foundation and a higher starting point, we absolutely cannot follow their old path!"

The old man surveyed the entire room and made the final decision:

"Let's get it done in one go!"

"Let's go with a plan for three people!"

"Fly up there and intimidate them!"

In the conference room, the veteran experts straightened their backs immediately.

His breathing became heavier.

The pent-up frustration and caution of the past decade were finally broken open at this moment.

......