Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

In the 1980s, the enthusiasm for space shuttles was everywhere. Regardless of whether they could be built, people would create a PPT first. However, facts eventually proved that space shuttles were unreliable, and spaceships were a better solution. Moreover, who said spaceships couldn't be reused?

The American space shuttle had many reusable parts. The entire fuselage could be used multiple times, and the two external boosters were also reusable, falling into the sea for recovery. Only the large fuel tank on the belly couldn't be recovered, mainly because it was too large and just a fuel tank, so it could be manufactured anew each time.

What about spaceships? Can spaceships be reused?

Of course, they can!

Current three-stage spaceships are all disposable. They go up as a large object, but only the central return capsule comes back, and it's burned up upon return, making it impossible to reuse. However, if the design is modified, most of the equipment can still be brought back.

In later generations, advanced spaceships are all two-stage designs. Starting with SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, a large number of spaceships have become two-stage designs. Even the new type of spaceship in the East is designed according to this.

"A two-stage spaceship consists of two parts. The upper part is a pressurized return capsule, and the lower part is an unpressurized service module. The entire spaceship has a diameter of 4 meters and a length of over eight meters. This allows the upper return capsule to accommodate two rows of seats, allowing up to seven people to go to space at once. Of course, this is only in special circumstances; normally, it can take four people to space."

Spaceship design must follow many principles. For example, the Shenzhou spacecraft has a diameter of only 2.5 meters, accommodating three people. The purpose of this is to facilitate transportation. After all, domestically produced spaceships and rockets need to be transported to the launch site by rail after they are manufactured. There are various tunnels on the railway, and a larger diameter won't fit through.

Now, Qin Yang directly mentioned a spaceship with a four-meter diameter, and everyone was stunned. President Qin, even if this kind of spaceship is built, it won't be convenient to transport.

Qin Yang continued to introduce: "At the top of the spaceship, there is an openable docking port, which allows it to dock with other spacecraft, such as space stations. Personnel mainly work in the front return capsule. In fact, this return capsule is equivalent to the previous two module sections, and astronauts will live inside it all the time."

"President Qin, what about the escape tower?" someone asked.

Spaceflight is high-risk, and various accidents can occur. The possibility of accidents is greatest during launch, so there must be various remedial measures.

Whether it's the Soyuz or the Shenzhou, at the time of launch, the top of the spacecraft has a long, pointed end with several flared openings below. This is the escape tower. If an accident occurs, the escape tower's rocket will immediately activate, dragging the spacecraft below away from the rocket quickly, to avoid being affected by the detonating rocket.

After the escape tower carries the spacecraft away, it lands in a safe place nearby, completing an emergency rescue. Now, the design scheme Qin Yang is talking about doesn't seem to have an escape tower.

"We don't need an escape tower. On the outside of the upper service module, there are eight engines. During landing, these eight engines can be used as maneuvering engines, allowing the spacecraft to land precisely, even landing at a specific location. And during launch, if an accident occurs, these eight engines can be used as escape engines."

This is also a unique innovation of the Dragon spacecraft. Eight "Super Dracos" rockets, each with 71 kilonewtons of thrust, are integrated into the sidewall of the conical spacecraft, serving as an escape tower during liftoff and landing engines during descent.

The criticized aspect of spaceships is their imprecise landing. After all, they can only use parachutes, and where they drift in the air depends on luck. With bad luck, it's possible to drift out of the landing zone. The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with these eight engines, which are enough to allow the spacecraft to fly like a helicopter within the atmosphere, and even landing on the launch pad is not a problem.

Of course, considering the safety issues, the Americans in later generations have not used this technology yet. During landing, they still honestly use parachutes and drop into the sea, then go and salvage it.

Listening to Qin Yang's introduction, everyone widened their eyes. This is a completely new approach, something they've never even heard of before. Amazing!

Only President Qin dares to think like this!

"The rear is called the service module, which is actually equivalent to the propulsion module of a three-stage spaceship. The attitude adjustment engines, etc., will be placed in the back. At the same time, solar panels will be glued to the outer layer, so there's no need to deploy them."

Most satellites use foldable solar panels, which open after entering space. Although they are very mature, problems can still occur. After one satellite went up, it could only deploy half of its panels, resulting in a serious power shortage.

It's better to just stick them on the outside, so there's no need to deploy them.

"President Qin, this kind of two-stage spaceship probably can't reach our satellite launch site."

"Yes, the design is good, but it's not suitable for our environment."

"If it's on land, it's definitely not suitable. But we can launch at sea in the future, especially on the islands in the south. The further south, the more energy we can utilize."

All satellite launches are from west to east, so that when launched, the speed of the Earth's rotation can be utilized, and the lower the latitude, the higher the utilization rate.

From this point of view, the Russians are at a disadvantage, after all, Russia's territory is in high-latitude areas. The American launch site is in low latitudes, and the Europeans are also inconvenient, but they build them and transport them to Africa for launch, which can also conveniently utilize the Earth's rotation.

When the East was building a satellite launch site, it also considered building it on Hainan Island, but the site selection of the launch site requires consideration of many factors, and ultimately it was felt that it was too dangerous there, and it was more suitable to be inland.

Therefore, Hainan Island does not yet have a space base.

It doesn't have one now, but it can be built in the future. Launching saves energy, has a higher success rate, and the international environment has eased, so there's no problem at all.

"President Qin, your plan is for ten or twenty years from now, right?"

"That's right, twenty years from now, maybe. We aerospace people must have dreams and long-term plans. When the time comes, we will build a new generation of heavy-lift rockets, build advanced spacecraft, build space stations, fly to the moon, and fly to Mars. Since we are engaged in aerospace, our goal must be the sea of stars."

Everyone nodded in agreement to this sentence.

"That's right, President Qin is right!"

"Come, let's toast to the dream of the sea of stars!"

Everyone felt their hearts surging. Old Liu looked at Qin Yang with a complicated expression. This kid can really boast, making these people as excited as young people.

"President Qin, can you talk more about what we need right now?"