Chapter 173 - 169 the Koran_1

On June 7, NASA announced that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) had confirmed four sites suitable for crewed landings, rich in resources and with water in the form of ice.

The LRO is an old item, launched in 2009, and was designed to assist crewed lunar landings. To date, it had operated for seven years and was in good condition.

At the same time, the Westminster Maxar Company in Colorado announced that the development of a 60KW electric propulsion spacecraft for the Moon’s "Gateway" International Space Station had officially begun.

The Artemis program was originally a cooperative project planned to bring together Europe and the Island Country after NACA’s research capabilities had declined, both to save money and to reduce their own burden.

But since last year, Congress directly added a budget of 60 billion US Dollars to the Artemis program, with other related projects accumulating 40 billion US Dollars.

In fiscal year 2016, NASA’s approved budget was 40.1 billion US Dollars.

With a substantial amount of funding, NASA could comfortably expand again, just like the Apollo program, supporting a vast array of affiliated enterprises. It was said that this year’s economic growth in America was expected to hit a new high for the past 15 years.

Technologically, there were no setbacks either. Blue Origin’s BE-7 engine, prepared for the "Blue Moon" lander with a thrust of 12 tons, had completed prototype manufacturing and was about to undergo testing.

However, the heavy-duty liquid oxygen and methane BE-4 engine was still proving difficult to produce. Blue Origin’s engineers were supposed to conduct a test in May, but the test was abruptly stopped and the engine was taken back to the factory for more modifications.

On Ma’s side, the basic parameters for the first generation Raptor were published. It was a 180-ton class liquid oxygen and methane engine with full-flow combustion, and Starship SN-1 was set to undergo pressure test trials in October.

Ma’s ultimate PowerPoint presentation arrived as well. According to his pitch, Starships of various sizes would be able to carry out missions to land on the Moon and Mars, conduct large-scale immigration tasks, fly within the atmosphere, and reach anywhere in the world within two hours as ballistic missiles.

To the outside world, Starship and China’s publicly revealed H2 nuclear-powered spacecraft seemed like two different directions.

One was the old-fashioned route, traditional yet advanced, with nuclear power suitable for long journeys, aligning with our futuristic imaginations;

The other was the stainless steel cult, bulky and unwieldy, seemingly difficult to fly.

Of course, this was also because China was still hiding a lot of information. Even the Forward Space Station was known in only a small circle, and the leaked information was thought to be a super PowerPoint pie in the sky.

Once the XN90 spacecraft was revealed, people might wonder if they had suddenly teleported into a science fiction movie, beholding a spaceship that only existed in films and TV shows.

They just didn’t know if by then it would be the blonde old man yelling "Demolition" with rage.

The situation in China was similar, with China and its Space Agency directly investing over a hundred billion, leveraging an industrial scale of at least one trillion Yuan.

This year, nine private aerospace companies (besides China) joined the Aerospace Development Committee, reaching a level expected ten years later.

Among them, the Huizhou Galaxy Power had already announced their own small solid rocket and expected to conduct its maiden flight early next year.

Although these private enterprises also gained considerable funding and technical support, their development was nowhere near as exaggerated as China’s, not even able to keep up with the speed of copying PowerPoint presentations.

On June 12, at Base B.

Over 110 dignitaries from four member countries of the Hila Space Station beamed with joy as they stood beside the runway. Abe National Television was specially authorized to enter and film.

At the end of the runway, the nose of the An-1250 lifted up like a giant beast opening its mouth, swallowing the disassembled New Yuan-2 piece by piece in orderly fashion.

A heavy rocket with a lift-off weight of 1300 tons, the An-1250 could swallow everything from the first-stage engine to the nose cone fairing without leaving anything out,

Originally, they could have used an Il-76, but Abe specifically requested the An-1250 and paid a transport fee as high as 500,000 US Dollars for this mission.

Of course, it wasn’t just the rocket. Senior personnel from the four national space agencies and 13 highly respected clergy were also present to escort the rocket.

Mecca Spaceship was also on its back, as the An-1250 would transport all components for Abe’s crewed launch in one go. Only Hila Space Station’s Module 5 was transported separately by the Il-76, as the aircraft’s mounting points were occupied.

At 11 AM, both the rocket and the spaceship were securely fixed, and Prince Swetan stood in front of the wide-open nose, indulging in the sight of the rocket’s exquisitely painted green scriptures.

Abe had specifically brought in two artists from Yemen, considered the best by them, who used paints provided by China to cover the entire rocket with verses from the Koran.

The two artists, working without rest, and even praying before writing the scriptures, took over half a month to complete what was arguably the world’s most complex rocket painting.

But it had to be said it was truly exquisite. Most of these special paints would disappear in the intense heat from the friction of re-entry into the atmosphere, leaving only certain words that had been deliberately reinforced to form a phrase and serve as a sign from the heavens.

Surrounded by a crowd of brothers in white turbans, Prince Swetan of Abe Air Force officially passed over the escort transfer plan memorandum, which would pass through several countries, signifying that from this moment, Abe’s rocket and spaceship were truly ready to be erected in Abe.

Beside Lin Ju, leaders from the Space Agency and the Western Military District expressed their responses.

Then the gaping maw of the An-1250 slowly closed, and doors for personnel going up and down the attached elevator passageway opened.

Prince Swetan and high-level officials from various national space agencies were to fly with the An-1250, ultimately landing at Riyadh Airport in the capital of Abe.

The total flight time was nine hours, during which 32 people, including six rotating crew members, four support staff, and eight engineers from China, would arrive together.

As for why Crown Prince Hamand was not seen?

Old King Aleth had been gravely ill since last month, forcing Hamand to rush back at a moment’s notice, ready to take over power.

Although it might seem somewhat rebellious, Lin Ju always thought that this could be a good thing for Crown Prince Hamand, as then no one would stop him from reaching the heavens.

But an Abe king in space? Hiss... that sounded thrilling.

Behind the An-1250 in the ready-to-fly area, China’s business jet, the modified ARJ21, also started to board personnel. It would bring back over twenty other Abe personnel but had to make a stopover for refueling.

At 11:40 AM, air traffic control signaled for takeoff. The An-1250, with its belly full of spacecraft and various dignitaries, roared off the runway and into the air.

For this flight, the An-1250 was loaded with 400 tons of fuel, bringing its takeoff weight to 1020 tons. Regular spectators of takeoffs could feel that the sound of breaking through the air was somewhat heavier.

Flight B4143, carrying Abe’s space dreams, had taken off.

Nine hours later, it was only three or four in the afternoon in Abe, during the best sunlight, and 20,000 people would flood into Riyadh Airport to hold a grand welcoming ceremony for Flight B4143.