Chapter 304 - 297 Budget_1

"ADC will launch the largest unmanned probe to Mars in history."

On January 17th, B4043 launched Lightning Number again in the South China Sea, successfully placing the Departing Fire Detector into orbit.

The Aerospace Development Committee notified the international community of the launch only a short time before liftoff, but even before the word "nuclear-powered" could cause a stir, an Island Country’s P3C detected something was amiss.

Each launch of Lightning Number is a major event, and because the launch from the aircraft is so flexible, they always look for the most fuel-efficient spot over international waters. Each time, two to four fighter jets are escorting.

The An-1250’s huge radar cross-section would appear on USAAF radars as soon as it took to the skies, and this time was no exception. An on-patrol P3C quickly approached and the pilots soon realized something was off.

Although the P3C is an anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft, it carries a wide variety of payloads, including extremely sensitive radiation detectors.

Though the Departing Fire’s reactor operates within safe radiation levels, the equipment could detect it from afar, and based on the radiation levels and size, nuclear experts could even deduce the power and type of the reactor.

B4043 acted quickly, turning back to the mainland after the launch, and then the Pentagon was in an uproar.

Before even receiving the Aerospace Development Committee’s international notification, they believed that Lightning Number was carrying a nuclear reactor and, coupled with New Yuan’s externally advertised nuclear-powered version H2, naturally assumed Lightning Number had been modified to nuclear power, a scaled-down H2.

Moreover, it has been decades since the world had seen the launch of a nuclear-powered spacecraft.

Isotope generators like RTG don’t count; they’re small in both size and power output. A reactor is different; its massive power supply is enough to support many types of space weapons envisaged by the AAF.

So, before the Aerospace Development Committee even had time to announce the successful launch of the Lightning Number mission, the Pentagon, a step ahead, strongly condemned the Aerospace Development Committee for launching a militarized spacecraft into space...

Although it turned out to be a misunderstanding a few hours later—after all, Departing Fire was destined for Mars and could not possibly be a militarized weapon—the incident still managed to ratchet up global tensions by +10.

Arguments erupted once more across both sides of the Pacific, while New Yuan 5A launched the Comet Propellant at the Xinyuan Launch Site as quickly as possible in the chaotic atmosphere to avoid any slip-ups.

And just two hours after the launch, it docked with the Departing Fire, which was orbiting near Earth—otherwise, if any country’s remote-sensing satellite happened to capture the lone Comet Propellant, being asked why a conventional propulsion segment had such a significant heat source and radiation could be quite embarrassing.

Fortunately, no mishaps occurred. Once docked into a composite body, remote sensing satellites couldn’t discern two heat sources, even if they noticed something, they wouldn’t be suspicious.

However, the existence of "Departing Fire" still added a lot of pressure to the world.

...

"Why is their probe so big, weighing a full 20 tons? We’ve launched a dozen probes to Mars, and together, they barely amount to that mass."

John questioned Director Claire, who, despite facing a man who would become the boss in just one day, still held a degree of reverence for him.

"Mr. John, this is the advantage of latecomers. In the past, we didn’t have reusable rockets, so naturally, we had to consider cost-effectiveness. Besides, their probe only weighs 10 tons, and if you deduct the reactor’s mass, it’s just 5 tons.

Now we have Falcon 9 and Heavy Falcon, and we can also send such heavy probes to Mars at a low cost. Moreover, the first part of ’Gateway’ is about to launch. This will be humanity’s first Lunar Orbital Station."

Mentioning "Gateway" seemed to ease John’s expression somewhat. SpaceX tactfully adjusted the launch date to January 22nd, aligning it with his inauguration speech, just like the Dream Chaser mission.

What better way to start a term than with two space missions back-to-back? Who could say I don’t support space exploration, that I don’t support the advancement of technology?

Seeing that John’s mood had improved considerably, Claire took out the carefully prepared "God of War Ares" project validation results and the preliminary budget assessment report.

Although one promise after another was made during the campaign, over two months had sobered John up somewhat. He had many institutions evaluate the God of War Ares project in succession, and in the end, NACA summarized it.

Although Claire was concerned about the nation’s capacity to undertake such an effort, neither NACA nor the military-industrial complex would give up an order that could last for decades, so they made extensive modifications and embellishments.

In the revised God of War Ares project, beyond vying for the honor of being the first on Mars, the more important goal was to achieve a breakthrough in over 60% of new technologies, taking astronautical science to the next level.

The specific content of the plan was still under discussion, but several benchmarks had already been set:

1. The Mars spacecraft must be equipped with a device capable of generating artificial gravity of more than 0.3G to ensure astronauts’ long-term living capacity;

2. The propulsion for crew transit is determined to be nuclear, to save fuel and provide abundant electricity;

3. At least three individuals will make up the first landing party;

4. Rockets of heavy-lift capacity or greater must be reusable to minimize costs;

5. The crewed Mars spacecraft’s departure from Earth must be no later than 2024.

As for the investment in the God of War Ares project, NACA estimated a total investment of around $120 billion over 8 years, with no less than $10 billion per year in the first three years.

$120 billion, doesn’t that seem a little low?

Of course, this is America’s usual tactic when applying for budgets; the actual funds for a project are usually several times, even ten times, the initially reported amount.

John was of course well aware of this, but he didn’t care much about the numbers. Even if it was $300 billion, it was only a small part of a series of actions he was about to take.

He nodded his head, "NACA has done well. I understand. Hmm, the Moon, you are going to achieve a return to the Moon next year, right?"

Claire: "The launch date for the third SLS won’t be later than March 2018, I can tell you, yes."

John: "Then can you tell me how much has already been spent on the Artemis project up to now?"

Claire: "Perhaps... a few tens of billions of dollars?"

John let out an "oh" and didn’t speak anymore. After a moment of silence, he asked Claire to leave, casually flipping through the over one hundred pages of the report submitted by NACA, and eventually placed it alongside his speech draft.

John had already made a decision in his mind about the God of War Ares project, but Congress had thrown him a hot potato: the ternary system.

The traditional electronics manufacturing giants had already felt the full malice of the ternary system, and smelled the risk of losing dominance in the chip market, submitting a proposal that seemed crazy even to the senators.

Implementing unrestricted measures from hardware to software, any aspect, would inevitably lead to strong turbulence if it were truly implemented. But it was undeniable that it could deal a devastating blow to many downstream manufacturers and the consumer electronics market.

John also found it hard to make a decision on this proposal, but he had to respond, or else Wall Street would bounce back uncontrollably.

With 24 hours left before the inauguration, John finally felt the weight of authority.