For rockets, the higher the number of stages, the more advanced it is. In order to explore the universe, rockets are needed. This was proposed by Tsiolkovsky, the "father of space".

The performance of a rocket can be measured by a concept called "mass ratio", which refers to the ratio of the original mass of the rocket to the final mass of the rocket.

To put it simply, the load that the rocket will eventually transport is certain, but the rocket shell occupies more mass. In this case, the best way is to lighten the shell. During the flight, the flight A part of it is thrown away, which can increase the rocket's final speed.

Therefore, the current rockets are all multi-stage, but the number of stages is not the better. If there are too many stages, the connection and separation mechanism between each stage will also increase accordingly, which will affect the overall rocket. Intensity, and bring some complex technical problems.

Therefore, generally speaking, rockets are two-stage or three-stage, just like the current Long March rockets. The Long March 2 is a two-stage, used to launch low-Earth orbit satellites, and the Long March 3 is a three-stage. Launch a geostationary satellite.

However, with the improvement of rocket technology, single-stage rockets are now also being developed. For example, the Long March 5 series rockets currently planned by our side use advanced liquid oxygen kerosene engines, and only one stage is sufficient.

If you are transporting a heavy load, you need to bundle a few boosters to form a one-and-a-half configuration. If the track is synchronized, adding an upper stage to make it into two stages is enough.

However, this refers to liquid rockets. For solid rockets, their thrust is not high. Moreover, solid rockets are different from liquid rockets. The propellant is directly contained in the shell. The more burned, the deeper the shell. Inside the sub, in this case, the thrust will be insufficient if it is too long, so it is necessary to build a multi-stage rocket.

If you want to launch a small satellite, a multi-stage solid rocket is enough.

However, the more stages there are, the longer the rocket will be. If this happens, the rocket will face another terrible problem, which is resonance.

In the world, there are very few four-stage liquid rockets. Just because they are too long, mechanical resonance problems will occur during flight, causing the rocket to disintegrate in flight.

"Our rocket, if it is too long, will there be a problem?" Qin Guan asked.

Hearing Qin Guan’s question, Wang’s face suddenly showed a surprised expression: “Mr. Qin, you really are an expert in this area. That’s right, if the rocket is too long, such a problem will arise. But this also depends on the situation. Our solid rocket is destined to be small, for example, the total length is only 20 meters. In this case, the strength of the rocket body is absolutely no problem."

Rockets are big. For example, the Long March 2 is fifty to sixty meters in length. The Saturn five rockets are often hundreds of meters long, but what about the current small solid rockets? If a payload of several hundred kilograms is to be launched, a 20-meter rocket is sufficient.

Just before the king spoke, Qin Guan had already read all the materials on the Long March 11 from the weapons materials cemetery. This kind of rocket is indeed quite compact. The rocket has a total length of 20.8 meters, a maximum diameter of 2.0 meters, a weight of 57.6 tons, and a take-off thrust of 120 tons. The rocket has a SSO carrying capacity of 400 kilograms and a LEO carrying capacity of 700 kilograms.

It can be said that this kind of rocket is very small, and it is completely prepared for launching small rockets.

"The advantages of solid rockets are many. We can even produce them in advance and store them. When needed, they can be launched directly after they are tested." Qin Guan continued.

The process of liquid rockets is quite complicated. It takes months to prepare for a launch, but what about solid rockets? It only takes a few hours.

Just look at the submarine-launched ballistic missiles. This kind of missiles can be launched at any time, which is quite convenient. After Xiong arrived in later generations, he even used their retired ballistic missiles to launch satellites.

When thinking of this, Qin Guan suddenly remembered that if it were such a small missile, there was another advantage, it could be launched from an offshore platform.

In order to make the best use of the linear velocity of the earth’s rotation, Qin Guan’s suggestion was to set up a fourth launch site on Hainan Island. This launch site is the southernmost of the motherland, but it is still not far south. The best is On the equator, even if it is not on the equator, in those sea areas where one has already begun to reclaim land, it is even further south.

If it is a large rocket, it will face difficulties such as transportation, but this kind of solid rocket is not afraid of it. It can be directly mounted on the platform, dragged over, and launched when it is erected.

"Lao Wang, therefore, we can also carry out the launch experiment of the offshore mobile platform." Qin Guan said to Wang Lao.

The small rocket has limited thrust, and the linear velocity of the earth's rotation can be used, so it must be used as much as possible. Now that Qin Guan said that, the old man immediately understood Qin Guan's plan and clapped his hands again and again: "Yes. Mr. Qin, what you said is too reasonable. We need to find those comrades who are engaged in Dongfeng 21, and learn from their technology, and results will be soon produced."

In fact, the later Long March 11 rocket was determined by a combination of many factors. The technical level of this rocket has surpassed Dongfeng 31 and even Dongfeng 41.

Mr. Wang is serious. There is demand in the international market. At the same time, it also has military significance. When there is a sudden outbreak of war or some natural disaster, it is necessary to temporarily launch reconnaissance satellites. At this time, ordinary satellites are launched. Fields have time limits and weather restrictions. It’s easy to make mistakes. However, this kind of small rocket is different. It can be stored and used at any time. Moreover, when needed, it can even be set up without any launch site. Just hit, essentially, no different from those mobile-launched ballistic missiles, this kind of convenience is not available in any other rocket.

This kind of rocket is worth doing.

Of course, the military’s missiles do not hesitate to cost. If your own small rockets want to occupy the civilian launch market, they must not be expensive. If they are too expensive, they will not be able to occupy the market. They must be low-cost. .

There are a lot of challenges in this, but it is definitely worth trying. The Rockets must not only be a huge investment project, but also have output!

Mr. Wang was still seriously considering the details. At this moment, the scholar came in and said to Qin Guan: "Mr. Qin, Western Union has contacted us. Their marketing manager Stephen Ike is taking a passenger plane and intends to come. Talk to us."