Chapter 314 - 307: The Second Shot of Chang 10_1

In the 12,000-meter-high skies of Texas, the Starship SN5 prototype reached its peak altitude, attempting a point ignition vertical landing.

However, unlike the successful fifth flight of the CZ-6A, the luck of SN5 did not seem so good, the nozzles of its three "Raptor" first-generation engines swiveled so extensively that it was worrisome.

The computer tried its best to bring SN5 over the landing site, but its rate of descent was excessively high, utterly unbearable for the several hundred ton SN5.

In Musk’s raised eyebrows, the built-in landing gear of SN5 broke upon contact, the strength of the stainless steel body couldn’t withstand the impact, and it rapidly collapsed and deformed, the remaining fuel leaking out and turning into a fireball of billowing black smoke that enveloped the wreckage of SN5.

Ma patted Tom Muller on the shoulder, encouragingly saying,

"It’s ok buddy, you’ve done really well, we’ve got more data now, and we’re one step closer to success.

Starship is our future goal, it’s tough, but this little setback is trivial. Besides, we have already surpassed our competitors in some areas."

The "surpass" Musk was referring to was the Gateway lunar space station’s first phase construction mission on the 22nd of the last month, where the 13-ton HALO and PPE modules were launched by the Heavy Falcon Rocket and successfully delivered to the Moon’s orbit.

As the payload was light, the Heavy Falcon Rocket was able to recover its two common Core Stage One boosters; the central core stage had to work a bit longer and ultimately burned up in the atmosphere.

By the 26th, the combination had successfully reached the Moon’s orbit, and NACA is updating pictures and videos sent back from these two modules every day.

While they are not Lunar Rovers, these two modules are large in mass, powerful in communication, and generate a large amount of electricity, serving as strong probes to assist the lunar mission alongside the LRO.

In comparison, although the progress of the spaceplane on the other side is quite rapid, it still can’t match up in terms of the progress of the lunar mission!

Moreover, during these days, through partial information made public by the Aerospace Development Committee and LRO’s focused exploration of Kuom Impact Crater, NACA and European scientists have confirmed that there should be ice layers within 100 kilometers of the crater, though the difficulty of mining varies.

Such a large area couldn’t be claimed by the Aerospace Development Committee even if they wanted to; international law has already decreed that no one can claim sovereignty over extraterrestrial territories, it is based on actual control.

Actual control means internationally only uncrewed or crewed camps and robotic activity areas would be recognized; anything else doesn’t count.

Therefore, NACA is in a rush for unmanned probes but not that urgently; as long as humans get there first, priorities will definitely be higher than patrol missions, so focus on carrying out the manned lunar mission is enough.

Tom Muller managed a faint smile to Ma’s consoling words. As the chief designer of Starship, he was well aware that the seemingly clunky stainless steel Starship was actually more challenging, featuring many revolutionary designs, not something that could be achieved overnight.

The Starship Spacecraft was still somewhat manageable, but the envisioned super heavy booster equipped with 33 Raptor engines was a bit of a problem. Three engines with a thrust of 185 tons each were more terrifying than the N1’s twenty-nine 150-ton engines, an absolute nightmare for any traditional rocket specialist.

"Beep~Beep~"

Ma took out his phone; a user he followed on Little Blue Bird had posted new content.

He opened it and saw it was the Aerospace Development Committee:

"New year, new life, new rocket!"

Beneath the text was a photo of a port crane placing an approximately 50-meter-long, widened container on a semi-trailer truck, the container painted in red, white, and blue, and bearing the CASA and the MLEP (Manned Lunar Exploration Program) logos.

Tom Muller leaned over to glance at it and involuntarily muttered, "Damn!"

Musk: "Is that their new rocket?"

Tom Muller: "No, that’s the booster or Core Stage One of the CZ-10 rocket; it’s the second CZ-10!"

Musk: "But NACA said the second CZ-10 would only be finished between June and July."

Tom Mueller: "Obviously, we all underestimated the determination of the world’s leading industrial nation... God, it’s been less than six months since the last rocket launch, which means they could build at least two rockets a year. By this time next year they could be landing on the Moon, while our SLS rocket designated for lunar landing might have just started construction!"

Musk: "Director Claire must be close to losing her mind right now."

...

February 3rd, the first day back at work in the New Year.

Xie Liaofu got out of bed with a calm and composed air, then sat at the table in the living room, letting a woman pour him a freshly ground coffee.

Among the six gentlemen of the ball, Xie Liaofu was the first to succumb. He took a shining to Linna at first sight, who was half Russian in descent. Her father was an old intellectual from the Northeast with an impeccable background.

But Xie Liaofu still had Linna sign an employment contract under the pretense of arranging work for her when she entered the base; he was now quite enjoying having someone by his side in life.

Linna: "Liaofu, when can we move to another place to live?"

Xie Liaofu: "..."

Well, the System Research Institute’s capability was to ensure that personnel were loyal to the base and wouldn’t leak secrets, but it wasn’t about turning people into thoughtless slaves. Daily habits, hobbies, and the like wouldn’t change at all.

Coming from a different background, Xie Liaofu had no particular ambitions about personal life; the base’s environment was very comfortable for him. However, the woman’s mind was evidently different; she did not see the hurried researcher-filled base as her ideal living environment.

"Soon, very soon. I’ll report to the boss today and start looking for a place in the city..."

Not daring to linger any longer, Xie Liaofu finished his coffee in one breath, grabbed his bag, and headed out. Linna looked down from the balcony to see the uncrewed electric vehicle inside the base already waiting below, which automatically opened its door sensing that Xie Liaofu had left the house.

He got into the car, and without hesitation, the electric vehicle immediately started and drove towards the distant office building, where Lin Ju was already waiting.

When Xie Liaofu walked in, he found Lin Ju and Ye Changsi in the midst of discussing the design for the lunar space station.

Why hadn’t New Yuan made a move when America’s "Gateway" had already launched its first segment? Because they were still hesitating.

The hesitation stemmed from issues with the lunar space station’s design, whose purpose was to support lunar landings and Moon development, not merely serve as a habitat module.

The key link was its role as an energy supply station, which wasn’t just a single-function design but a systematic task involving uncrewed lunar to orbital fuel collection and transportation. Each stage of the process had to be clearly understood.

Ye Changsi, upon seeing Xie Liaofu, merely looked up to greet him and then continued discussing with Lin Ju:

"The most basic design parameter is the assumption that our space station can support a monthly Earth-Moon round-trip fuel resupply mission. Whether it’s for H2 or XN90, we need a storage capacity of at least 20 tons of fuel.

Therefore, the Moon must be able to guarantee the delivery of about 20 tons of fuel each month. If it’s to be transported by rockets, an additional 10 tons of fuel will be required for the launch. Hence, the lunar surface must have the capability to produce 1 ton of fuel per day."

Lin Ju: "Assuming we use hydrogen-oxygen fuel, that translates to at least 1250 cubic meters of hydrogen produced daily, or 50 cubic meters every hour."

Xie Liaofu, who’d scanned the notes on the table without lifting his head, interjected:

"50 cubic meters per hour, which is roughly 4.7 kilograms of hydrogen. A device capable of that would weigh at least 50 tons, with a power consumption of about 300 to 400 kilowatts. That’s no small piece of equipment."

Ye Changsi: "Technically, if built as an integral part, New Yuan No. 3 could transport it in one trip, but a complete system capable of mining, producing hydrogen, and then transporting and storing it, would be prohibitively expensive, potentially costing over 5 billion yuan."

Lin Ju: "But such a fuel station would be incredibly useful, especially when traveling to Mars and other destinations. Getting drinking water and fuel supplies on the Moon is much easier than from Earth, making it an ideal port for future spacecraft to embark from."