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

Lin Xi picked up her chopsticks and lightly drew a long line on the wooden table:

"No matter how we modify our Red Star rocket, the maximum diameter of its core stage is always stuck at 3.35 meters."

Why?

"Because rockets, once manufactured in factories in Beijing and Shanghai, can only be transported to the launch site by rail."

"China is a mountainous country, and the railway line passes through countless tunnels."

Lin Xi used two chopsticks to draw an arch shape.

"The railway department's standard tunnel clearance is a maximum of 3.35 meters."

"If the rocket were any thicker, it would get stuck against the tunnel walls and be completely destroyed."

Xiao Peng listened intently and subconsciously asked:

"Then why were the tunnel clearance dimensions determined by these dimensions?"

Lin Xi patiently answered:

"Because our country's railways use the 1435 mm international standard gauge."

"This track gauge was first popularized by the British railway system."

"Early trains were designed by the same people who built trams."

"They conveniently applied the tram wheel spacing to the train."

"And the people who build trams used to build horse-drawn carriages."

"The wheel track of the carriage also uses the dimensions of the even older wheel ruts."

Lin Xi paused for a moment and looked at everyone.

"If we keep chasing forward, we'll reach ancient Rome."

Lao Lei and Zhong Weimin had already piqued their interest and asked the question almost simultaneously.

"Ancient Rome?"

"right."

Lin Xi gently tapped the table.

"Ancient Roman chariots were typically drawn by two horses."

"In order to allow the wheels to follow the old ruts and for stability, they fixed the wheel spacing at a width that was about right for two horses to ride side by side."

"To put it simply, it's the width of two warhorses' rumps."

He put his chopsticks away, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone.

"The rear ends of the two horses affected the distance between the wheels of the carriage."

"The horse-drawn carriages affected the trams."

"The tram interfered with the train."

"Train gauge and railway system, in turn, affect bridge and tunnel clearance and transportation regulations."

"Finally, this chain, which spans more than two thousand years and goes around half the globe, has managed to limit the diameter of our Chinese rockets to 3.35 meters."

The cafeteria was quiet.

Only the large boiler in the corner was still making a whooshing sound.

The veteran experts were stunned, and Xiao Peng looked utterly incredulous.

They spend their days immersed in blueprints and calculations, their minds filled with aerodynamic shapes, combustion efficiency, and thrust-to-weight ratio.

No one expected that what would limit the size of China's major national equipment would be such a seemingly absurd yet logically rigorous industrial history chain.

Lin Xi looked at everyone, his gaze slowly becoming deep.

"Foreign aerospace experts have been amazed, saying that we Chinese have used a 'thin tube' to deliver launch data for heavy payloads."

"They don't understand why we work so hard."

Lin Xi pointed in the direction of the mountains.

"That's because they don't know that we are using extremely extreme internal structural design, thinner load-bearing shells, and more efficient engines to push and compensate for the inherent deficiencies caused by these traffic limitations."

"This thin tube contains more than just propellant."

"There are also several generations of aerospace workers who have been forced to use their ingenuity to the extreme by reality."

After he finished speaking, the senior engineers at the table fell silent.

This in-depth analysis, which combines technology, history, and national realities, is like a heavy stone weighing on everyone's hearts, yet it also makes people's blood boil with excitement.

The live stream chat was now completely flooded with the word "tribute".

【pay tribute!】

[It turns out that being thin isn't because you don't want to be coarse, but because reality won't allow it.]

[Using a thin tube to extract world-class data—that's real skill.]

This isn't an industrial miracle; it's a masterful maneuver forced upon us by circumstances.

Old Lei turned around and patted his apprentice Xiao Peng heavily on the shoulder:

"Did you understand?"

"That's what you call having a big picture perspective."

Xiao Peng nodded repeatedly, and when he looked at Lin Xi again, his eyes were filled with admiration and worship.

Lu Guoliang, who hadn't said much until now, picked up his bowl and finished the last mouthful of porridge.

He put down his chopsticks and raised his wrist to glance at his watch.

The clock hand was pointing exactly to seven in the morning.

Lu Guoliang stood up, his gaze passing through the fogged glass windows of the canteen and looking towards the railway line stretching beyond the mountains.

"Let's calculate the time."

A slight smile appeared on Lu Guoliang's lips.

"That 'carriage' from Factory 914 in Shanghai should have already set off by now."

......

Shanghai, Factory 914.

Inside the towering, extra-large aerospace module production workshop, railway tracks extend directly from the outside into the final assembly area.

"rise--"

With a long shout from the workshop director, the huge bridge crane began to operate.

The crane cable was slowly lowered.

A massive object, over thirty meters long, was securely placed on a specially made "flat-back train."

This is the core stage section of the Red Star 2 bundled rocket.

Factory Director Liu stood below the crane track, looking up, his hands instinctively making lifting motions, as if afraid the suspension cables would break.

It has a diameter of 3.35 meters and a pure white aluminum alloy skin.

This outer shell is only millimeters thick.

To prevent deformation and collapse during transport, the rocket body must be continuously filled with high-pressure nitrogen to maintain its strength.

The whole thing looks impressive, but it's actually as brittle as an enlarged version of an inflatable soda can.

The special train slowly started moving.

On both sides of the railway tracks, hundreds of aerospace engineers, riveters, and level-eight welders, dressed in dark blue overalls, stood ramrod straight.

There was no noise or commotion in the workshop.

The only sound was the dull thud of wheels rolling over the rails.

Clang.

Clang.

The workers' eyes followed the slowly departing special train closely, their gazes filled with a complex mix of emotions, like a daughter being married off.

They remained silent, watching their handcrafted industrial creations set off in the most silent way.

Factory Director Liu took off his safety helmet and watched the taillights of the vehicle disappear outside the factory gate before turning to the workshop foreman and speaking:

"Accelerate the transformation of pulse production lines."

"They need it at the front; we can't let our supply be cut off."