Chapter 172 - 168 H2M_1

The Big Shot didn’t come to Qiongzhou just because he enjoyed watching rocket launches.

According to the public information he saw, New Yuan’s space launches were about to reach a mini-peak:

On June 4, the technical verification machine of H1 would be launched at Qiongzhou by New Yuan 5B;

On June 6, Cabin 3 of the Hila Space Station would be launched at Qiongzhou with New Yuan-2;

On June 7, the fifth "Mountain" large satellite platform was to be sent into geosynchronous orbit from Qiongzhou aboard the New Yuan 5A;

On June 16, Mecca would undergo an unmanned test launch at the Mukala Launch Site using New Yuan-2;

On June 24, the sixth "Mountain" was scheduled for launch;

On June 26, a New Yuan-2 would launch Cabin 5 of the Hila Space Station from Abermuscala Space Launch Site into low Earth orbit;

On June 28, Mecca would launch from the Mukala Aerospace Launch Site using New Yuan-2, carrying six astronauts into space.

Seven launch missions, three of which were heavy-duty tasks, yet only two New Yuan-2s and one modified New Yuan-5 (retrofitted) was used; this cost-saving and efficiency made the Big Shot green with envy.

He also knew that in July and August last year, Eastern International Space Hotel, established with companies like Italy Alenia Spazio and Belmond Group, had its first batch of 24 passengers going to space in four groups aboard March (once) and Unity(three times), with the total order valued at 640 million US Dollars, about 4 billion RMB.

All four launches were filled with foreigners; the Chinese locals were still huffing and puffing through training, having to wait their turn.

billion RMB, though a hefty sum, the foreign tycoons were all quite happy; spending just over ten million USD for a 24-hour March voyage, and a seven-day stay at the space station was just more than thirty million Dollars.

That really was a bargain, and moreover, if they came again, as long as their physical condition hadn’t significantly deteriorated, they could save on the 8 million USD training expenses, bringing the cost of their inaugural orbital journey below 10 million USD.

In any case, these tycoons expressed in interviews that as long as they didn’t die up there, they would definitely come back next time; they understood the concept of spreading costs over multiple trips all too well—8 million USD shouldn’t go to waste!

The aerospace authorities watched with extreme jealousy; if they could also bring in billions each year through this, many projects could be kickstarted independently.

The Big Shot sourly watched Prince Abe with a face cracking from smiles being congratulated all around and couldn’t help but sigh.

"How is the preparation for An-1250’s global flight going? Did the flight route get approved?"

Lin Ju shook his head, "No, the Island Country approved it, so did Europe and South Asia, but America refused, claiming that An-1250 could destabilize civil aviation airspaces, suggesting we should fly over international waters instead."

"International waters? They want you to detour from South America, through Chile?"

Seeing Lin Ju’s constipated expression, the Big Shot understood and, with a touch of sarcasm, patted Lin Ju’s shoulder:

"You chose to register it as a military plane to save trouble initially; now they have a reason to detain you, and they have a legitimate case no matter where you are."

"Then I’ll build another 4th model, set up an international airline, and they won’t have any way to stop me, will they?"

"... You have the money, you can be willful."

Of course, Lin Ju was joking about building another 4th model for global flights—the 4th model did exist, and so did the 5th, but they weren’t civilian aircraft, they were bona fide military planes.

The Western Military District requested one, and the Capital Military District another—these were the orders the military placed for the An-1250.

Since New Yuan is not a state-owned enterprise and isn’t bound by frustrating profit margin targets, the military reluctantly shelled out 12.4 billion US dollars to buy two of the world’s largest super transport aircraft.

The additional costs were for modifications; they didn’t care for load-carrying on the fuselage but demanded the cargo hold be further reinforced. It was alright if the dead weight was higher, the An-1250’s payload capacity was well-known, and wouldn’t decrease much anyway.

These two planes were to be delivered by December next year. One reason was New Yuan’s current production capacity, which limited the number of people that could be transferred to the Aviation Department, and the other was that the military’s payments were difficult to secure. The down payment and final payment were given in installments, grudgingly doled out.

Lin Ju learned about Project Yun-35 at Institute 603, but he didn’t care much. The Institute needed to order at least 80 of the XW-30 engines for Yun-35, and an additional 20 for backup. The price of one XW-30 was 78 million US dollars, making the cost for these engines a total of 7.8 billion US dollars.

Don’t consider it expensive; the thrust of the XW-30 was 2.2 times that of the XW-10, and the price was less than three times as much, which was quite reasonable. That was even after a bulk purchase discount; otherwise, it would have cost over 90 million.

However, this 7.8 billion was for the future, estimated to start being procured in 2019 and be delivered by around 2021. For the moment, it was just a thought.

Seeing Lin Ju drift off into thought again, the Big Shot coughed lightly to bring the conversation back to the main topic and to explain his primary purpose for being there.

"When is your New Yuan No. 3 rocket launching?"

Lin Ju fell silent for a moment, then took out his phone and showed a photo to the Big Shot.

The latter leaned in to see a group of workers standing under a massive, horizontally-positioned white rocket never seen before, with a red and yellow banner overhead:

"Warmly celebrate the off-line ceremony of the assembly of the New Yuan No. 3 Yao-1 rocket."

"The day before yesterday, New Yuan No. 3 Yao-1 was completed, but because the first-stage rocket body is too long and difficult to transport, we didn’t announce it publicly. It will probably be known to the public in the next couple of days, and then it will be flown here."

As the Big Shot pondered in contemplation, Lin Ju added further:

"This first-stage rocket body is really too long and troublesome, 77 meters. During final assembly, because other components were being processed in the workshop, we had to extend a third of it outside the workshop for a semi-open installation. Those days, I was especially afraid of rain."

The Big Shot didn’t say anything but kept looking at the workers in the photo, who were standing next to the rocket, not even one-fifth the height of the rocket’s diameter.

With a core stage diameter of 11 meters, this was indeed a giant rocket, featuring a liftoff thrust of 7,500 tons and a liftoff weight near 6,000 tons.

Just pumping the propellant would take several days; it was an absolute aerospace marvel.

According to New Yuan’s schedule and progress, it was clear that the first flight would be before July.

Thinking that the CZ-10 hadn’t made its maiden flight yet and had already lost its title as the world’s largest, the Big Shot could only comfort himself that being third was quite good—and the number three was considered auspicious in China.

Lin Ju looked at the Big Shot’s somber expression and ultimately chose not to disclose that two New Yuan No. 3 rockets were being built simultaneously; otherwise, the latter might suffer a mental breakdown.

He had considered delaying the launch of New Yuan No. 3, but the issue was that the two axial modules for the Forward Space Station would be completed by July and had to be launched before September.

The first two H2 spaceplanes in the standard version, H2M "Pioneer" and "Glory", had officially started production on June 1. The manufacturing was expected to take six months, aiming for the inaugural flight to be completed before December 20.

The H2M spaceplane was the only project that would be delayed this year in order to control the budget somewhat. Lin Ju hadn’t used many resources from the System Research Institute to accelerate the process, hence the slight delay. However, this wasn’t a big issue; the manufacturing of the modules for the Forward Space Station wouldn’t stop. They could be launched and assembled together next year.