Chapter 340 - 332: The First Stage, Finished_1

The Union left Russia with a massive legacy, but taking over these legacies was not easy.

For example, to balance the member nations, the Union had distributed various production conglomerates everywhere. It was fine during the Union era, but now Russia had to figure out a way to replenish what other member nations had taken away if it wanted to do something.

But even after losing a large number of scientists, even with an economy far weaker than the Union’s, and despite other issues, Russia was still universally recognized as the third most likely country to achieve a lunar landing.

The "Star of Asia," a collaboration between India and the Island Country, stumbled from the start. Two half-hearted space "powers" coming together clearly couldn’t achieve 1+1=2. Even reaching 1+1=1.2 would be considered a miracle.

Ranked fourth was the European Space Agency’s "Selene" project. Although the European Space Agency lacked a usable manned spacecraft and had not developed a giant rocket, their combined technological and economic strength post-unification was not to be underestimated—for unity could hold hope.

As for other countries... Oh, Korea recently announced the development plan for its "World" rocket and indicated preparations for a lunar mission in 2030.

What were the parameters of the "World" rocket? The first stage rocket body and engines were purchased from Russian technology, with overall carrying capacity stronger than the Long March 1.

Stronger than Long March 1...

But the players in the world capable of operating carrier rockets could be counted on one hand, so if the "World" was successful, wouldn’t that be considered a decent achievement?

...

"The Pioneer spacecraft has completed the second phase of the space station assembly mission and is expected to return to Earth soon.

It is reported that the crew of the Pioneer took the experience from the first space shuttle truss installation and completed the installation of the next three radiating cabins and corresponding trusses for the Forward Space Station two days in advance, representing the scheduled completion of the first part of the Forward Space Station installation plan.

The mission commander for this flight was the heroic astronaut Liu Ming, with a payload specialist on board for the first time..."

On March 10th, the crew of the Pioneer completed the installation of all six radiating cabins and corresponding trusses for the Forward Space Station.

A combination body with a diameter of over 100 meters and a mass of over 430 tons appeared in space, immediately ranking alongside the International Space Station as the largest spacecraft operated by humans in orbit.

The addition of H2M sparked the rapid shaping of the previously isolated Forward Space Station, which had been drifting for half a year with only two modules; the internal support parts were installed in just two missions.

This massive artificial complex, roughly 100x100 meters in size, had already surpassed the International Space Station’s 100x80 meters.

At the playground of the Southern Aeronautical and Astronautical University, the astronomical society’s telescopes, even the most basic models, made it possible to see the "M"-shaped shadow of the Forward Space Station every evening.

Even on clear nights, those with good eyesight could spot it themselves.

Elon Musk leaned over the astronomical telescope, minutely adjusting the elevation through the eyepiece to carefully move the Forward Space Station into the center of the view.

His setup, naturally, was no ordinary entry-level model and could almost make out the trusses on the surface of the space station.

"Scott, she’s truly beautiful. I feel that only by living in such a space station can one truly experience the Space Age, where human bodies have not yet adapted to space, but they have brought their homes into space."

Musk was in fairly good spirits. After rigorous inspections, NACA had approved a preliminary unmanned full-status test flight for the Manned Dragon Spacecraft in mid-March. If there were no issues, they could proceed with a manned flight next time.

The second-generation "Dragon," cut in configurations, was far safer than the Dream Chaser. Now, under the supervision of the "2.22 Accident Investigation Committee," Lockheed Martin in the Nevada Mountains was disassembling every part of the Dream Chaser for individual safety reviews, with a total of over 1900 items.

If each were examined thoroughly, the Dream Chaser might rank among the safest spacecraft.

John swore never to launch American astronauts with Russian Alliance Spaceships again, so future missions would mostly be taken over by Dragon Spaceships and Dream Chasers. If nothing went wrong, Dragon Spaceship would get the first mission.

Additionally, the prototype of Starship SN12 had rolled out, prepared for new landing tests. The super heavy booster was also under urgent development. The exceptional test performance of the Raptor engines had given him ample confidence.

"Scott, is our new spacesuit ready?"

"It’s ready, but your personal doctor recommends you continue losing weight, otherwise..."

"Alright, alright, I know what to do. An extra 20 pounds won’t stop the Dragon from reaching orbit, will it?"

"..."

"Oh, how’s the progress on Lockheed Martin’s flexible cable? Can we install it on ’Dragon’ by this July?"

Scott: "They’re making good progress. Since Dragon weighs less than 15 tons, they can simply find a suitable material and make slight modifications. However, they also said that it’s an unproven technology..."

Musk shook his head to interrupt, "That’s exactly why we need to test it. We don’t have time for slow trials. Look at ’Forward,’ it’s the equivalent of at least four Starship spacecraft, and right now they’re passing over South America."

Since Ma introduced the concept of FGD (Flexible Gravity Device), he has been actively promoting the technology, with some support from NACA.

It might take a while to apply it to Starship, but the smaller, mature Dragon Spaceship was clearly a suitable testing subject. SpaceX and Lockheed Martin decided to collaborate on the research and development. Lockheed planned to apply the technology to the upcoming Orion spacecraft.

The current plan was to arrange the cable reel system between the propulsion and command modules of the Dragon Spaceship, which were almost the same weight and could be adjusted to maintain the same level.

The only issue was that the command module would need to detach from and then invert relative to the propulsion module during rotation to connect the cable at the original docking port of the Dragon Spaceship. Otherwise, the gravity experienced by astronauts inside the spacecraft would be directed towards the ceiling rather than their feet.

Additionally, Dragon’s command module required modification to reduce the crew to three people. The extra space would be used for added fuel, which would be needed for the engines to enter and exit the rotating state, and this fuel would have to be conserved.

The first validation spacecraft was expected to use a cable about 220 meters long, giving a radius of approximately 110 meters. Rotating at two revolutions per minute, it would generate 0.5G of gravity.

SpaceX had already delivered a manned version of the Dragon to Lockheed Martin for modification in their facility. It would operate unmanned in space for about a week before deciding to launch a second artificial gravity spacecraft.

If the first trial was entirely successful, it would surely attract substantial investment from NACA. Lockheed could develop a new Orion with FGD, and SpaceX could receive funding for further development of the Dragon and Starship.