[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil":3,"chapter-you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-318":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","You were told to build a tractor, but you're building a rocket?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1305871,1735,"Chapter 318 - 311: Can’t Get Any Faster_1","you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-318",318,"\u003Cp>The nuclear-powered version of H2, also referred to as H2N (N for nuclear), had a highly diversified range of uses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First was the envisioned Earth-Moon round trip. The base’s lack of confidence in meeting the ambitious targets set by NAPE on schedule meant that H2N served as a backup for the XN90 spacecraft, capable of launching directly from Earth to carry out lunar missions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, like the H2M, it assisted in the construction tasks for the Forward Space Station. Other than having different power sources, it could play the same role as the H2M.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third, it was imagined as an unmanned transportation tool within the Solar System.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The H2N’s maximum takeoff mass from ground was 135 tons, but in space, it could further load cargo or attach external payload bays to reach a mass of 180 to 300 tons. With three A100 engines driving it, only 50 tons of fuel would be needed to travel to Mars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This also meant it could fly to Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, and many other planets, sending over 20 tons of payload (probes) without crew on these missions and then fly back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since it could enter the atmosphere, it was also capable of undergoing comprehensive repairs on Earth and, after refueling in low Earth orbit, serve continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, future Mars cargo transportation tasks could use low-cost, medium-sized launch methods to send cargo into space, and then H2N could transport it back and forth with just a little fuel, much more economically than large rockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since flight in a vacuum doesn’t affect the most crucial aspect of the spacecraft’s structure, its lifespan was extremely long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three A100 engines could provide a generous 30 tons of thrust. If the mass at departure was 200 tons, it was entirely possible to ignore the transfer windows between Mars and Earth. The round-trip would take no longer than 200 days at most, and as short as around 120 days, which could be dubbed \"Mars Cargo Express.\" It would consume about 25 to 50 tons of fuel to transport up to 100 tons of cargo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifty tons of liquid hydrogen cost about 5 million yuan, and if it could be produced in bulk on the Moon, the cost of sending it into space would be quite cheap. H2N space flights also hardly needed body maintenance, offering a cost-effectiveness that was frighteningly high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, such high-intensity service would still need to undergo rigorous testing before it could proceed, as nuclear power technology was also extremely challenging for New Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the A100 and NAPE belonged to future technologies. Even if they could be produced now, they would require substantial technical breakthroughs, and both the cost and production volume could not reach the levels that were expected during the era they were designed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many advanced manufacturing processes were beyond the capability of the era, and while compliant parts could still be made through semi-manual production and increased costs, whether they could actually meet the required reliability standards also needed long-term testing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This also highlighted the limitations of the base: as the technology it mastered moved further forward, even though the base’s processing level was among the world’s most advanced, it still encountered difficulties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, even now, Qingshan Base could not guarantee the successful and timely completion of the NAPE prototype manufacturing, despite having already started it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Lin Ju was not anxious, because even with New Yuan’s traditional aerospace technology level, it was sufficient to lead the world by many years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the next-generation manned spacecraft and lander used for the CZ-10 lunar mission were on the same technical level as the SLS program and, in terms of technological approaches, even harked back to the Apollo era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The naming of the next-generation manned spacecraft was also completed through public suggestions and online voting. Based on the historical origins of the Dawn project and the results of the vote, it was ultimately named \"Dawn\" Spaceship, in echo of the Dawn project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cost of the Dawn Spaceship was roughly the same as the Shenzhou Spaceship, but with a significant increase in crew capacity and technological advancement. Furthermore, it was reusable and had been confirmed as the successor to the Shenzhou Spaceship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, there were two models of the Dawn Spaceship, Model A being the initial version. It could carry 3-4 astronauts to the Moon or could be slightly modified into a 7-seat version for near-Earth missions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The B model was the initially conceived version for near-Earth missions with multiple passengers, capable of carrying 11 passengers. The service module was significantly reduced in size, designed specifically for near-Earth round trips, bringing the cost of a single launch down to about 20 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two A model vessels had passed inspection and were constructed; the progress on the B model was also swift, with an expectation to pass inspection this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If all went well, the Dawn 2 spacecraft (the first one being the maiden manned flight) used by the CZ-10A Remote 2 Rocket would continue to serve after being refitted, until it reached the end of its life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can it be done any faster, just a little faster?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Claire’s gaze, which even held a slight hint of a covert plea, Ken Hills, the head of Boeing’s SLS system, firmly shook his head and then explained softly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Excellency, Director, Boeing has already exerted its utmost efforts on the SLS. We also have to guarantee the FATS program and other aerospace projects in the same period. When we previously told you that eight months for the second SLS rocket was really the limit, we meant it was not possible to go any faster.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>NACA was no longer what it once had been, although it still maintained absolute leadership in space, a vast majority of the manufacturing capabilities remained in the hands of the traditional military-industrial complex, with Boeing being the main contractor for the SLS rocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the CZ-10A Remote 2 Rocket was erected in Qiongzhou, Claire could hardly believe her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six months, a super rocket every six months!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, according to the disclosed launch mission, this time they were to test the lander and ascent vehicle, which was almost a high-fidelity rehearsal for a lunar mission, except without carrying humans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant that if the head of CASA was bolder, or willing to take a risk, the next rocket wouldn’t need to just orbit the Moon, but could land on it directly, since all preconditions were fully mature!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What date would it be in six months’ time? By then, the second SLS would have just been completed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What would it be like for the Artemis program to lose to the Dawn program? How would it be for a plan that could trace its origins back 14 years, that began subsystem development 10 years ago, to lose to a program that started two years ago? What would it be like for America, which had succeeded in landing on the Moon five times, to lose the first spot in returning to the Moon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Claire felt as if her throat was gripped by a giant red hand, leaving her unable to breathe, frantically searching for ways to accelerate the lunar mission plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavy Falcon could be modified from the existing Heavy Falcon to deploy the lander, certainly before August, so that was not a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lander... the lander was also not much of a problem, Blue Origin in this timeline secured funding from Congress and strong support from NACA, fortunately not becoming the dawdler of the original timeline. The ground prototype testing of the \"Blue Moon\" lander was completed last month, according to the original schedule they were due this year, and accelerating that was not impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What about the Orion spacecraft? Though the idea of humans landing on the Moon on its first manned mission sounded risky, after all, these were mature technologies—it surely couldn’t be worse than the Dawn spacecraft, could it? This was not a problem either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last remaining issue was the second SLS rocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Initially, Boeing said eight months for the manufacturing cycle of the second rocket, which was somewhat boastful and an exaggeration—the eight months were actually quite compact and challenging to achieve. Therefore, when Claire hoped for an earlier completion, Boeing gave her a resolute denial. They were quite clear on their own capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But NACA didn’t dare gamble. If it took six months to make the second CZ-10, what if the third only took five months, or even four? Considering the Chinese way of laboring with insane overtime, it was indeed unpredictable.\u003C\u002Fp>",1433,"2026-06-05T18:20:54.444Z",1,"novelbin.me","e160094735a71c5fb03d40a5097150a4517808d8cc23b2b5f31653ce6a26b5b6","you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-319","you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-317",804,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fyou-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-cover.jpg"]