Chapter 535 What do shipbuilders buy rocket engines for?

   Kuznetsov Design Bureau booth.

   "Our NK33 rocket engine was designed by the great Mr. Korolev." On the booth, the gray-haired Valentine introduced to the onlookers in front of him.

  Behind him is a model of a rocket engine. This kind of engine has been sprayed with a layer of silver powder, which looks fluorescent. No one knows that it is a stock from decades ago.

It is as tall as a person, and the largest part is the nozzle, which looks like a long skirt worn by a dancer. It has a small combustion chamber on the top and a huge turbo pump on the side, full of unique old Maozi's characteristic roughness.

   Below the nozzle, the Russian language of NK-33 is sprayed.

  The reporter in front of him kept pressing the shutter, and was interested in this big guy. However, he was just a reporter and did not see any other special audience.

   "Excuse me, what is this engine used for?"

   "It was once used on the greatest lunar landing rocket N1." Valentine said: "They use oxygen-rich combustion and staged afterburning technology, and have the highest thrust-to-weight ratio among rocket engines!"

   "Is it the kind of rocket that blows up every test?"

  Hearing this question, Valentine's face immediately turned ugly.

  Back then, at the height of the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union were vying for the commanding heights of landing on the moon.

  In the eyes of ordinary people, Lao Maozi should be the most promising. From the first artificial satellite to the first manned spaceflight, Lao Maozi took the lead, and the moon landing seems to be the same.

  However, the Americans came from behind, stepped on the old man, launched more than a dozen Saturn Vs in one go, and sent astronauts to the moon. Where is the old man?

  Old Maozi was troubled by huge problems, and in the end he failed to achieve manned moon landing, so he had to leave in the cold.

  The protagonist at the time was that the N-1 launch vehicle using this NK-33 rocket engine was not powerful.

The success of the Saturn V is inseparable from its engines, especially the first stage below, which uses five giant "Rockdyne F-1" rocket engines, each of which is 5.6 meters high and has a nozzle diameter of 3.7 meters. Up to 8.4 tons, it burns 2.6 tons of propellant per second and can generate a thrust of 6,770 kN (about 690 tons of force). Five engines can easily launch a rocket of nearly 3,000 tons into space.

  Where is Lao Maozi? Lao Maozi only has the NK-15 engine with a thrust of 150 tons, so Lao Maozi has no other choice, simply use parallel engines, the thrust is not enough to make up the number. (This is very similar to a private company in later generations.)

  The first stage of the N-1 rocket is driven by 30 NK-15 engines arranged in two concentric rings, 24 on the outer ring and 6 on the inner ring. If you look at it from under its buttocks, the two-row engine is still very interesting.

   However, this also brings up a huge problem: how do the engines work in sync!

  Based on the technology at the time, the more engines there were, the greater the chance of problems. Therefore, after the N-1 rocket was built, it was blown up on the rocket launch pad during the test launch.

  Eight NK-15V engines in the second stage, 4 engines with a single thrust of only 41 tons in the third stage, and a 45-ton thrust engine in the fourth stage have not been tested yet, and the entire rocket has set off fireworks.

  However, Lao Maozi was not discouraged, and continued to improve the NK-15 engine. The improved model is NK-33. The thrust of this engine has been increased to 170 tons, and it is more reliable.

   The biggest blow to this rocket was the death of Korolev.

The doctor found out that there was a tumor in Korolev's intestine, so he decided to perform an operation on him. The Minister of Health performed the surgery. After cutting it open, he suddenly found out that it was just a polyp, not a tumor at all. The doctors Started to discuss a new plan, and threw the great space pioneer on the operating table. When the plan was agreed upon and the operation began, the heart that had been operated on five years ago could no longer bear the pressure. Korolev did not Get off the operating table alive.

  Da Mao, even the greatest space pioneer of all mankind, died in the hands of quack doctors in this way. He could have continued to live for many years.

Korolev's assistant, Varisi Mishin, took over his work and continued to work on N-1 rockets. A large number of improved NK-33 rocket engines were also produced. However, the edge of the moon landing has passed Now, since Lao Maozi has failed, there is no need to go to the moon again.

   As a result, a large number of NK-33 rocket engines produced fell into the warehouse. During their lifetime, they were never installed on the rocket to realize the idea of ​​lift-off.

After entering the 1980s, Lao Maozi finally came up with an RD-170 rocket engine of the same level as the F-1 engine used by the Saturn V. The thrust of this engine is as high as 800 tons, and only four engines are needed. It can push the former N-1 rocket to fly to the moon, which is more powerful than the F-1 of the year.

  However, the Red Empire no longer exists, and the RD-170 engine, that is, the hero is useless.

(Speaking of landing on the moon, there are always a lot of arguments to deny it. The Americans did not land on the moon back then, everything was a hoax. This argument has always had a market. The hero of East China wants to express his meager point of view. Although the old man There is no manned landing on the moon, but there are quite a few lunar probes launched by Lao Maozi. If the Americans were a scam back then, then Lao Maozi’s lunar probes could not find the lower half of the lunar module, and they would definitely announce it to the world. The lies of the Americans. As long as you carefully study the American moon landing technology, you will know that the lower half of the lunar module cannot fly, and it is still on the surface of the moon. And we have also started to launch lunar probes one after another. If We didn't find the lower half of the lunar module, so how can the Americans argue? There is no air on the moon, and the lunar module will not be covered by wind and sand. As for why the Saturn V cannot be built, what is the information about the F-1 engine? Lost, this is indeed enough nonsense, but after the moon landing, the Americans really don’t need such a big rocket. Decades have passed, the drawings have been lost, the supporting manufacturers have closed down, and the technicians have died of old age. possible.)

"The explosion of the rocket is a tragedy. It is not only the tragedy of the Red Empire, but also the tragedy of all of us. Now, we should not look at the great pioneer with a mocking attitude. It is unfair." At this time, a voice came from behind.

  Valentin looked over gratefully, it was a person he had met before, Mr. Qin!

Wu Shengli and Mr. Wu watched the fun from behind. Qin Tao brought Xu Zhengyang to the front. Hearing these reporters laughing at the guests he had invited, Qin Tao would of course refute a few words. All the reporters bowed their heads in shame.

   "However, this rocket engine is still too old." Another person said: "These engines should be built in the 1960s and 1970s, right? Don't they rust in the warehouse?"

"They are all being preserved properly. As long as there is a chance, they can still fly into the sky. We have opened and tested them a few years ago. They are completely reliable and there is no problem!" Valentine said to the reporter: " These rockets can go to the sky."

   "In order to support our Kuznetsov Design Bureau, our Mingzhou Group decided that if these rocket engines are not sold at the end of the defense exhibition, our Mingzhou Group is willing to pay to buy them all!"

  Wow, all of a sudden, everyone was surprised, even Wu Lao and Wu Shengli who were behind were also curious.

  What is Qin Tao going to do? What is Mingzhou Group going to do?

   "Mr. Qin probably wants to make our astronauts unemployed?" When Mr. Wu said this, he seemed to be teasing, but also seemed to be laughing at himself.

At present, the most mature and advanced rocket in China is the Long March-2. This rocket has a take-off weight of 190 tons and a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of less than two tons. Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine is a toxic fuel.

  Later, a bundle was installed under the Long March-2, and four boosters were added, which increased the carrying capacity of the low-earth orbit to ten tons, which is already the limit.

  Of course, the astronauts are also researching a new generation of launch vehicles. The thrust of the engine has been increased to 120 tons, which is still far behind the old engines of the 1960s and 1970s.

   At this time, the reporters couldn't help but exploded: "President Qin, is your Mingzhou Group going to space?"

   "That's right, you are no longer satisfied with just building ships, are you going to enter the aerospace field?"

  Valentin's eyes were full of gratitude, at the critical moment, he had to rely on Mr. Qin to rescue him! Moreover, Mr. Qin actually promised to buy all the engines in their inventory, which gave them reassurance. It was really the right time to come to the East to participate in the International Defense Exhibition this time!

"Spaceship is also a ship, we are not interdisciplinary." Qin Tao said: "Everyone, I want to discuss a deal with Mr. If the engine is approved, then we will hold a special press conference. At that time, we will announce the shipbuilding plan of our Mingzhou Group."

  This time, Mingzhou Group is really going to enlarge the satellite!

In the staff lounge behind the booth, Valentin poured Qin Tao a glass of water himself: "Mr. Qin, come, drink water, thank you so much just now, otherwise I don't know how to deal with it, even if you are just fooling around They want to buy our stock engine, and we appreciate it."

  Qin Tao smiled: "Mingzhou Group, we do what we say. Since we say we want to buy it, we are sincere. How many engines do you have in stock? Have any customers come to buy them before?"

In Qin Tao's memory, after the collapse of the Red Empire, many departments of Lao Maozi had a difficult life, but some organizations lived comfortably. Rocket engine manufacturers were one of them. They sold rocket engines to Americans. Count the money until your hands are soft.

While the Americans are shouting about various sanctions against Da Mao, they continue to call Zhenxiang, importing a large number of Da Mao rocket engines, even if many people are worried, thinking that this will destroy the United States' own rocket engine research and development industry, there is no other way, after all Da Mao's is cheap!

  How cheap is it? Take the RD-180, the most commonly used old-fashioned rocket engine in the United States, for example. Even if a full set of technology is introduced, it is only produced in the United States, and the cost is five times that of purchasing old-fashioned finished products.

  So, they have no other choice but to continue to import the old Maozi's engine, and the old Maozi is also very honest, unless he is sanctioned to the limit, he will take this out and yell twice.

  "For the N-1 rocket, we produced a large number of NK-33 rocket engines, and the inventory once reached 250 units. So far, no customers have shown any interest in our engines."

   Don't have any customers yet? Could it be that the time has not yet come?

  Although it has been nearly five years since the collapse of the Red Empire, the American rocket research and development industry is still running steadily, and it has not yet entered the era of buying, buying, and buying.

After the collapse of the Red Empire, the situation of tense confrontation has been greatly eased. At the same time, more importantly, the policies and regulations of the United States have been relaxed. On the one hand, private individuals are allowed to enter the aerospace market; After all, if the rocket industry is doomed like other industries, the old rocket experts will have to travel all over the world in order to make money. If they go to those rogue countries, they will definitely give the U.S. People cause big trouble.

Especially in August 1994, the U.S. National Space Transportation Policy was issued, instructing the Department of Defense to host a one-time launch vehicle program in the direction of developing and updating existing systems, which is the follow-up EELV (Evolutionary One-time Launch Vehicle) project, with a smooth transition , Gradually replace expensive and obsolete launch vehicles such as Atlas, Delta and Hercules, reduce costs, improve reliability, simplify operations and shorten launch cycles, and continue to maintain a leading position in the field of aerospace technology.

   To put it simply, the Americans' rockets need to be updated, and only then did they start to consider the old man's rocket engines.

   It’s been a year or two, and Americans are acting like snails, but it’s better this way.

   "Oh, you are really suffering too." Qin Tao said: "If you sell all these rocket engines, will you be able to develop more advanced rocket engines?"

"Yeah, we have always planned to increase the thrust of the NK-33 engine from 170 tons to 200 tons, and the new model is called NK-43, so that four NK-43s can perfectly replace one RD-170 rocket engine. said Valentine excitedly.

   "Since you have such an urgent need, we can sign the contract now without waiting for the end of the defense exhibition. How much do you plan to sell these engines for?"

   "Boss Qin, we don't know how much we can sell it for, so please make a price." Valentine said.

   "We can't treat you badly." Qin Tao thought for a while and said, "How about giving you 25 million dollars for 250 engines in stock?"

  They are all rags produced in the 1960s and 1970s, and they have been dusted in the warehouse. Now one hundred thousand dollars is not low.

  Valentin was overjoyed: "Of course, Mr. Qin, thank you very much."

   "I also want to add some color to our international defense exhibition." Qin Tao said: "Sign the contract now, and I will immediately contact the people in Moscow to go to your place to complete our transaction."

   "President Qin, thank you so much for your support!"

   "However, I have a request."

"any request?"

   "If we need it, you have to send some experts to help us maintain these engines. Of course, I will give them a large travel allowance."

   "That's natural." Valentine nodded immediately. Who doesn't know that coming to Mingzhou Group for a business trip, the treatment is quite good, and it's considered a trip when you come out, and you can make a lot of money!

   When Qin Tao came out, he saw the faces of Wu Shengli and Wu Lao again, and was immediately surprised: "You are waiting for me here?"

   "Yes, Mr. Qin, we want to know what agreement you have reached with there."

   "It's nothing, I just bought a bunch of junk in stock, and the price is quite cheap."

  Buy all of them?

  Old Wu felt his heart beating violently: "How much did you buy it for?"

   "One hundred thousand dollars, NK-33 engine. A total of two hundred and fifty units."

  Old Wu opened his eyes wide: "You are trying to block the way of our aerospace progress!"

  As the veteran of the aerospace system, Mr. Wu certainly knows the data of this engine, the thrust is the world's first, and the thrust is also good, which is much higher than the performance of the domestic model that is being planned!

The famous Long March 5, known as the Fat Five rocket, has a single engine with a thrust of only 120 tons, but now, the price of these second-hand engines that Qin Tao bought in stock is only 100,000 US dollars, and the thrust is still 170 tons. Tons of big guys.

Hearing Mr. Wu's words, Qin Tao smiled: "How is this possible? All we can buy are the outdated engines that Lao Maozi has eliminated. Lao Maozi's latest RD170 will never be sold to us. We have money. If we want to develop our aerospace technology, we must base ourselves on self-research, and what we develop will be our own. If we buy it from outside, it will always be controlled by others.”

Wu Shengli nodded: "Yes, no matter how good other people's things are, they belong to others. We have always adhered to this principle in external procurement. We can introduce technology for production, improve and improve after a thorough understanding, and ultimately promote our own technological development. That’s fine, if it’s just outsourcing, which leads to the loss of our self-research ability, it’s definitely not worth the candle.”

   "Mr. Qin, what you said reassured me." Elder Wu said, "However, what's the use of buying so many second-hand engines in stock?"

170 tons of thrust, 250 sets, if all these engines are used in domestic aerospace engineering, it is estimated that they can be used for 20 years. Once they rely on these engines, the self-development ability of domestic rocket engines will be completely lost. When this batch of engines is used up, they can only be purchased from outsiders, because the entire engine development team has collapsed.

   "We Mingzhou Group opened a private rocket company. Your aerospace system builds yours, and our Mingzhou Group builds ours. We don't compete with domestic companies and go outside to grab business." Qin Tao said.

  Old Wu was taken aback again, Mr. Qin, are you serious? Isn't this still blocking the way for our domestic spaceflight? You are addicted to playing competition, are you going to crush our domestic aerospace system?

  Even Wu Shengli opened his eyes wide: "Taozi, do you really want to go into space?"

   "This is just an idea. If you really can't sell it, you can only use it yourself. If you can sell it, we still focus on selling it. It's better to be a second-hand dealer."

   Everyone walked and watched, and soon came to the booth of the power machinery manufacturing scientific research and production complex.

   Behind this booth, there is also an engine, which is similar in shape to the one at the Kuznetsov Design Bureau, but bigger!

   How big is it?

  Just a flared nozzle is taller than ordinary people! Moreover, as long as this thing is put out, it must have four horns. It is placed on the shelf upside down, with the horns facing the sky, and it looks even more spectacular. This is a big guy made during the Red Empire period!

Back then, if Lao Maozi had this kind of engine when he was working on the N-1 rocket, it would definitely be a proper success. In fact, it is said that the RD-270 at that time already had this kind of thrust, but this engine used It was unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine. Korolev was personally very dissatisfied with this poisonous rocket, and there may be some personal grievances, which led to the failure of the moon landing project.

   "This is the most powerful rocket ever developed by mankind. It has a full 800 tons of thrust." In front of this engine, Kolpekov is eloquently introducing it. (It is also said that it is 790 tons.)

  He does not have the embarrassment of Valentine. This rocket engine has no dark history, and its body is full of halos.

   "Our engine was developed to propel the world's largest energy rocket. This rocket has a carrying capacity of 100 tons in low-Earth orbit!"

  The Energia rocket is very powerful. In the 1980s, this rocket successfully carried out several launches, one of which was to send a space laser weapon into space! In terms of Star Wars, the Yankees are playing tricks, but the old Maozi is fighting the real battle. If the old Maozi is given more than ten years to successfully develop various Star Wars weapons, then the Americans should suffer. Forced.

   At the same time, this rocket can also hang the space shuttle Buran on its side and launch it into the sky.

  Unfortunately, since the collapse of the Red Empire, the Energia rocket has never been produced again, because…

   "Its thrust is too high, we don't need a rocket engine with such a thrust at all." A foreigner said, on his badge was the USA logo.

   Some people still dislike its high thrust?

That's right, launching a satellite currently weighs more than a dozen tons. The largest cabin on the International Space Station only weighs 18 tons. A whole of eighty or ninety tons.

  The thrust of the rocket engine is too great, no one will use it, and the RD-170, an advanced rocket engine, has no market for this reason!

   "If a simple change is made, the four combustion chambers will be reduced to two, and the thrust will be reduced to 400 tons, wouldn't it be more appropriate?" A voice came from outside.

   Everyone looked over and saw Qin Tao's figure.

  (end of this chapter)