Chapter 280 - 273 MSP_1

Pentagon.

In the AAF Air Force Intelligence Research Room, Michael Kelly had summoned NACA Director Claire again.

Kelly’s unprecedented seriousness made Claire have a bad premonition.

The intelligence analyst laid out a stack of photos on the table, explaining to Claire what had happened:

"Three hours ago, an RC135 at Okinawa Base accidentally caught the entire process of an H1 type spaceplane being launched into orbit using an airborne launch method.

The Aerospace Development Committee’s public announcement was brief, but we captured everything, both photos and videos."

Claire picked up a photo, which showed the Lightning Number just after it had separated from the An-1250, and he knew from the color of the exhaust that the engine of Lightning Number must be hydrogen fuel.

Since neither the Aerospace Development Committee nor New Yuan had released more information for the time being, they did not know the name of the Lightning Number; it was only marked "H1X" as a placeholder.

"MAKS," Claire said thoughtfully after a moment, voicing a string of letters.

"This is the former Union’s MAKS, the Multiuse Aerospace System. They use large transport airplanes to air-launch spaceplanes with external disposable fuel tanks. The Chinese have revived it.

Hmm... that’s right, they have large enough transport planes, and the spaceplane is ready-made. The H1X has undergone minor modifications, and that’s it."

Kerry said, "I’m aware of that. Did you notice? The H1X was launched in the Pacific Ocean."

Claire said, "The An-1250 can take it anywhere. It can freely choose its launch location, which is quite nice."

Kerry said, "Clearly, the X37B is behind again. I think aircraft airborne launches are cheaper and more convenient than rockets, right?"

Claire said, "Of course, each large transport plane is a movable launch site. The X37B’s maximum launch mass is also around 10 tons. If the fuel tank is between 120 to 160 tons, then the C5 transport plane can launch it.

So, do you want this?"

"The H1X is unmanned", the intelligence analyst answered for Kerry:

"We think this should be a civilian launch mission, but obviously, the Chinese X37B or whatever can also be launched like this. Unmanned is fine, so is manned. The size of the H1X hasn’t changed much, and the launch mass is definitely over 15 tons.

Do you remember the MiG-105? A real aerospace fighter, about the same size as the H1X but capable of carrying people. The X37B doesn’t have this potential; instead, the Dream Chaser is closer."

Kerry said, "We hope to develop an unmanned space fighter larger than the X37B based on the Dream Chaser, as well as manned ones. The survivability and convenience of airborne launches are what the Air Force needs. Tell me, how long will this take?"

Claire thought for a while, holding the photos on the table, carefully considering how to use existing equipment to develop America’s MAKS.

The transport plane C5 is enough, the T-tail doesn’t compare to the An-1250’s H-tail and might get burnt by the spaceplane’s exhaust, so we’ll need to wait a bit after deploying the composite before igniting, which will waste a bit of speed, but it’s not a big problem.

As for the modifications needed for the C5, we should ask Boeing, but carrying a mass below 200 tons should be sufficient.

The fuel tank is easy to handle; the old space shuttle technology is there and should be easy to solve.

Last is the spaceplane itself. The Dream Chaser is the right weight but will need some modifications, which shouldn’t be too difficult.

In the end, Claire raised a finger:

"One year’s time to develop the air-launched Dream Chaser system based on the C5. That’s already very fast. This project will require the participation of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Rockdain. As for the price... I believe 10 billion US dollars should complete it."

Kerry said, "Then we’ll call it the Multi-purpose aerospace program (MSP). Damn, we were so skeptical about spaceplanes before, and now we keep working on variously spaceplanes."

"With NSTS, FATS added to MSP, the Air Force’s budget is going to be drained dry by you guys at the space agency."

Claire, "Abandoning the space shuttle might have indeed been a mistake, but are we not correcting those mistakes? NACA is busier than you imagine, Mr. The H2M Pioneer Number will launch tomorrow, but our SLS won’t be ready for another half a month."

"Honestly, the main force behind MSP will be Boeing. NACA no longer has any more energy to spare."

...

"Exposure of a secret weapon, the aerospace fighter’s arrival!"

"The International Oceanographic Society warns that abandoned fuel tanks will cause serious pollution in the Pacific Ocean, exceeding heavy metal standards."

"A Pentagon spokesperson expressed serious concerns about the An-1250 conducting space shuttle launch operations in the South Pacific Ocean."

"New Yuan: Lightning Number is a commercial launch vehicle, not suited for military use."

"MAKS project revival, will the MiG-105 be reborn in China?"

Aerospace Development Committee downplayed the launch performance of Lightning Number with sparse announcements, but America got ahold of numerous images and videos from the RC135 and began to wildly speculate online."

They directly branded Lightning Number as a product of the Shenlong Program and earnestly simulated its ability to be carried by the An-1250, chasing and downing satellites."

American Air Force once again initiated an urgent motion in Congress, presenting the MSP program as a counterpart to Lightning Number, waxing eloquent on the air launch system’s advantages.

Just like with the FATS program, MSP’s mobile launch and low-cost benefits instantly became the future high ground in the military’s rhetoric. Media everywhere anticipated various terrifying scenarios and produced evidence from the Union’s MAKS program era.

New Yuan indeed came out to debunk rumors about the purpose of Lightning Number, but no one believed it, not even their own people.

The outside world crowned Lightning Number with the title of an aerospace plane; after all, it genuinely doesn’t discard booster rockets, relying solely on its power to fly to space, barely qualifying as an aerospace plane.

Domestically, the reaction was nothing but surprise mixed with pride. After all, with Lightning Number launching on the 27th and Pioneer Number set for its maiden flight on the 30th, launching two new spacecraft within a month seemed even stronger than America during the Cold War?

However, for the other players, this was a gut-wrenching revelation.

Yuri Borisov had just landed in Qiongzhou. He was invited to watch the first unmanned flight of Pioneer Number.

As the head of RKA paying another visit to China, his presence was clearly purposeful. Compared to the last visit, Russia’s economic momentum had improved a lot. With funds acquired from India, RKA had officially decided to begin feasibility studies on the crewed lunar landing program.

Competing for ranks against China and the US across the Pacific did not seem very realistic. Russia was being more cautious, planning to spend less to achieve the goal, aiming to set foot on the moon almost concurrently with European’s timeline.

Compared to the somewhat vague and rushed agreement on lunar base cooperation previously reached with CASA, this time it was much more detailed. For instance, they could negotiate specific parts to be manufactured and launched by Russia to fine-tune rocket development plans.

But no sooner had he touched down, he heard that the MAKS project Union failed to accomplish had been realized by them. Yuri felt his heart clogged with frustration.

Those were Union’s ideas, they were Russia’s own creativity!

Accompanying Yuri was the former chief designer of the Union’s rocket engines, Miklin Yevgeny, who had participated in parts of the development of the Energy Rocket’s main engines, as well as the MAKS, feeling the matter even more acutely.

There was a time when Russia could conduct space programs just as frequently, producing spacecraft as if they were sausages, but now it couldn’t even afford the funds to replicate past achievements.

Miklin was now 70 years old. He was currently presiding over the feasibility studies for Russia’s new generation of reusable rockets, but the biggest problem wasn’t technology; it was the funding that could not be assured.

How to chase the world’s leading level with limited funding was a question.