Chapter 255 - 249 Concept_1

"The IEEE International Telecommunications Association has refused to issue an operating license for the Meridian satellite network receivers, citing their potential military use."

"American Commerce Department: Using satellite network receivers is akin to exposing one’s privacy."

"Pentagon: The Meridian satellite network must open its database to ensure the security of America’s network."

"Bloomberg reports: SpaceX will launch the first batch of 60 Star Chain satellites in December, providing global internet service."

"The Meridian satellite network is encroaching on valuable orbital resources, and XAP is interfering with satellite launches from other countries."

"..."

The commercial launch of the Meridian Intelligence Satellite Network service caused quite a shock in the industry.

The Scientific and Industrial Committee hesitated for a long time before granting a commercial license to University Information Communication, and it faced significant resistance from the major operators, only reluctantly issuing it under the condition of a price increase.

This was still possible because University Information Communication was jointly managed by state-owned and private capital, and the internet service was through official monitoring servers. If it were purely privately owned, the license definitely couldn’t have been obtained.

The military exerted a lot of effort because Meridian Information Communication’s internet service was globally accessible, and its portability ensured it would have a substantial number of users.

Even if sanctioned, receivers could still easily enter the market. Apart from the built-in modulator chip and digital ID license, receivers have no technical content. It is even possible to smuggle chips and produce them in other countries.

Receivers do not send signals, so it’s unlikely for bored FBI agents to go around with detectors looking for secret satellite internet users.

Global users access the internet through receivers, an intriguing concept. The top three operators can’t provide overseas service like this.

Therefore, the Pentagon’s reaction was also very severe. Knowing they couldn’t stop the satellite network from reaching the sky, they hurriedly urged Musk to work on Star Chain.

Never mind whether it works well or not, launch it to claim the orbital resources first!

The technological content of Star Chain isn’t high; it’s just that the required number of satellites for the network is quite large. Luckily, Falcon 9 has achieved mature reusability and currently meets this requirement.

With the support of NACA and the Pentagon, the Star Chain project has been vigorously rolled out.

...

September 29th, Seed Island Space Center.

An HII-B rocket stood on the launch tower, carrying the Island Country’s self-developed HTV-6 cargo spacecraft "Stork".

The HTV is mainly made of aluminum alloy with a diameter of 4.4 meters, a length of about 10 meters, a self-weight of 10.5 tons, and a fully loaded launch mass of 16.5 tons. It can carry 6 tons of cargo to space.

The HTV-6 mission was to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Initially planned for December, the launch was moved up by two months.

The reason was the 13 astronauts on the ISS had overstayed their welcome. This year’s two scheduled Russian "Union MS" crewed launch missions were canceled, and the three crewed launch missions were consolidated into the "Dream Chaser" crewed launch in January, with nine astronauts entering the station at once.

This time, the HTV-6’s cargo was mainly food and drinking water, delivering supplies to the current ISS to sustain the 13 astronauts until next January. In November, there should be another cargo spacecraft launch mission by the Grumman Company’s "Cygnus".

Under the watchful eye of Izumi Seijiro, at 1 p.m., HII-B rocket’s two boosters fired, emitting huge tail flames, taking the HTV-6 cargo spacecraft towards space.

By his side was Masashi Okada’s friend and the current chief designer of the H3 rocket, Sakai Shinichiro.

"HII-B, after all, is still a little too small. When will the Island Country also have rockets with a thousand-ton capacity?"

Sakai Shinichiro: "President, JAXA already has plans to develop..."

"Stupid fool! Stupid fool!" As soon as JAXA was mentioned, Izumi Seijiro’s emotions began to flare up, and he started to gesticulate wildly:

"These idiots are nothing but lapdogs of America! They give a massive amount of money to the United States to participate in the Artemis program, yet they barely support domestic companies, not to mention being indifferent when chief designers are being poached!"

There was a reason for Izumi Seijiro’s frenzy. Since Xiao Okada had successfully defected without any punishment and, with official assistance, even arranged for his two daughters to join him and acquire citizenship, the number of engineers defecting had only increased.

With already scarce talent in the Island Country’s aerospace industry, when everyone of any ability thought about defecting, who would step up when undertaking new projects?!

Take the H3 rocket for example; while Xiao Okada was present, he could barely maintain the normal operation of the team, solving problems for various parts and pushing forward the rocket’s progress bit by bit.

After he took a dozen core engineers with him to defect, Sakai Shinichiro still hadn’t managed to fully reconstitute the research team to this day. H3 had the funding but slow progress, and the overall design had to be postponed until next year.

The domestic scene was no better, as the Parliament was also deeply divided.

One faction insisted on resolutely following America, participating in the Artemis program; another believed that the time had come for Asian solidarity and that cooperating with CASA had more potential; there was also an independent faction wanting to embark on their own manned spaceflight and Moon mission.

With the three factions split, JAXA’s various projects also suffered from extreme lack of confidence and internal strife.

So sometimes, Mitsubishi was also helpless. With JAXA’s direction changing daily, what could the research teams do? What could the manufacturers do?

Izumi Seijiro finally calmed down after quite some time and, settling his emotions, asked Sakai Shinichiro:

"Shinichiro, what do you think is the future of the Island Country’s space program? Don’t give me any flattering words; I want to know what the technical personnel think right now."

Sakai Shinichiro hesitated for a long time before finally plucking up the courage to say:

"President, manned spaceflight and lunar landing... are things that only great nations can have. Relying solely on ourselves, we simply cannot complete the development of all key components; don’t we need a cooperative partner?"

Izumi Seijiro started, his eyes wide as he stared at him: "You’re also part of the Alliance Asia Group?"

"No, no, no, you’ve misunderstood me, President." Sakai Shinichiro quickly shook his head. The police department was already highly vigilant against Greater Asia nationalists, whom they called the "Alliance Asia Group," and showing such inclinations meant being brought in for ’a talk’.

"President, what I mean is, aside from the European Space Agency, China, America, and Russia, there is actually another country that is quite capable in spaceflight and has ample funding."

"You mean... India?"

"Precisely." Sakai Shinichiro nodded: "We have the powerful hydrogen-oxygen engine LE9, and they have solid rocket booster technology capable of 175 tons thrust per stage. Together, this already gives us the potential to build a heavy-lift rocket.

If we collaborate with India, we could manufacture a core stage with four LE9 hydrogen-oxygen engines, strapping to two five-segment single solid rockets with a thrust of 875 tons each, creating a super rocket with a launch thrust of 2100 tons and a lift-off mass of over 1500 tons.

Such a rocket could send a payload of about 24 tons to Moon orbit, completing the manned lunar mission in two trips and boasting low Earth orbit capability of 60 tons! Most importantly, India would handle the solid propellant part, which would make America feel more at ease."

"Hmm," Izumi Seijiro pondered for a while, then patted Sakai Shinichiro on the shoulder with his thin hand.

"Sakai, you are a genius; this is a perfect concept."