Chapter 6: with translation of chapter title

On the side, Zhou Ding's mind was full of questions.

These four were all his proud disciples, and this girl Yang Chan stood out among them; in the second semester of her junior year she was already planning to write her graduation thesis, so that by her senior year she would have time to work on projects with her advisor.

Zhou Ding was pleased, selected several topics for Yang Chan, and ultimately she chose the most challenging one: a thesis on the principles and impact of the GPS navigation satellite system.

Ha Gong Da is a world‑class university, so their vision naturally couldn't be limited to domestic matters; Zhou Ding chose this topic precisely because, on January 6, 1980, the system was officially put into service, becoming a major milestone in the technology field!

Currently, there is no professional article in China studying satellite navigation systems; an undergraduate thesis that explains these concepts in depth and introduces the principles and enormous value of satellite navigation would already be quite good, but it requires consulting a large amount of foreign literature!

Here you are… the direction is wrong?

"Hey, student, how are you talking? The thesis direction assigned by Teacher Zhou couldn't possibly be wrong!" Fan Congjun, a student in his thirties—the oldest among them—spoke up; there was nothing to be done, those years had set him back.

That's why he cherishes college life even more, studying hard; the few people around him are also diligent, but now this newcomer has dismissed his work as worthless—how could he not be angry?

"Exactly, this topic requires looking up a lot of foreign material—you, a clean‑shaven kid, what do you know? Have you even heard of the global satellite navigation system?" said Li Fugui, who had a little fuzzy mustache.

"This… classmate… you… what you're saying… what's the reasoning?" Zhao Qingshan, the last to speak, said with a stutter.

Only then did Zhou Ding snap back to reality; he needed to introduce things quickly, otherwise conflicts might arise among them, and they'd still have to work together later!

"No, you say—how is my thesis direction wrong? What is the correct direction?" Yang Chan stared intensely at Qin Miao.

"Cough, well…"

"Speak, if you don't…"

Seeing the other party about to roll up their sleeves, a Northeastern woman, so fierce?

"If it were an ordinary university, merely discussing the global satellite navigation system in a graduation thesis would be enough, but we are—we are Ha Gong Da! Nan Jia Da, Bei Qing Hua, the most advanced Ha Gong Da! Our graduation thesis needs depth, breadth, and…"

"Be specific!"

"Specifically, does your thesis discuss the accuracy of this satellite navigation system? The Americans divide the signals transmitted by these satellites into coarse code and fine code; have we, through technical means, managed to improve the accuracy of the receivable coarse code to match that of the fine code, or discussed the grouping of pseudo‑random codes to prepare for our GPS decryption?"

The others, having never researched this direction, even if they had read Yang Chan's thesis, would not have much impression; at this moment Yang Chan's eyes lit up with excitement—relying solely on gathering material and summarizing it for an undergraduate thesis was indeed too rudimentary, failing to reflect the caliber of a Ha Gong Da student!

We need to study this deeply, crack it, improve its accuracy…

"Or we could extend this: using 24 satellites to provide global positioning service doesn't suit our country—after all, we're… poor—so we could research a two‑satellite positioning method; this must be mastered in our own hands."

"Two satellites can position?" At this, even Zhou Ding widened his eyes.

In 1982, several American scientists proposed the concept of dual‑satellite navigation positioning; Sun Lao of the Oriental Aerospace System refined the scheme, pushing it to practical application stage; in the 1990s, Oriental's first‑generation satellite navigation system used dual‑satellite positioning, playing a major role in flood relief and the Wenchuan earthquake with Beidou‑1!

Now, no one knows about dual‑satellite positioning!

"Well, we need to shift our thinking: the user only receives signals, so two satellites definitely cannot determine the target's coordinates; if the target can transmit a signal, sending its own information and then solving it on the ground will do."

Qin Miao said this, walked to the small blackboard in the room, and quickly drew a diagram of the dual‑satellite positioning principle.

Five minutes later.

"Exactly, this really could be realized! Qin Miao, your project is substantial enough to be reported to the Seventh Ministry of Machinery for formal approval!" Zhou Ding said excitedly: "The cost of two satellites is something our country can accept! This way, our Department Four can also become the research unit for this satellite navigation system project!"

National project approved!

Fan Congjun widened his eyes, Li Fugui habitually stroked his little mustache, and Zhao Qingshan opened his mouth wide: "This… this… we… we have a new project?"

New project!

Zhou Ding patted his own head: "I almost forgot—I went to the Capital this time and brought back a national‑level project; from now on we'll be busy… now… let Qin Miao introduce to us the research direction of this project."

"Qin Miao?"

"We met on the train; this year he applied to Ha Gong Da, he…"

"A high‑school student?"

"He hasn't even started college?"

The four looked at Qin Miao, then at the dual‑satellite positioning diagram on the blackboard, their expressions complex. People comparing themselves to others just makes them furious!

At this moment, Qin Miao had already picked up the blackboard eraser.

"The upcoming R&D will be divided into several groups……"

Everyone widened their eyes—it was Qin Miao giving us the briefing; where's the teacher?

"Wait, don't erase!" Yang Chan urged anxiously: "I haven't finished copying it all yet!"

"Then I'll leave the diagram; you can derive the rest yourself—it'll leave a deeper impression." Qin Miao held the blackboard eraser, intending to keep erasing, but Zhao Qingshan had already snatched it from him.

"I… I… I'll erase it!"

He erased slowly, picking up what Yang Chan had looked at; unexpectedly, this stuttering senior brother was so thoughtful—could he have a crush on Yang Chan?

The blackboard eraser was clean; Qin Miao picked up the chalk: "In fluid mechanics, the formula for calculating drag on a blunt head is Cd = 3F / (Q V V A)…… we need to use this formula to compute the drag of the specific‑volume cylinder given by our superiors…… at the same time, we must perform extensive calculations on the blunt‑head shape of this cylinder…… next, I will introduce the drag‑reduction rod, which requires calculating shock waves…… without computers, our current staff might have to spend…… two months calculating."

Ha Gong Da, the first in the nation to establish a computer specialty—how could we lack a computer!" Zhou Ding said: "Let's first divide the work, determine each person's R&D direction, do preliminary calculations, and when massive computation is needed, we'll coordinate the computer!"

Gurgle… just then, Qin Miao's stomach growled.

"It's already one o'clock! Fan Congjun, go to the cafeteria and bring our meals!"

Seeing everyone take their lunch boxes and meal tickets, Qin Miao felt a bit dazed—he had nothing at all!

"Qin Miao, use my lunch box first; I'll front you the meal ticket, and this afternoon I'll call logistics to get your daily supplies in advance. By the way, should I deliver your admission notice directly to you?"

"No, no!" Qin Miao quickly waved his hands: "Teacher Zhou, I'm… concerned about face; sending the admission notice back home would also let my family show off…"

What a joke—the admission notice must be sent back, otherwise… how would we let Niu Guishan tamper with it?

"Good!"