Chapter 147 - 143 Forward, Advance_1

The An-1250 dipped its nose, with the front wheel touching down just a slight moment after the main landing gear, and then all eight engines opened reverse thrust, braking at full force.

This was still unloaded at only 440 tons. If it were to carry an H2 spacecraft or the three core stages of the New Yuan-2A, the weight would be close to 700 tons, and each landing would require full active deceleration.

Since the landing was on Runway 2, the An-1250 was further away from the crowd, and finally, when it passed the end of the runway, two fire trucks from both sides sprayed water to create a water curtain, which planes usually pass under.

However, due to the massive size of the An-1250, the water curtain could only barely wash over the nose, and that was even with the firefighters adjusting the height of the water cannons to the limit.

This super behemoth relied on its power to make a large turn and came back to Runway 1, moving slowly in the opposite direction of takeoff, and finally stopped in front of the crowd.

The crowd immediately cleared a path, and the higher-ups, accompanied by Lin Ju, briskly moved forward. At this time, a hatch on the side of the nose opened, and just as they walked in, two test pilots who had just come down from the elevator stood at the hatch saluting.

The higher-ups shook hands with them individually and asked warmly,

"Such a huge plane, is it difficult to fly?"

"Reporting to the commanding officer, the An-1250 employs an advanced intelligent flight assist system. The entire aircraft is controlled by electronic systems, making it very easy to fly. It also has the capability of AI takeover and fully automated flight in emergency situations."

The higher-ups nodded and then followed the Xinyuan Company’s engineers along the side of the aircraft to the rear cargo hold.

When passing by the row of thirteen main landing gear wheels, the higher-ups couldn’t resist touching the sturdy tires.

"These tires must be quite expensive, right?"

The person in charge from the Shuxiang Company quickly squeezed in:

"The tire standards required for the An-1250 are very high. They were produced by forming a new team and developing new technologies in partnership with Xinyuan Company. The production cost isn’t too high, but just the research and development investment alone reached over a hundred million, breaking through multiple new technologies."

The higher-ups: "Very good. The tires for this aircraft have driven a significant project for an enterprise, and the whole plane could lead to technological upgrades across the entire industrial chain."

Then, the group arrived at the cargo hold, with the left, right, and lower doors already open, revealing a cavernous space as deep as an abyss.

With a ground clearance of nearly three meters, as a dozen people walked in through the rear door, they could hardly believe their eyes.

The cargo hold of the An-1250 was 7.5 meters wide and 6.9 meters high, spacious enough to park two heavy trucks side by side, and the length was a staggering 100 meters. The group walked for a long time inside the cargo hold before reaching the cockpit area.

A middle-aged man dressed in civilian clothes but with an unmistakable sharpness about him touched the inner wall of the cargo hold and remarked,

"This plane can hold six 99A main battle tanks side by side; just one flight to the high-altitude front can deliver two platoons. If it’s converted for transporting people, it could easily be modified to carry a regiment of seven or eight thousand!"

He then cast a glance at Tao Changhong, who was also feeling around and pretending not to see, and turned his head away.

The Y-20 has a maximum payload of 66 tons, just enough to fit one 99A. Isn’t the An-1250 essentially the equivalent of at least six Y-20s?

But if you were to suggest to the military that they trade six Y-20s for one An-1250, they would definitely agree, because strategic airlift capacity is not simply a matter of adding up a few planes; it’s the ability to deploy all at once that counts.

Moreover, the procurement price of a single Y-20 is already RMB 800 million, and six would cost RMB 4.8 billion, which is roughly the same as the price of one An-1250. Clearly, the latter is a better choice, and just placing two or three would put people at ease.

And the fact that this kind of super airplane, which is priceless on the market, is domestically produced fills the middle-aged man with surging pride and excitement. He is already thinking about how many to purchase for the Western Military Region, which is most in need of air transportation capabilities, and where to station them.

When entering the cockpit, very few people could be there apart from the superiors and other leaders, no more than six. The experience of taking the elevator to the cockpit amazed them, and even with New Yuan’s four or five people entering, the cockpit wasn’t crowded at all. The superiors even took the pilot’s seat and interacted with the SC09 through voice commands, barely able to hide the surprise in their eyes.

"Will future C832 and C822 be equipped with this kind of intelligent driving system?"

Lin Ju: "Yes, our SC09 intelligent driving system was originally developed for space shuttles. Later, a simplified derivative was developed for flight versions. It’s very reliable, and it also alleviates fatigue for pilots during flight, emphasizing human-machine interaction."

At noon, the superiors postponed their itinerary and had lunch in the cafeteria of Xinyuan Company, observing the state of the employees at the B-level Base during work.

He found that although it was exceptionally busy, the atmosphere was still relaxed; the hierarchy within departments wasn’t starkly defined, possibly due to Lin Ju’s lead. All management and ordinary employees dined in the cafeteria, a practice they were long accustomed to.

After lunch, the superiors, along with some space agency big shots and others, saw Androff’s plans for the "Forward" Space Station in a small meeting room.

The superiors were touched, the big shots were stunned, and the others were also inexplicably amazed.

This was a space station that, when operational, was expected to weigh two thousand tons! And it was a centrifugal type!

Androff: "This year, we will launch two Core Modules, and then send up six Radiating cabins to be installed by the H2 large spaceplane, strengthening the structure by fixing external trusses. Afterwards, we will continue launching the crew cabins.

As for the six service modules and six crew cabins, it may take until next year to complete the launches. The Forward Space Station will also be put into trial operation before 2018."

Big Shot: "For all these things, at least twenty to thirty launches of heavy or super heavy lift rockets will be needed."

Lin Ju: "Which is why the An-1250 is so necessary."

But that wasn’t all; Androff continued:

"The maximum rotational speed at which the human body can live normally is only about 2 revolutions per minute. Hence, the Forward is just a beginning, or a prototype. Future centrifugal space stations will provide around 0.6G of gravity, with a rotational speed reduced to 1.5 revolutions per minute, and a radius of about 240 meters. Only then can it support years of space life and prepare for deep space travel."

Academician She, who had come with the Big Shot, thought for a long time, and after hearing Androff’s words, suddenly had a breakthrough:

"You’re already planning for deep space travel?!"

Androff nodded: "Travel to Mars could be shortened to between 4 and 6 months with nuclear thermal engines, but for journeys further away, to Jupiter, Saturn, even the Kuiper Belt, or interstellar travel, in the absence of a gravity device directly based on the principle of gravity or a near-lightspeed spaceship, centrifugal space stations are our only means to maintain gravity.

Of course, these are far from today, but it’s necessary to start preparing early. Moreover, the Forward can serve as a prototype for a spaceport system, providing humanity with a epoch-making permanent spaceport. Astronauts will no longer need to exercise for long stretches to maintain physical function, saving precious time in space."

Deep space travel might just be an idea for others on Earth right now, conceivable even if pushed into the next century, but Lin Ju believes the system’s tasks will only get harder. The leap from manned spaceflight to manned Moon landings was already significant.

If they were to follow up directly with constructing a Jupiter Scientific Research Station, that would be truly astonishing.