Chapter 336 - 328: The Development Dilemma_1

The answer was clear; New Yuan needed money, a great deal of money.

When Lin Ju gathered the engineers to discuss which technology patents to make available, everyone gave an astonishingly unanimous response.

There were two major capabilities of the system: the first was to ensure the loyalty and non-disclosure of the recognized research institute engineers after providing them with above-average treatment; the second was to advance the development of various new technologies as long as funding was provided.

As long as it was a technology that human beings could think of, there would be a progress bar in the research institute; all kinds of outrageous ideas were possible, except for "developing a perpetual motion machine," which at least indirectly proved that the law of conservation of energy was still correct, and humanity’s theories hadn’t completely collapsed.

In the fiscal year of 2016, the settlement system rewarded 10 billion yuan in special research funds, but this amount wasn’t too excessive because the technologies New Yuan currently needed the research institute to push were not simple commodities.

Utilizing the research institute also required skill; it was the most cost-effective method to comb through each project and research the most critical sub-technologies, as brute-forcing a large project ran a high risk of redundant construction.

While technological research could be done by the research institute, physical manufacturing was different; it required the consumption of tangible funds and time, like NAPE and A100, which needed real-world solutions to gather sufficient manufacturing conditions.

Why did the NAPE project consume a vast amount of funds? Because it was future technology that required the base to first have the manufacturing capabilities of the era designed for NAPE, breaking through technology that would only be developed in the next thirty years...

Of course, not all of it; otherwise, even hundreds of billions in funds wouldn’t suffice, yet it was certainly challenging enough.

The expansion of the base had gradually slowed down, with over 9,000 employees across three bases – and this didn’t include the basic workers who turned the screws.

In two and a half years of development, the base’s ultra-high level of automation and the regular use of skill cards meant that every worker in the base, except for the service staff, was at least a D-level, equivalent to an engineer level.

Simple and repetitive tasks such as screw turning were completed by automated equipment; otherwise, at least twenty thousand people would be needed.

Is ten thousand a large number? In aerospace, that’s actually quite a lot. The Apollo program directly involved just over thirty thousand people, and having ten thousand specialized technical staff is quite formidable.

However, this was far from sufficient for the future’s development. If the aerospace market could only sustain a size that New Yuan could survive on with ten thousand people, that wouldn’t be enough to support their continued exploration outward.

The market for space tourism and satellite launch services was limited, and commercial orders could only sustain a limited number of companies.

If New Yuan were to fight for these limited markets, they could indeed dominate all other aerospace enterprises and institutions with their technological advantage and form a monopoly, but then what?

A large number of private aerospace companies would constantly fail, the market would begin to shrink, countries would limit commercial launch orders to protect their own enterprises, and gradually, even the monopoly wouldn’t be profitable.

Apart from commercial needs, rocket-related military demands and the honor demands to showcase national power were the main driving forces behind aerospace development and progress.

New Yuan needed momentum, a market, the world’s demand, and people’s relentless investment in aerospace.

In fact, NACA had already faced such a dilemma; thus, they cooperated with the military-industrial complex to push initiatives like the Apollo program, Star Wars, the Space Shuttle, and the return to the Moon, although not as forcefully as New Yuan.

Promoting the Moon race, Mars race was an effort to support their existence and expansion; of course, New Yuan was also attempting to subsidize its space programs through diversified development in businesses like chips and automobiles, but it was not as quick as the competition in a larger context.

The engineers clearly laid out the essence of New Yuan’s challenging advancement beneath its flourishing exterior to Lin Ju, diluting the latter’s immense joy from the breakthrough achieved in the laser laboratory.

In the end, it was Xie Liaofu who summarized:

"It mainly comes down to money. Although our debt-to-equity ratio is almost zero compared to normal companies, and our cash reserves are in the tens of billions, our ability to generate funds is too weak. I’m also planning to continue to pursue large projects.

The reconstruction project of the Qiongzhou launch site was conducted jointly with Mr. Xu and China Construction. This type of infrastructure investment is strenuous and virtually unrewarding, which rendered the site unusable."

"Storm, the storm affects too much."

Ye Changsi took over the conversation, spinning his laptop around to face Lin Ju:

"The Meteorological Bureau has conducted calculations at three computing centers based on the satellite weather map we provided. This year’s first typhoon, ’Meihua,’ is about to form and will land in Qiongzhou in July.

We have too many launches this year; squeezing them together for a concentrated launch is only theoretically feasible, but in practice, ensuring personnel and preparations for materials are very difficult, and the recovery field is also a big issue.

I’ve discussed two options with Sergey. The first is to establish an overseas land-based launch site."

Ye Changsi straightforwardly moved to the blackboard opposite Lin Ju, flipped over the whiteboard side, and secured a map with magnetic pins.

"In Southeast Asia, Laos, Annan, these two countries can build launch sites with lower latitudes than Qiongzhou. In addition, Brunei, Indonesia, Malay, and several ports in Africa near the equator to the south are all ideal overseas launch locations."

No sooner had he spoken than most of the people at the table, including Lin Ju, shook their heads.

For one, the primary concern with this proposal was ensuring safety; secondly, it was an underdeveloped area where maintaining the launch site operation would be difficult, especially with a 99% probability of spotting a Nimitz-class carrier nearby, leading to an outright rejection.

"It seems that everyone has significant doubts about this option, so let’s consider the second plan: a mobile sea-launch platform."

The projector screen was pulled down, showcasing an image of a colossal structure, similar to an offshore oil drilling platform.

"A forty-thousand-ton class mobile sea-launch platform, integrating rocket fueling, assembly preparation, and temporary modifications, among various other capabilities. It can be moved to a calm sea area for launch by a semi-submersible barge, and likewise, utilize a sea recovery platform for retrieval.

Such a sea-launch platform can launch nearly all our rockets and isn’t affected by the weather, and can be moved to areas of extremely low latitude near the equator."

After finishing, Ye Changsi stepped aside, allowing the images and parameters on the screen to be displayed for everyone to consider seriously. This was a solution he had discussed with Xie Liaofu and Androff, costing close to 500 million yuan, but because of the short construction period, it required significant effort.

However, this proposal didn’t seem to receive a favorable response.

Chen Xuan, the chief of automation and control systems who had typically kept a low profile, was the first to voice objections:

"It’s too complicated. Apart from the effort put into constructing such a platform, it can only launch one rocket at a time, which is very inefficient. Transporting rockets is also troublesome; it’s better to assemble more points and launch collectively."

Ye Changsi: "Then build two."

"Even two isn’t sufficient. It’s about timing. Sea transportation lacks timeliness, and we don’t have time to spare."