You promised to build cars, so why did you go into the military industry?

Chapter 91 Initial Draft of Manned Spacecraft

"Li Ran?!"

Jiang Xingyun looked at the young man in front of him, who was only a few years older than his own child, with some surprise.

As an eagle yearning to become an astronaut, Jiang Xingyun is extremely familiar with United Industries, which has emerged as a dark horse in the rocket field in the past two years.

He has maintained a great interest in United Industries ever since he learned that the first launch of the United One rocket successfully sent a car into space.

Later, I heard that the Tiangong space station complex, which is now flying 400 kilometers overhead, owes a debt to United Industries.

So during my vacation, I looked up information about the rocket launch missions related to the Joint One space station.

With the Tiangong space station officially put into operation, Jiang Xingyun once thought that the country was about to launch its third astronaut selection.

But in the end, the selection process never started, and his body couldn't keep up with the times.

However, seeing Li Ran, the boss of United Industries, appear in the Air Force reminded him of his good friend Lao Fang—

Could it be that...?

"Is United Industries finally going to enter the manned spaceflight field? I think—"

Jiang Xingyun became interested and prepared to recommend himself.

But before she could even speak, she remembered her physical condition and was momentarily at a loss.

Hesitating, he forcefully swallowed his words.

"Old Jiang, why are you being so long-winded?"

Seeing his old comrade-in-arms Jiang Xingyun wanting to speak but being too embarrassed to say it, Colonel Fang felt a little annoyed and patted Jiang Xingyun on the shoulder.

"Colonel Jiang Xingyun! An ace who served for 28 years!"

A top-tier pilot with 5100 hours of flight time!

He was also the first test pilot of a certain advanced aircraft model!

"If it weren't for his age, we wouldn't be willing to let him retire."

Upon hearing this, Li Ran was overjoyed. He took a step forward and extended both hands to shake hands with Jiang Xingyun.

Before he could even speak, Jiang Xingyun instinctively used his arm to lift Li Ran up, almost throwing him over his shoulder.

Fortunately, at the last moment, Jiang Xingyun realized something was wrong and forcibly controlled his muscles to support Li Ran, thus narrowly preventing him from getting injured.

"Ha ha ha ha----"

Upon seeing this, Colonel Fang burst into laughter.

"Colonel Jiang is certainly enthusiastic." With Jiang Xingyun on his shoulder, Li Ran wasn't annoyed. Instead, he smiled and reached out, "Perhaps you have some concerns about your physical condition, but don't forget, your valuable flying experience is something we also crave. I just wonder if Colonel Jiang would be willing to join our United Industries family after his military service and contribute to the nation's manned space program?"

Jiang Xingyun put Li Ran down and looked at the hand outstretched in front of him, unsure whether he should agree.

Colonel Fang, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore, so he grabbed Jiang Xingyun's arm and handed him to Li Ran.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Mr. Li, I'm standing up for Lao Jiang!"

Seeing this, Li Ran also extended his hand forward.

The two clasped hands swayed up and down under the influence of Li Ran's arm.

At the same time, Li Ran happily said, "Then it's settled. I'll send someone to pick you up on time."

Jiang Xingyun stared blankly as Li Ran left, then looked helplessly at his friend beside him: "Old Fang, you've really made things difficult for me—"

"Alright, alright, just be happy about it! If you ever actually land on the moon, remember to bring me some local specialties."

In the middle of the month, Jiang Xingyun, who had officially retired from the military, was picked up by Wang Bing and Lin Yu and driven to United Industries.

Originally, the two of them didn't take the task assigned by Li Ran very seriously.

However, after learning Jiang Xingyun's identity from Guo Shuyan, Wang Bing and Lin Yu were overjoyed. They counted the days on their fingers and stared at the calendar, fearing that the big shot would be intercepted and snatched away by someone else.

Without any major incidents, the two successfully brought Jiang Xingyun to the United Industrial Base, where a grand welcome banquet was held.

The group welcomed Jiang Xingyun with tea instead of wine.

"General Manager Li, who is our Party branch secretary? I want to transfer my Party membership as soon as possible."

Before the meeting ended, Jiang Xingyun pulled Li Ran aside and asked him the first question he had ever asked since arriving at United Industries.

Upon hearing Jiang Xingyun's request, Li Ran led him aside and found a young man who was eating.

"Colonel Jiang!" Zheng Dingjiang noticed Li Ran bringing Jiang Xingyun to his side and immediately stood up to salute.

Looking at Jiang Xingyun returning the gift to Zheng Dingjiang, Li Ran introduced him: "Zheng Dingjiang is the company commander of the first company of a brigade of a certain group army of the army. He has been guarding the border for 13 years."

After being discharged from the military, he joined United Industries through the introduction of the Veterans Affairs Department.

He is the current Party Branch Secretary of United Industries.

After listening to Li Ran's introduction, Jiang Xingyun showed a look of admiration.

Then, curiously, he asked, "Mr. Li didn't—"

"I feel I'm not qualified enough, I'm too ashamed to apply." Li Ran waved his hand with a look of shame.

Upon learning that Jiang Xingyun's purpose was to transfer his party membership as soon as possible, Zheng Dingjiang immediately took out his phone, added him as a friend, and sent him the key information.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Li Ran left.

Three days later, Jiang Xingyun, having settled everything, arrived at Wang Bing's laboratory.

"This is the spacecraft I designed and the corresponding operating procedures."

Based on your flying experience, could you please check if there are any professional errors or omissions?

This mainly refers to the unpowered flight phase within the atmosphere.

Jiang Xingyun stared at the spacecraft for only one glance before a question arose in his mind: "Is this a space shuttle? But it doesn't look like one."

The design drawings depicted a robust spaceship.

The spaceship has a pointed front with pre-reserved portholes, a silver-white back with a crack, and a belly covered with countless hexagonal black blocks.

There are three large engines and one small engine at the rear.

There are two pairs of four flaps on the front and back of the abdomen.

"The mid-term goal is indeed the space shuttle, which is a product of the early technology verification phase."

Wang Bing pointed to the screen and explained.

"Traditional space shuttles are fixed to the side of the rocket and launched together."

As he spoke, Wang Bing slowly moved his two index fingers together upwards, simulating a launch.

"However, this launch method places very different requirements on the rocket's load-bearing structure compared to the usual launch mode where the load is placed on top of the rocket."

We don't have enough manpower to design different rocket bodies for the two different launch methods.

Wang Bing then picked up a pen with a cap and began to imitate it.

As the pen moved upwards, it reached a certain height, at which point the cap separated from the pen body and transformed into a satellite.

"Therefore, I changed my approach and treated the third-stage rocket body, payload, and fairing as a whole, designing it as a manned spacecraft that could be used for return."

At launch, at a suitable altitude and speed, after the second and third stages separate, the manned spacecraft will automatically ignite and enter its predetermined orbit.

When the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere, it will face the ground with its belly, i.e., the black side, and use a similar "air drift" operation to achieve aerodynamic deceleration.

Once a certain altitude is reached, such as 10000 meters, the engines will ignite at an opportune moment, putting the spacecraft into a powered and controlled state.

Then, using these four flaps, it was able to land and be recovered in the manner of flying an aircraft.

Jiang Xingyun looked at Wang Bing in shock, astonished by his bold design.

At the same time, he understood why the United Industries valued him so much.

After all, during the return phase, the entire aircraft—no, the spacecraft—needs to undergo a controlled, powered landing, much like flying a plane.

many.

Looking at the design drawings in his hand, Jiang Xingyun felt more and more familiar with them.

Then, based on his years of experience, he offered some suggestions, though he wasn't sure if they were appropriate.

In other words, Li Ran isn't here. If he were here, seeing Wang Bing's design drawings would definitely make him exclaim, "Starship!"

Because they look so alike.