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

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The morning at the Southwest Base was shattered by the deafening sound of bugles.

At six o'clock in the morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Lin Xi suddenly sat up on the hard bed, grabbed her coat draped over the back of the chair, and pushed open the door to go outside.

In early spring, the mountains of southwest China are extremely humid, and a cold wind can chill you to the bone.

The corridor was filled with the sound of orderly and hurried footsteps.

He served as the deputy leader of the overall team for Project 851 and the deputy chief designer of the Red Star-2 bundled rocket.

This time, Lin Xi did not stay in the spacious and bright research institute, but went directly to the launch site deep in the mountains of southwest China.

He stopped as soon as he stepped out of the dormitory building.

Inside the compound, squads of soldiers dressed in Type 65 green military uniforms were running in formation, their slogans echoing through the valley.

Armed guards stood ramrod straight in front of each important checkpoint, their eyes sharp.

Eye-catching red slogans are painted on both sides of the main road.

"Rooted in the mountains, dedicated to aerospace."

In this valley surrounded by mountains and almost completely isolated from the world, there is no extraneous life or entertainment, only an extremely strict military-style schedule.

Every inch of soil seems to be etched with the rugged yet resilient national will.

In the live stream in Lin Xi's mind, the comments section was rapidly scrolling.

[Hilarious! The deputy chief engineer went to the mountains for military training.]

[Getting up at six o'clock, that's even more demanding than what I, a high school student, do.]

[This was a top-secret national base from the 80s, are you kidding me?]

Forget about staying up late; here, you even need to ask permission to sleep in.

Lin Xi didn't bother to read the comments on the screen. She tightened her coat and strode towards the canteen.

The cafeteria was steaming hot.

Several large aluminum buckets were lined up in a row, filled with piping hot cornmeal porridge.

Next to it were two steamed buns filled to the brim with coarse bamboo baskets, and several large bowls of stir-fried pickled vegetables that were glistening with oil.

Lin Xi got a meal and turned around when he saw someone waving at him from the table by the window.

"Kobayashi, over here!"

The person who called him was Lu Guoliang, the chief designer of the Hongxing-2 carrier rocket.

There were also several important figures at the table:

Mr. Ding, the person in charge of the Southwest Launch Site.

Deputy Commander Zhao, who was in charge of the infrastructure construction of the Sanchui Factory.

Lei Jianguo, chief engineer of the technical testing site.

And Zhong Weimin, the commander of the final assembly and testing.

These individuals are all hard-working people who have been working on the front lines for many years, enduring the mountain winds and sun every day, resulting in rough, dark red skin.

Lin Xi carried the aluminum lunchbox over and sat down in the empty seat.

Chief Engineer Lu took a bite of his steamed bun, smiled, and glanced at Lin Xi:

"Xiao Lin, are you settling in well these past few days in Southwest China?"

"It's very humid here. Compared to the Northwest Base, isn't it quite different?"

Lin Xi couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

Before he transmigrated, he was a graduate student at an aerospace university and had never been to a real launch site.

After transmigrating, they mostly stayed in the living area, barely spending more than a few days at the launch base before rushing off to tinker with fans, work on five-axis machine tools, and collect carbon fiber.

To be honest, he had absolutely no idea what the difference was between the launch procedures at the Northwest and Southwest bases.

But he picked up the bowl of porridge, took a sip, and his expression was calm and sincere:

"Mr. Lu, it's a habit, but not a habit."

"However, I was just an intern in the Northwest before, and I was only superficial in many front-line testing and assembly processes."

"The main reason I came here this time is to learn more from Chief Designer Lei and Commander Zhong."

He didn't put on any airs of being the deputy chief engineer, nor did he use his position as the general manager of Red Star Technology Group as an excuse.

These words immediately made the atmosphere at the table even more harmonious.

Old Lei and Old Zhong exchanged a glance, their eyes clearly showing a hint of amusement.

They spend years working on the front lines, and what bothers them most is having a young leader parachuted in who doesn't know anything but pretends to know everything and likes to boss people around.

Lin Xineng humbled himself and immediately adopted the attitude of an apprentice, which greatly alleviated their concerns.

"Deputy Chief Engineer Lin is being modest."

Old Lei laughed heartily.

"Your insights, especially the design of the Red Star No. 2 bundle, are absolutely brilliant. We all admire them."

"Once we get to the front lines, we'll learn from each other."

After exchanging pleasantries, the conversation quickly returned to business.

Chief Engineer Lu put down his chopsticks, his expression turning serious:

"According to the current plan, the maiden flight of the Red Star 2 rocket is scheduled for mid-June."

He turned to look at Deputy Commander Zhao:

"Old Zhao, how's the progress on your three-pronged factory?"

Deputy Commander Zhao shook his head and sighed heavily:

"General Lu, an entire division of the military region's engineering corps has been deployed, working in three shifts around the clock."

"But the geology in these mountains is too complex. When you go down with a pickaxe, you often encounter underground water gushing out. We've burned out dozens of water pumps."

He tapped the table with his chopsticks, his tone somber.

"The special seamless steel rail foundation of the Sanchui factory has high settlement requirements and must be firmly welded into the rock strata."

"The project definitely won't be completed by June, so we can't count on the first shot."

"It's estimated that all deliveries won't be completed until July or August."

Chief Engineer Lu nodded, not surprised:

"Okay, then let's activate the backup plan."

"For the first Red Star No. 2 bundle, continue using the old method."

"The rocket was hoisted in sections under the launch tower, and then powered on and tested in conjunction with the satellite on the launch pad."

"We'll officially start using the three-vertical mode after the second one."

Lin Xi then continued the conversation:

"Perfect timing, the pulse production line at Factory 914 in Shanghai is still undergoing renovation."

"Director Liu called me yesterday and said the new production line will be fully operational by June."

"The second rocket produced will be transported here and, together with the newly completed three-vertical factory, we can carry out a full-process upgrade."

"good!"

Old Ding slammed his hand on the table, his tone invigorated.

"The timing of these steps was perfect."

"Commercial launches won't wait for us; those foreigners in the international market are eyeing Hughes' orders."

Just then, Peng Yu, Lao Lei's new apprentice, came over with an empty bowl, ready to clear the table.

Xiao Peng had only been assigned to the base for a short time and listened quietly to the senior officers speaking.

Unable to hold back any longer, I blurted out a question that had been lingering in my mind for a long time:

"General Manager Lu, Master."

"I saw in internal documents that the Saturn V and Energia rockets from abroad were as thick as giant water tanks."

Why is the main body of our Red Star rocket always so thin and long?

"If it were made thicker, wouldn't it be able to hold a lot more fuel and have greater thrust?"

The moment these words were spoken, the area around the table fell silent.

Old Lei's face darkened. He felt that his apprentice was embarrassing himself by asking such a basic question in front of the chief engineers, a question that had not been thought through in depth.

He immediately glared at her, ready to give her a scolding.

Lin Xi waved her hand first and took over the conversation.

"Xiao Peng, that's a good question."

Lin Xi smiled and looked at the recent college graduate.

"However, there's a half-joking saying in the engineering field."

"The diameter of our rockets is, to some extent, not determined by thrust requirements."

"It was actually stuck by the rear ends of two horses from two thousand years ago."

This statement was so abrupt that the several senior experts at the table were all stunned.

Even Lao Lei, who had just been looking serious, couldn't help but frown:

"A horse's ass?"

"Vice President Lin, what does this have to do with our rockets?"

The live stream in Lin Xi's mind suddenly became lively, with a large number of knowledgeable netizens starting to spam the chat with comments.

[Here it comes! The iconic scene!]

[Two horses: I never imagined I'd be taking the blame two thousand years later.]

[The size of a nation's most important equipment is determined by its horse's rear end—outrageous, but easy to remember.]

[Mr. Lin is starting the class. Sunflower seeds and soft drinks are available for sale in the front row.]