Chapter 761 The Shenzhou spacecraft was robbed of its limelight

There are many such things. The most memorable one is Motorsic Company. The country has obviously spent huge sums of money to purchase it. As a result, the President, an actor with two cents, issued an order to nationalize it.

compensation? Even if Ermao is rich, he will not compensate, let alone still have no money.

 Going to the International Court of Justice to file a lawsuit?

Although it makes sense, it would be too naive to believe in the impartiality of the International Court of Justice. It is very clear who the International Court of Justice favors.

 So, this matter can only be swallowed with broken teeth.

Qin Tao would never do such a thing. Therefore, when cooperating with Motor Siqi Company, he must cook the raw rice into cooked rice as soon as possible before the other party has changed people.

 As for the contract with the Weeping Country, of course all kinds of precautions must be taken.

The Crying Country is also a country that likes to repeat itself. When it came to purchasing the JF-37 fighter jets, I don’t know how long I had to hesitate. What Qin Tao said about the fourth-generation stealth aircraft was just to deceive the other party and increase some chips.

As for the lithium mine, Qin Tao really wants to mine it, and the risks can be controlled.

For example, the three South American countries control 58% of the world's lithium resources. They have long sought to establish a lithium mining alliance to obtain higher profits through monopoly, just like oil, which regulates oil prices by controlling global oil production. In short, we must not let oil prices get too low.

 However, their lithium mining alliance has made no progress from beginning to end.

  After all, the attitudes of these three countries are different, especially the Weeping Country, which is open-minded. It is not up to them to have the final say on how to deal with lithium mines.

However, Qin Tao also had to prepare for a rainy day. Just before he crossed over, the Weeping Country had already begun the process of nationalizing lithium mines. Once it is successfully passed, it will have a profound impact on the entire South American economy.

Of course, Qin Tao does not want to see this situation happen. He will try his best to avoid it. After all, the lithium mines were developed by his Mingzhou Group. What they say is that if they are nationalized, they will be nationalized? Isn’t this eating appearance too ugly?

However, protesting is useless, you must have a back-up plan.

 This backhand is, of course, these weapons and equipment.

If nothing else, the opponent will definitely buy the Xiaolong fighter. If not, then there will be no modern fighters on hand. If the mood on the Falklands is stirred up by then, the opponent will have even more urgent needs to purchase.

 If you purchase this kind of fighter plane, you can make a fuss about it.

The Xiaolong fighter is a simple third-generation aircraft that only uses fly-by-wire control in the vertical direction. Even so, it can also design programs internally and lock the operating system at any time through data links and other devices.

Once this thing is locked, the aircraft will become scrap metal. Do you want to continue using it? First, spit out the hundreds of millions of dollars originally invested by Mingzhou Group!

 Of course, this is the worst case scenario, so try not to use it. However, if that happens, you cannot let the other party take advantage. You must have a way to react.

  Warships and the like can also be manipulated in the combat command system to lock the warship. Does the other party want to change equipment? It would cost a lot of money to tear it down and replace it with a new one!

Even, even the engine can be locked. Let’s see if they can replace it when the time comes.

Fifty years later, when the agreement expires, it is reasonable for you to repatriate the country. Do you want to change the status quo with an executive order in advance? We have something to do with Lao Lai.

After participating in this matter, Qin Tao and Zhao Ling continued to move forward and left the aviation exhibition area. The aerospace exhibition area appeared in front of them.

The most eye-catching thing is, of course, the long two-bundle rocket that stands tall. The top of this rocket is somewhat special, with a larger outline. There is also a long pole in front of the fairing. Experts can see it at a glance. Recognized it as an escape tower.

This is a combination of the Long March 2 and the Shenzhou spacecraft!

At present, this combination has carried out several unmanned launches, and will soon realize the first manned space flight. Therefore, the appearance of this rocket here demonstrates the most dazzling achievements of Eastern astronauts.

However, if compared with the products of Starship Company, they pale into insignificance.

On the Starship Company's exhibition stand, there is an extra-large spaceship entity. This spaceship looks even more eye-catching, as if it is from a science fiction novel!

Therefore, audiences who are interested in aerospace, as well as a large number of reporters, are attracted there.

At the exhibition stand, Max was introducing it to everyone.

“This spacecraft is our newly developed Dragon spacecraft. Compared with the current three-stage spacecraft, its performance is more advanced.”

 Although the project has not been carried out for a long time, Starship Company's research and development capabilities are quite strong. Once their project is established, it will be developed as quickly as a rocket.

Now, this spacecraft is not just a model, it is already a physical display.

"For example, it can accommodate up to seven astronauts going to space together. Look at the big screen above your head. It shows the cabin layout of our manned spacecraft." Max raised his hand upwards, where there are technicians Well done animation.

 The reporters looked up and saw the two rows of astronaut seats. They were very new. The layout of this spacecraft was different from the previous ones. It was an innovation!

The American space shuttle can transport seven astronauts to space at one time. However, this space shuttle has many problems, especially its low reliability. Therefore, although it is advanced, it will be eliminated.

Lao Maozi’s Buran was said to be able to carry ten people, but this kind of space shuttle has disappeared.

At present, the only mature carrier is Lao Maozi's Soyuz spacecraft, which can only transport three people to the sky. There are actually seven people in front of him, which is indeed advanced. Four in the front and three in the back, comparable to a space shuttle!

Looking at the internal design, the large screen in front of everyone has almost no physical buttons, which also represents how advanced the control system of this spacecraft is. Compared with the current level of manned spaceflight, it is definitely a step forward. Stride.

“With such a large return capsule, is it capable of returning safely? How big a parachute is needed?” someone asked.

"It does not require a parachute. It uses our Starship Company's unique vertical landing technology. Our spacecraft will land directly on the ground through the reaction force of the rocket engine. It is our original landing method." Max proudly announced : "Have you seen the layout of the outside of this spacecraft? Those special openings are the nozzles of the engines. We have eight such engines."

The general return capsule does not have an engine. At most, there is a recoil rocket when it lands one meter in the end. But now, there are actually eight engines arranged on the side of the cone of this return capsule. Speaking of innovation, it really is. It depends on Starship Company!

In the past, who would have thought that a private space agency could actually develop rockets? And now, Starship Company's rocket has been successful, and they are seeking the capability of manned spaceflight!

Of course, there is nothing wrong with this. After all, they are planning to land on Mars and must develop manned spaceflight. However, it is incredible that their technology is developing so fast.

“Your service cabin is too small, isn’t it? It doesn’t even have an engine!” Another reporter asked.

"Yes, we put most of the payload on the return capsule, so that we can further reduce our costs. Every time we go to space, we need to bring back everything we can carry. We are a private aerospace company, and we must Think about reducing costs and do whatever you can to reduce costs.”

This is something that cannot be compared with the government-run aerospace sector. One relies on government funding, and the other relies on self-funding for profit. How can the two be compared?

At this moment, Max saw someone walking from a distance, and he immediately said: "Now, let's ask our spaceship designer to tell you about the specific design of our spaceship. If you have any questions, you can ask him. ."

 After saying that, Max walked off the stage, quietly left from behind the exhibition stand, and went straight to Qin Tao.

“Mr. Qin, I protest!” Max started to complain the first time he saw Qin Tao.

“Protest? What are you protesting against?”

“The airlines affiliated to Mingzhou Group are actually developing aerospace planes. This kind of project should belong to our aerospace department. If we want to develop aerospace planes, it should be done by our Starship Company!” Max said.

Qin Tao did not expect Max to have such a reaction. His aerospace plane plan was just a plan to deceive people. Who would have thought that Max was also deceived and actually took it seriously!

"Moreover, there are big problems with your design plan. Can that kind of variable-cycle engine be successful? If you want to be down-to-earth, it is best to develop a carrier aircraft plan, using a large aircraft to bring the aerospace aircraft to At an altitude of 10,000 meters, the best speed can directly allow the ramjet engine to work, so that such an aerospace plane can be successful." Max said: "Those guys just want to build an aircraft in the atmosphere, they have no ability to build an aerospace plane! I think their technical route is absolutely wrong!”

Qin Tao sighed: "Max, I know your abilities, but if you build an aerospace plane here, you will face the problem of insufficient manpower, which will delay the development of our starships and spaceships. After all, Our goal is Mars."

"Yes, Mr. Qin, you are right. It is precisely because of this that we need aerospace aircraft technology even more. Once this aircraft is developed, it will definitely be sold in large quantities, and we will make a lot of money. With money , our research and development will be faster!”

At this moment, there was a burst of noise from the exhibition stand, and everyone obviously heard something more interesting.

"We will vigorously develop commercial manned spaceflight. Every time our spacecraft goes to space, it can provide four or more space tourists' cabins. The price of each cabin is only 20 million US dollars! We strive to create low-cost space tourism projects , so that more people who love space can realize their ideals!"

 Twenty million US dollars, what is this concept? For ordinary people, it is a number that is unimaginable in a lifetime. However, for some rich people, it can be easily taken out. These rich people are tired of life on the ground and can go to heaven to experience it. Twenty million Definitely worth the $$$.

 Starship is serious when it comes to making money.

 Manned spaceflight is a very serious national project in many countries, but for Starship Company it has become a tourism project. There is no other way, they have to make money.

Now, Lao Maozi's Soyuz spacecraft is also undertaking the mission of space taxi, transporting American astronauts to space. The quotation is 30 million US dollars. This kind of quotation lasted until the 2000s, when the space shuttle was completely retired, Lao Maozi's space shuttle Taxi prices started to rise, and the price reached 80 million US dollars.

NASA was very angry, but there was nothing they could do. After all, they had no other manned space vehicles. They knew their shame and were brave enough to support three manned spacecrafts at one go: Starliner, CrewDragon, and Orion. Orion).

Among them, the Orion that Lockheed Martin is responsible for is mainly responsible for manned landing on the moon. Let’s not talk about this. The first two are from Boeing and Max.

 In fact, when the space shuttle retired, NSAS began to plan the next generation of manned spacecraft.

Because there is really no money, unlike the previous research and development of spacecraft, which was completely invested by the government, this new generation of manned spacecraft is completely made by research and development companies. NASA is only responsible for purchasing the manned services of the spacecraft.

Of course, considering the situation of R&D companies, NASA also provides funding, but it is much less than self-research.

In the bidding stage, the four companies had the highest voices. In the end, Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada, which had very high voices, were actually eliminated. The two remaining ones were the giant Boeing and Max's team.

 No one was optimistic about Max's personal spaceship, but the facts proved how good he was.

After receiving the development task, they made great progress and various projects progressed smoothly. Although they exploded several times during the period, they finally successfully sent astronauts into space and became the first new-generation spacecraft to carry humans.

 What about Boeing? Boeing's project design was conservative, progress was slow, and the price quoted was high. And the first unmanned test flight even overturned! The spacecraft had already seen the International Space Station very close by, but due to various errors, it was unable to dock and could only return to Earth in despair. One of the parachutes failed to open correctly during landing. After an investigation, Boeing had to pay for it out of its own pocket. , spend 420 million to fly again. Fortunately, it is a redundant design and the return capsule of the spacecraft is intact. After an investigation by NASA's independent investigation team, Boeing had no choice but to admit defeat and spent $420 million of its own money to prepare for another flight!

 That’s right, Boeing’s manned spaceflight costs are still very high!

Taking NASA’s funding as an example, the Boeing spacecraft’s funding is as high as US$4.2 billion; Max’s funding is only US$2.6 billion. After several additional funding increases, Boeing's total funding amounted to US$5 billion and Max's total funding amounted to US$3.2 billion. The fact that they receive less money but do more work fully demonstrates that the R&D, innovation and cost control capabilities of private aerospace companies are unmatched by established companies.

The most important thing to give you is the quotation for the final launch. NASA has funded so much money so that it can go to space at a low cost. When the research and development here matures, Lao Maozi’s Soyuz spacecraft is quoted at US$81 million per seat, and Max’s The price of each seat of Manned Dragon is US$55 million. What about the old giant Boeing? $90 million per seat, yes, $90 million per seat.

　　Because NASA has been ripped off countless times by old men, it is gritting its teeth and wants to develop a low-cost manned spacecraft. What is the result? Five billion was spent to support the Boeing project, and the quote was actually higher than that of Lao Maozi!

I wonder if the NASA veterans will vomit blood after Boeing’s offer.

It is not yet the new millennium, so the quotation of US$20 million per seat should be more appropriate. The key is how long it will take to build this kind of spacecraft. If it takes ten or twenty years, this promise will definitely not be fulfilled by then. It worked, after all we have to take inflation into account.

 In any case, the advanced nature of this spacecraft is obvious to all. The domestic Shenzhou spacecraft only has three seats, while our own has seven!

 When the development of the Dragon spacecraft matures, the domestic space station is expected to be launched into the sky. At that time, the best choice for entering and exiting space is the Dragon spacecraft.

 It’s just that with the release of this project of our own, the domestic aerospace sector should also be anxious!

Qin Tao raised his head and looked at the Shenzhou spacecraft, which was supposed to be the star of the aerospace area. Now, there are only a few people watching there. Most of the people are gathering here and watching.

"Let's build these spaceships first. We still have liquid oxygen and methane engines, so don't worry about funding. After this exhibition, the stock price of our starship company can rise a lot. Then we will issue some stocks. You can get more funds." Qin Tao said: "Of course, you can also go back to the United States and see if NASA has any ideas to rent our Dragon spacecraft. If you want to use our spacecraft in the future, you have to Invest in us, it doesn’t have to be much, just a billion or two billion dollars is enough.”

Max nodded, this is the only way, Mr. Qin does not support other plans!

Sure enough, just after Qin Tao looked back, he saw several people watching from the outer circle of the crowd outside the Starship Company's booth. Their expressions were complicated. When they turned around and saw Qin Tao and Max communicating, There is even a meaningful look in his eyes.

 When Max left, these people walked towards Qin Tao.

"Mr. Qin, it's great to see you here. I am the deputy chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft, Lao Yang." Lao Yang said: "I led the team to participate in the air show. I heard that you are also here. When the spaceship is on display, come and take a look. When you look at it, you realize that our most proud spacecraft, the Shenzhou, is nothing compared to you!"

The chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft was Mr. Qi, but Mr. Qi was already quite old. Therefore, after organizing the design of Shenzhou-5, he gave up the position of chief designer to the younger Mr. Yang. Now, Mr. Yang is the deputy chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft.

Although they are all called Shenzhou spacecraft, these spaceships use small steps to move forward, one step at a time, and each spacecraft is in a different state, and each spacecraft has a new design. .

However, no matter how it is designed, its structure remains unchanged. This spacecraft, like the Soyuz, uses a three-section structure, including a propulsion module, an orbital module, a return module and an additional section. Among them, only the orbital module can Returning to Earth, the space inside was small and could only accommodate three astronauts. The other parts of the spacecraft were thrown into space.

This is very different from Starship Company’s spacecraft plan. Starship Company adopts a reuse plan, recycling and reusing as much as possible, which saves money.

 “Mr. Yang, this is incomparable.”

Qin Tao's words made the expressions of the people opposite him even more ugly. What does Mr. Qin mean by this? Are you belittling us in person?

"Our Shenzhou spacecraft can quickly realize manned spaceflight and achieve our zero breakthrough in this field. However, our Starship Company's Dragon spacecraft will take a long time, five years. , even ten years may not be able to carry people up there, so what you see is the design concept of the spacecraft ten years from now." Qin Tao said.

 These words make everyone feel better.

"When we were engaged in manned spaceflight, we had many plans. In the end, we chose the most conservative route, which would be less likely to fail." Mr. Yang said, "And your Starship Company took the most radical plan. What you considered was Cost, our older generation of astronauts should learn from you, the new generation of astronauts who dare to innovate."

Qin Tao shook his head: "Most of the people in our starship company are foreigners. There is nothing to learn from. We still have to go our own way. Of course, when our space station is built in the future, our Dragon spacecraft can also help Send people up a few times, after all, we can send more people."

Space is dark and lonely. There are only three people in space, which is certainly not as good as seven people. The more people there are, the easier it is to build a small society.

At this time, another voice came from the booth.

 “Wow, so beautiful!”

Everyone looked over and saw Max returning to the stage, holding a beautiful helmet in his hand: "This helmet is the latest space suit helmet developed by our Starship Company. It is manufactured using 3D printing technology, and it is even more... It is advanced and can be specially made according to each person's head shape. If you are a space tourist, you can take this helmet away as a travel souvenir after the trip is over!"

 The people below cheered.

"You are unambiguous in using new technologies." Mr. Yang said.

“Yes, if you want to have advanced performance, you can only use new technologies. As you can see, there is no escape tower on this spacecraft, which saves a lot of money.”

Spaceship launch is the most dangerous thing. Once something happens on the launch pad, the escape tower will take the spacecraft away. Of course, for astronauts, it is hoped that this thing will never be used.

 If it is not used, it will be thrown away before leaving the atmosphere. After all, it is useless to take it into space. It is obviously a waste to use new ones next time.

 (End of this chapter)