Chapter 361 - 353 Friends_1

"XAP launched a Venus Detector."

"No, it was two, and they are planning a sample return mission."

Musk countered Tom Muller, who had been so engrossed in the design work on Starship that even his attempts to catch up on the news were cursory.

The launch of "Tai Bai" and "Morning Star No.1" came as a surprise not just internationally, but also domestically. The project had been completed in a very short time, as if it had popped up overnight.

This time, Lightning Number changed its position to launch from the Indian Ocean. "Tai Bai" only waited for five hours to dock with the propulsion rocket, but by that time, Morning Star No.1 had already reached the second cosmic speed and entered the transfer orbit, pulling ahead first.

It was then that people discovered that the Aerospace Development Committee had launched two heavy-duty explorers, and their destination was the often-overlooked Venus.

Previously, NACA’s "Magellan" probe had flown past Venus and taken many photographs, but "Tai Bai" featured supersized optical modules that clearly could provide much more detailed imagery, not the rudimentary resolution capable of resolving only features as small as a football field like "Magellan".

The landing and sample return mission of Morning Star No.1 also sparked much interest, but there were many voices mocking the act of collecting samples from the atmosphere of Venus, obviously unaware of the fact that Venus has a gravity of 0.8 G.

From "Departing Fire" to "Tai Bai," what Musk saw was XAP really taking steps to expand their footprint in the universe, though SpaceX was still busy launching Star Chain.

The original version of Star Chain was a sorry sight, with bandwidth less than 10Gbps. Over the past six months, a third of them had become unresponsive due to various incidents, leading international space organizations to mark several dozen new space debris and criticize it as a waste of orbital resources and a rubbish project in the media.

But as a project supported by the Pentagon, Star Chain wouldn’t be hampered by these obstacles. The second-generation platform was being developed at an accelerated pace, aiming to increase the mass to 500 to 800 kilograms, which would mark a significant improvement over the first generation.

"Tom, the FAA has already issued a license for B6, meaning we could launch it in May, it’s just that we don’t have a successful Starship yet, otherwise it would be a much more spectacular sight."

Tom Muller: "This at least allows us to collect data for a Starship, instead of helplessly watching it explode in the sky."

Musk: "Do you also think the maiden flight of B6 is bound to fail? Perhaps we can create a miracle. The 27 engines of Heavy Falcon have all worked very well, without a single incident."

Tom Muller: "Buddy, I’m not like the others... I’m very aware of the huge vibrations the 33 engines of B6 will create. Even just firing them up at the same time is a disaster, refusing to install blast deflectors increases the chance of danger by 50%."

Musk: "I trust you guys, just as I trust the Dragon Spaceship."

The second generation of the Manned Dragon Spacecraft had quietly acquired all the necessary permits. Four astronauts had already donned the space suits designed by the Marvel superhero costume designer hired by Ma. Their appearance could be debated, but the style was undeniably unique.

Compared to the Dream Chaser, which was still awaiting reflight approval, the certification process for the Manned Dragon Spacecraft was much simpler. The risks associated with traditional spacecraft are well-controlled and almost always predictable.

An astronaut, an engineer, and two wealthy individuals were already in place, ready to head to space next week and orbit for three days.

If this trip goes without issue, the Dragon Spaceship will be able to take over the manned transport duties for the International Space Station.

Of course, more importantly, Ma will fulfill the promise he made last year to board the Dragon Spaceship and enter space. By leveraging this stunt, he had already successfully sold 20 tickets, all lined up for their turn in space.

However, before heading to space, Musk still had another destination: Modu City.

After another year of tough negotiations, the Tesla Modu Super Factory was finally seeing the possibility of becoming a reality, with just a little bit more to go.

...

Super Forum, space section.

The hottest thread of the day was, "The crew for Dawn III has been confirmed, who do you think it will include?"

Second hottest: "Why are Union and us both so interested in Venus?"

Third: "B6’s first flight is doomed to explode, marking this post as proof."

Zhou Qingfeng tapped away at the keyboard with a speed not typical for his age, swiftly leaving lengthy replies under three posts, and soon he got responses from others.

"Wow, Z God is online again, the scoop is awesome."

"Lol, Z God must live right next to the New Yuan base, he posted a ton of close-up shots before, that photo with the An-1250 and the new 600 in the same frame was epic."

"Z big shot also thinks B6 is gonna blow? How about I start a thread betting on how many engines will fail, winner gets a box of spicy strips."

"..."

Indeed, relying on his above-average amateur knowledge of aeronautics and the advantage of often getting close to the base, middle schooler Zhou Qingfeng had become a well-known "big shot" on the forum after being active for two years, often referred to as Z God because his avatar was the letter Z.

Zhou Qingfeng thoroughly enjoyed being adored, who would guess that the forum’s big shot was just a middle schooler?

As he continued to vent his day’s pent-up keyboard political views, he heard Zhou Rui’s voice:

"Qingfeng, stop playing and clean up the table, it’s dinner time, and take your backpack."

"Right away!"

Zhou Qingfeng hit the space bar, ready to close the laptop screen, when he noticed a notification blinking—someone was sending him a private message.

"Z big shot, are you there? I’m a fan of yours, and I’m going to travel to Rong City soon. Could you recommend a good spot near New Yuan to take photos of planes? I’d like to capture the An-1250."

Zhou Qingfeng, familiar with such private messages, quickly sent an address in reply.

The other party promptly sent thanks, and just as Zhou Qingfeng was about to leave, he received another message:

"I’ve always loved your articles, Z big shot, how about we add each other on WeChat? I’ll send you a red packet."

A red packet?!

Zhou Qingfeng’s spirits lifted instantly, but then sank again; he didn’t have a WeChat account, let alone a mobile phone.

So, with great heartache, he replied:

"Sorry, I don’t really like adding strangers, let’s not."

No sooner had he sent the message than the other party replied instantly:

"No worries, then I’ll get you a QQ membership without adding friends."

This time, Zhou Qingfeng couldn’t resist the temptation and quickly sent over his QQ number. In less than a minute, he saw that his QQ account had the super membership icon, and it was a one-year super membership!

A one-year super membership!

Zhou Qingfeng truly hadn’t expected to get a year of super membership that easily, and his regard for the stranger increased a lot. He took the initiative to say they could add each other on QQ, and the other person was delighted. Just like that, they became QQ friends.

At this moment, Zhou Rui called for dinner again, so Zhou Qingfeng left a message saying, "Let’s chat tonight," and hurried off to the living room.