Chapter 347 - 339 Vienna_1

Lin Ju first found a quiet place for the two of them before he began to explain:

"As for pharmacological approaches, the base thought that since zero gravity could cause muscle atrophy and osteoporosis, we might as well directly develop drugs that could promote muscle growth and increase bone density," he said.

Academician She nodded. This line of thought had been considered worldwide, but there had not been any significant progress.

"We continued development in this direction, and then at the end of February on that tourist flight, we took a reagent to try out experiments in a space environment. Unexpectedly, under microgravity, some wonderful reactions occurred.

Academician She, "What reactions?"

Lin Ju shook his head, "I don’t know. That’s what the research group said. Then they synthesized a large molecule with an extremely rare structure. Based on it, they produced a small amount of a solution that had a very noticeable effect when used on tissue samples."

Then Lin Ju almost guessed the effects of the No. 304 Injection and talked about the current difficulties:

"The next step is to experiment with primates as well as further human trials, but the base currently doesn’t have this qualification, so we’re looking for some support."

Academician She looked down and pondered for a while, his expression growing serious, "What you’re describing is all speculation. After all, it’s not a real human trial. Some of those effects are too exaggerated, I think we should be cautious."

These words implied that Academician She was telling Lin Ju not to be fooled by the grand promises made by the researchers because in his view, the No. 304 Injection and the "mysterious large molecule" were being overhyped, resembling the tactics of a charlatan, and it was contrary to his knowledge.

Lin Ju did not expect this reaction from Academician She, but it was also normal. Without clinical trials, new drugs lack persuasiveness. It was normal for Academician She to maintain skepticism.

However, this was also good. It served as an early warning to prevent the No. 304 Injection from having an excessively astonishing impact once it became practical.

Academician She, "...Well, I’m not the one to manage this, but I have an old classmate who should have a say in this. I’m aware of the taboos in such experiments. Not to mention anything else, monkeys and gorillas should be enough. As for human trials, this issue can be big or small. One is about medical qualifications, and the other is the effect your development has on the human body. But as long as there is no loss of life or severe repercussions, there shouldn’t be any problems."

Look, what’s called networking!

Lin Ju, "Sir She, our company took a piece of moon rock and made an ornament. I’ll send one to you."

"Ornaments?! You guys..." Academician She was speechless for a while, but after all, those moon soils were now the property of Xinyuan Company. It was their freedom to scatter them in the sea if they chose.

"Alright, what do the ornaments look like? Rockets or spacecraft?"

"Neither. It’s a panda. We got the moon soil in exchange with the provincial government. They did the design and manufacturing."

"..."

...

Qiongzhou Launch Site.

Inside the No. 3 Workstation Assembly Building, a New Yuan No. 3 rocket was being fitted with its payload fairing.

This time, it was launching one of the twelve centrifuge segments for the Forward Space Station: a living service module segment with a length of 44 meters and a weight of 90 tons.

Yet another colossal monolithic segment, it had the shape of a square rectangular section with an 11.8-meter side when viewed in a cross-section. Its interior was huge, divided into four areas by a cross-structure, though each separate area was approximately 5 meters in size.

Just one segment could provide 970 square meters of activity area, sufficient for more than ten astronauts to live—and indeed, the personnel configuration for each segment was exactly so.

The cross-structure inside was a later design addition. Without it, the space would have been wastefully large, and the pressure-resistant design for the square exterior would also have been more complicated.

Six living modules would altogether support long-term stays for 40 to 60 people, with each individual afforded a comfortable 10 to 15 square meters bedroom—an unimaginable luxury at this stage.

Not only that, but the living modules were also planned to be equipped with individual gyms, sports halls, swimming pools, and other entertainment facilities, offering an ultimate living experience, proud and unparalleled, just like on a typhoon-class nuclear submarine in what ought to be the most precious space.

As for the kitchens and bathrooms, needless to say, they are standard fittings. The Aerospace Bureau, which had taken over half of the service module design, naturally obtained knowledge of the living module’s technical parameters, and also participated in the design and brought forward many suggestions.

With an 11.8-meter width, the rectangular segments almost overturned the researchers’ stereotyped impression of aerospace equipment where every inch of space was precious. After piling on various designs according to development needs, they found the segment still spacious and had to wrack their brains to figure out what else could be installed.

As a result, the cost of the living module rose from an initial estimate of 80 million to 130 million, but this did not put Xinyuan under any pressure. The money paid by the Aerospace Bureau was almost enough to cover the construction costs of Forward, which allowed for more relaxed cost control.

In fact, a significant portion of the living module’s cost was due to the three interfaces: one large interface connecting to the radiating cabin, and two interfaces on either side for the connecting tubes. The three large interfaces accounted for over 20% of the cabin manufacturing cost.

However, these interfaces could not be eliminated. The one connecting to the radiating cabin goes without saying, but the two circumferential interfaces enabled the opening of twelve cabins, allowing astronauts to move freely while the space station rotated and facilitating the exchange of personnel and materials during operation, as well as emergency repair tasks.

The construction speed of the living modules was extremely fast since Xinyuan had already stockpiled enough No. 3 and No. 2 rockets, with most of the secondary rockets being recoverable, meaning there were not many manufacturing tasks for each launch.

The only spacecraft being produced at the base were the two H2Ns and the various segments of Forward. Two living modules were started simultaneously, and the second batch was already half completed...

The service modules, on the other hand, were more troublesome. All six service modules needed to be fitted with nuclear reactors and A100 nuclear engines while providing power, resources, and oxygen support for the entire space station, in addition to carrying many large scientific research instruments. The current estimated price also kept rising, ranging from 630 million to 1.4 billion each.

Of course, most of the money for the scientific equipment came from the Aerospace Bureau. However, the manufacturing had to wait for subsystem manufacturers, which slowed down the timeline. Moreover, the Aerospace Bureau was trying to use the precious experimental environment and vast space of Forward for various experiments, and the design plans required significant time.

But there was still hope to complete the entire space station by October, after all, the cabins were already prepared.

While the No. 3 rocket was being prepared for launch, a transport ship from Europe also arrived at Qiongzhou.

This was a rocket transport vessel manufactured in France, but what it carried was not a rocket but the "Vienna" Modular Space Hotel, produced by Italy Ariane Space Company.

It took fifteen months to complete construction. This super-luxurious space hotel, with France People joining in the design midway, perhaps wasn’t the most technologically advanced or the largest, but it was undoubtedly the first space hotel designed from the start for space tourism—the most luxurious, extravagant, and artistically beautiful.

When it docks with the Tiangong Space Station and officially opens for operation, it would signify a significant shift in the equity and nature of the Oriental International Space Hotel, attracting more customers.