Chapter 256 - 250 Chaser Block1_1

In the airspace to the west of Rong City, atop a J-7 fighter-trainer, an experienced and a new pilot were conducting training exercises.

After completing the first roll, the voice from the tower resonated in their headsets:

"Eagle, there’s a GJ-21 Meteor Advanced Trainer above you. Be aware, over."

"Eagle received."

"Rookie Eagle received."

The instructor in the backseat looked up and indeed saw the beautiful red and white streak of the Meteor Advanced Trainer swiftly passing by, leaving a trail in its wake.

"Rookie Eagle" glanced at it and then said with a hint of envy:

"Chief, private companies are already flying trainers with electronic flight control systems. The Meteor Advanced Trainer can fly at 22,000 meters and 2.2 times the speed of sound, right? Why are we still flying the J-7 fighter-trainer? When will we get to fly the J-10?"

Eagle: "J-10? That’s only for the aces in the capital and Xinjiang. This batch of J-7 fighter-trainers was handed down when the southeast switched to the Mountain Eagle Advanced Trainer. It’s not bad to be flying a J-7. Besides, they’re training astronauts, can you compare with that?"

The GJ-21 Meteor Advanced Trainer, in its original design, was meant to reach a maximum altitude of 16,500 meters and a top speed of Mach 1.6, which is on par with standard trainers from various countries.

However, when it was actually being manufactured, the engineers at New Yuan felt it was too slow, not making the most of the XW-9’s high-altitude high-speed capabilities, so they modified the wing profile, ultimately reaching the "double twenty-two" specs—that is, 22,000 meters and Mach 2.2.

In truth, it could go even higher, but that wouldn’t be very cost-effective. Even so, the current specs are rather remarkable—the Meteor Advanced Trainer has an empty weight of 6 tons, a maximum takeoff weight of 14 tons, and is equipped with an XW-9 engine with a thrust-to-weight ratio just over 1, giving it a cruising radius of 750 kilometers.

This is essentially a slimmed-down version of the J-8 fighter with significantly enhanced maneuverability. Moreover, the GJ-21 actually uses a wing profile typically seen on fighters that fly under Mach 1.8, its ability to hit Mach 2.2 is solely due to its high thrust-to-weight ratio.

The high-altitude performance and fuel efficiency of the XW-9 were so impressive that the 601 Institute even considered buying two units to build a J-8IV with "triple thirty-three" specs.

Since its creation, such a remarkable Meteor Advanced Trainer frequently took to the skies, leaving the rookies at the nearby air force base green with envy.

Eagle: "Actually, it’s not that we can’t fly it. I’ll be rotating to Tiger Mountain Airport’s flight school for supervision next week. When I get in the cockpit, I’ll definitely demonstrate a Cobra maneuver for you up there. Pay close attention and learn."

Rookie Eagle: "..."

"I really envy those students. They get to fly all they want during the holidays. I’ve never seen the skies above the flight school with less than fifty aircraft."

"Alright Rookie Eagle, we’re about to enter low-level flight. Eagle Nest, are there any birds on radar?"

"Eagle, no birds detected at the moment. Please fly safely."

"Understood. Rookie Eagle, push the stick forward and throttle up!"

"..."

On the ground, Deng Lei watched as ten Colorful Cloud trainers lined up waiting for take-off, carefully moving his neck, which was aching a bit, before looking up at the J-7 fighter-trainer flying in the distance.

On October 4th, after a space journey of more than 6 months, spanning 208 days, Deng Lei landed at the Xinyuan Launch Site’s airport aboard the Unity spacecraft.

This time, he managed to walk out on his own, albeit a little wearily compared to before.

Ground control had always believed that more than six months in a zero-gravity environment would leave astronauts unable to adapt to gravity, requiring them to lie down and rest for 4 to 7 days before they could adjust.

This was not only a matter of willpower but also that their internal organs had adapted to zero gravity, and readjusting suddenly was very difficult.

However, this time the four people who returned aboard the Unity spacecraft did not need to be carried out; they were able to walk out on their own.

Because the space shuttle is different from a spacecraft, it must go through a longer deceleration and gliding process, experiencing gravity for about two hours, allowing their bodies to adjust gradually.

As long as they didn’t perform any vigorous activities, the four crew members had no significant problems.

The next crew was to be launched on October 20 aboard the Unity spacecraft, carrying six people. The space agency was still sending three professional astronauts, but the three from New Yuan were all payload specialists, including Guo Shen.

Although he had been clamoring that he wanted to work on manufacturing H2M, Guo was nevertheless sent to the airport by Xie Liaofu.

Xie Liaofu was the real busybody, fully familiar with the base’s operations. Xie presided over multiple projects in quick succession, reverting to his workaholic state from his days with the Union.

His 24-year-old body was healthy and full of vigor, the ailments that plagued Korolyov in his later years had all vanished, and now he only wanted to dedicate himself to his work. The massive production power of the B-level Base and China was something he could not have imagined while he was in the Union.

He used to tell Lin Ju, "In our time, I thought that by now, humanity would have already established cities on Mars; at the very least, there would be colonies. But now both camps are still striving just to land on the Moon, which is a severe regression.

With New Yuan’s capabilities, we should be able to set human footprints throughout the Solar System within twenty years—ten, ideally!"

Even during the base’s vacation time, Xie Liaofu would stay in the design room, continuously conceiving new ships, new rockets, and landing plans for the various planets and moons, wholeheartedly intent on progressing into space.

...

On October 10, at Cape Canaveral Launch Site.

A Dream Chaser Small Spaceship belonging to Nevada Mountain Company, a successor to the NewSTS plan, was hoisted atop an Atlas V (Cosmic God V) Rocket, preparing for launch.

The Nevada Mountain Company had originally planned the first launch of Dream Chaser for November 2016, but with NACA’s strong support and reduced mass targets, the progress of Dream Chaser quickened.

Although ahead of schedule by one month, this 15-ton "Dream Chaser Block 1", the B1 version, was not a test vehicle but theoretically already man-gradable.

With a dry weight of 10.6 tons and nine seats, with even the potential to be modified to eleven without a cargo bay, this was the internal configuration of Dream Chaser B1.

Compared to the obsolete STS, Dream Chaser was dubbed the "mini space shuttle", but in reality, it was not small. To enable launch on the Falcon 9, significant weight reduction measures were taken, but its actual size hadn’t been reduced much—it still looked quite substantial.

Its thermal tiles were more advanced than those of the older space shuttles, fewer in number, also more reliable, and importantly, cheaper.

Unlike the old STS, Dream Chaser and the H1 series were launched inside a fairing, greatly reducing the heat shield’s requirements and weight.

Three main developers were involved in the Dreamer Space Shuttle’s primary research and development: NACA, Nevada Mountain, and Lockheed Martin. Although they had stronger research capabilities, this also led to certain issues of vested interests competing for their share.

For instance, this maiden flight should have been undertaken by the Falcon 9, but under various compromises, it was instead handled by the established launch contractor ULA’s Atlas V Rocket, which had greatly superfluous lift capacity.

NACA agreed to this begrudgingly, because in the earlier stages of the Dream Chaser project, these established contractors had invested a lot, and they had to be thrown a bone. They were already very dissatisfied with NACA’s support for SpaceX.

And then there was the FGD flexible gravity device; the giants tacitly ignored the fact that SpaceX had brought it up, wanting to join forces to seize the future artificial gravity device project and began actively promoting projects that could surpass the Starship.