Chapter 359 - 351 Prototype_1

"Annan? Do they have money?"

After listening to Shen Zuozhou’s explanation, Xiao Okada voiced his own doubts.

Shen Zuozhou shook his head:

"Money? They really can’t produce much, at best one hundred million US dollars, but some things are about more than just money.

I don’t know much else, but I’ve heard they’ve conceded a lot on some contentious issues, and now the higher-ups are in a good mood and planning to grant them some funds to support astronaut training, and further discussions aren’t out of the question.

Who knew they were actually sounding out the situation? Now, practically all the ASEAN countries have come knocking, wanting to see if they can catch up with the space trend."

Only then did Xiao Okada have an epiphany; no wonder someone had approached him—there were changes afoot.

In an instant, the context of many matters became clear. The Star of Asia project was something Kishimoto had forcefully driven forward to revitalize his countrymen, and there were certainly plenty of opposing parliament members. Naturally, some among them were looking to displace the Star of Asia with another project.

Cursing the dirty politics in his mind, Xiao Okada finally put aside his worries and once again clapped a hand on his good friend’s shoulder.

...

"Is this the Venus Detector? It looks a bit different."

The superior felt the soon-to-be-contained Morning Star No.1, its extremely smooth anti-corrosion surface providing a very peculiar tactile experience.

On the 9th, he had gone to Rong City for an inspection and detoured to the base, coincidentally just as the two Venus detectors were being prepared for shipment.

However, Lin Ju, who hurried back, was not surprised. Almost all the leaders passing through Sichuan loved to take a tour here; the base was always ready for them.

The leaders loved visiting the base partly because it was always in a highly alert state, with two squadrons of elite guards stationed, and coming here didn’t rouse a big commotion.

Moreover, every time they visited, the base was bustling with work, with no pretense of sprucing up just because someone was coming; everyone continued with their tasks, creating a comfortable and genuine atmosphere.

Xiao Okada hurriedly answered the superior’s question: "This is the lander. The part above is for sample return, while the bottom needs to survive under high pressure, high acidity, and high temperatures, so its shape needs to..."

The superior kept nodding, and then looked at the top part of Morning Star No.1, the saucer-shaped return device, and said:

"We’re going to launch it with a rocket of more than seven hundred tons, but only this small can, not much larger than a washbasin, will come back, and it will contain just a bit of air. It’s really quite poignant."

Xie Liaofu said: "Look over there, that’s ’Storm.’ It has a nuclear engine, and the March in the sky has one too. They can both go to Venus in the future and bring back much more, even possibly one day digging up soil from Venus and sending it back."

"I’m going to Qingshan Base later as well. The nuclear engines are excellent; your capabilities are beyond imagination," the superior said with great emotion. The establishment of Qingshan Base was actually quite complicated; it was negotiated with the nation using the Unity rescue mission and the involvement of Tiangong Space Station. The higher-ups always paid attention and were skeptical.

For a private company to research nuclear technology, especially highly advanced nuclear propulsion technology, a whole slew of veteran scientists at the academy shook their heads, especially after getting a clear picture of the list of nuclear technology experts at Xinyuan Company. Describing them as a "bunch of misfits" was certainly not an overstatement.

Watching Lin Ju invest several tens of billions into the project made these veteran scientists’ hearts bleed. They had submitted reports more than once, hinting that Xinyuan might as well give the money to them. Even forming a nominal company would be better—they could then consider it private capital utilizing state research power. At least that way, the money wouldn’t be squandered.

The extraordinarily advanced A100 engine might not be feasible, but a nuclear thermal engine with a specific impulse of three thousand is still possible. Just think of what could be done with several tens of billions of funding.

These voices didn’t quiet down until Qingshan Base was established. In their view, the people at Xinyuan Company simply couldn’t utilize those advanced facilities and would sooner or later ask for help. They were all prepared to take over the research.

However, when Cheng Nankai’s first creation, the CU15 reactor, came into being, it directly shook the materialist convictions of the scientists at the Academy of Sciences. Just how powerful was it at the outset?

Afterward, the A100 engine began taking shape at an astonishing rate. When the first prototype was tested at Test Site 257, several academicians from the Academy of Sciences came to observe and completely revised their understanding of Qingshan Base’s research capabilities.

The emergence of the A100 in its true form was even more unbelievable. Its technical specifications nearly reached the theoretical limits of fission engines, surpassing many Hall Thrusters—it simply didn’t seem like a product of this era.

A group of academicians were deeply shocked by the technical height of the A100 and went back to write reports for half a month. Merely observing the engine testing had inspired several heavyweight papers, which, however, were only circulated internally and couldn’t be published publicly.

Having seen the evaluations from them, the higher-ups gained a very direct understanding of Xinyuan Company’s nuclear technology and its leading position: about 30 years ahead of the world’s most advanced level.

This was no exaggeration. The technical specifications of the A100 would remain highly classified for a long time, as disclosing them would cause significant impact.

Therefore, the higher authorities’ concern for Lin Ju was infinitely heightened, especially since Xinyuan was involved in a large number of national defense projects, necessitating that nothing went wrong.

He didn’t skimp on praise for the people at the base, and then the jubilant crowd led him around for a tour, during which he witnessed Robot No. 2 learning to fry dishes in the cafeteria. He even offered a few pointers, and to everyone’s surprise, Robot No. 2 actually took them on board, astonishing the visiting leaders.

The superiors took note of Robot No. 2’s performance and discreetly glanced at Lin Ju before continuing the inspection, eventually reaching the main assembly hangar.

A large area had been cleared out, accommodating a big guy: the C832.

The C832’s first prototype, with the main body manufactured by the base, the wing beams produced by Factory 132, the vertical tail from Shenyang Aviation, and the horizontal stabilizers crafted by Hongdu. Portions of the wing’s main structure were made in Xi’an, while the electrical wiring was...

After all, the C832 is a passenger plane intended for mass production. Its parts suppliers are from all over the place. Xinyuan manufactured the airframe, engine, avionics—the three main components—as well as undertaking the final assembly and test flight tasks.

In the future, the airframe manufacturing and final assembly will be transferred to the large aircraft base in Yizhou. Currently, most of the C832 team from Southwest Commercial Aviation are residing at the base—many of them are also Xinyuan employees, so there’s no need for them to move.

The first flyable prototype’s parts have been arriving piece by piece for some time now, with the most complex airframe already installed. The wing structures and other small parts can be quickly attached. Right now, the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) is already in place; just two more XW-30 engines need to be added for it to be complete.

The superiors saw one of the XW-30 engines being installed on the C832 when they arrived. Its huge diameter was somewhat oppressive—it was the largest bypass ratio engine in the country.

As a prototype, the C832 was still in its yellow-green primer but was already capable of flying.

Although a twin-engine aircraft, the C832 is a wide-body mainline airliner with a range exceeding 14,000 kilometers. It is in the same class as the Boeing 747 and, naturally, not small in size—approximately the same as the Boeing 787.

The first reaction from the superiors was, "It’s so much bigger than the C919."

Of course, it’s bigger. The C832 is 68 meters in length with a wingspan of 60 meters, compared to the C919’s 39 meters in length and 36 meters wingspan—so the size difference is quite apparent.

Although its maximum takeoff weight is much less than the Boeing 747’s, it is only slightly smaller in size, making it no less prestigious as a special aircraft.