Chapter 644 - 628: Objections

Philadelphia.

As one of the Ivy League universities, the University of Pennsylvania’s status and research strength are unquestionable, and it is particularly famous for giving birth to the world’s first electronic computer, ENIAC.

John chose to deliver his one-year anniversary speech here, which, to the entire faculty and students, seemed... quite interesting.

For the people of America in this world line, the year 2017 was truly extraordinary.

Two moon missions were carried out within six months, one of which was extremely perilous and almost turned into a space disaster of the century.

The status of NACA had also risen dramatically amidst fierce competition, setting a new record for its budget.

The NACA budget for the fiscal year 2017 exceeded 100 billion US Dollars including special approved funds, while just last year’s military spending was 630 billion US Dollars. Could it be that the space agency’s budget reached one-sixth of the military budget?!

This could only be compared to the time of the Apollo program. The abnormal space enthusiasm also greatly stimulated scientific research and helped revive the native declining manufacturing industry.

Although there were some discordant events such as exploding hydrogen bombs, the world could not yet be said to be flourishing, but to the people, especially to the elite and middle class, the feeling was: it’s not so bad, in fact, it’s quite good.

Therefore, their opinion of John was at least not lower than Xiaohei’s. According to a poll conducted on the eve of John’s speech, 68% of people thought he was "doing a good job," while 18% said he was "average," and only the remainder held opposing views.

These were internal statistics that could be trusted. After seeing them, the staff members all believed that reelection wouldn’t be a difficult task, barring any surprises.

John stepped onto the speaking platform full of confidence and spent ten minutes greeting the attendees, receiving a very enthusiastic response before he stood up straight and loudly shouted the slogan for this speech:

"Fly to outer space, fly to Jupiter, fly to Saturn, fly to Neptune, and move beyond the Solar System!"

...

United Mining Headquarters.

The three experts from the first Skylight No.1 landing mission had returned to the ground after three transfers. While they were resting, they were also actively involved in formulating follow-up plans for the mission.

Yang Xinjun’s space cement team had run back to the lab to work on an improvement plan, and Jamie, the UK nuclear expert, rested for a few days at a place arranged by the embassy before coming to United Mining Headquarters to exchange technical details with colleagues still in Tiangong or on the Moon.

The base would also listen in through a connection, acting as a record or offering suggestions for amendments.

"...Some of the previous data needs to be corrected, this investigation changed our understanding of the Moon Soil structure, and it is seriously inappropriate to apply the ideal model..."

Although the details that could be publicly discussed were not complex secrets, Jamie’s conversation with the other nuclear experts still baffled outsiders; only about four or five people at the base could completely understand what they were talking about.

One of them was the newly advanced A+ grade physicist Cheng Nankai, who had improved his understanding of not only nuclear physics but also particle physics and quantum mechanics, saying he was "looking at the world from a completely new perspective."

This also meant that he could participate in high-energy physics and micro gravity research. The A+ grade scientists at the base who could involve in this field included Ye Changsi, Cheng Nankai, Wu Yunfeng from the Institute of High Energy, and two other newly advanced theoretical physicists from the base, Qiao Wen and Gao Xie. These five people would lead several upcoming cutting-edge science plans.

They listened attentively to the exchange of the United Mining blasting group and concluded: Aside from some minor issues that did not affect the overall situation, the hydrogen bomb blasting plan was confirmed to be feasible.

Given the remaining investigation yet to be completed by Rosenberg, the blasting group’s nuclear experts believed the optimization of super-computer models could be completed within 20 to 40 days. Then they could prepare for the trial explosion of the first hydrogen bomb.

This progress was quite satisfying to Lin Ju, meaning if all went well, the first hydrogen bomb would detonate on the Moon by March, and United Mining would certainly become legendary for using a nuclear bomb on an extraterrestrial body for the first time.

"Old Ye, is it confirmed for the cavern?"

He suddenly looked towards Ye Changsi, who had heard rumors yesterday when discussing the nuclear propulsion retrofit of the Aero-Space Plane with the Aerospace Development Committee: Someone suggested utilizing the cavern discovered after the Artemis II crash, placing Yushu Base’s eight living modules and the Guanghan Palace Base inside the safety of a cavern.

The specific measure would be to move all living areas of the base underground and to seal the top of the cavern, leaving only the entrance open.

The main benefit was not really about meteorite defense—since a direct hit would be undefendable anyway. The ultimate goal was to protect against cosmic rays and the effects of nuclear explosions.

A layer of Moon Rock and Moon Soil would naturally weaken most of the radiation damage and was not susceptible to being compromised, which was far more convenient than adding protective layers to the chambers.

The issue of radiation in outer space had always been a significant problem. For example, the Van Allen radiation belt surrounding Earth. One of the reasons for the accusations of fake moon landings was that human spacecraft couldn’t possibly withstand the intense radiation of the Van Allen belts. Astronauts passing through would be sent to their deaths.

Although the Apollo program and several moon landings last year debunked this myth, in fact, each landing mission chose to pass through the weakest part of the Van Allen belts. No one dared to withstand the densest portions.

It’s worth mentioning that the Van Allen belts were discovered during the Apollo missions; NACA was startled upon observing it, once considering it might be the result of the Union detonating a large yield hydrogen bomb in space, indicating its immense power.

However, the eight segments of the Yushu Base were not designed with these factors in mind, since the 14 robots had not yet fully explored the cavern’s structure and geology; otherwise, a collapse would cause trouble.

Now it seemed the internal structure of the cavern had been clarified, which is why proposals like this were made.

"The ones in the future might, but the current plans remain unchanged,"

Ye Changsi replied:

"The eight segments of Yushu No.1 Base were designed to withstand those radiation issues, and moving to a cavern would complicate construction, not to mention the impact on the schedule. Their opinions are pretty much the same."

"That’s good to hear... What about the Aero-Space Plane? What’s their stance?"

When Lin Ju asked this time, Ye Changsi’s expression turned distinctly sour:

"No go. Although I assure that NPAE will be able to produce pre-mass production prototypes by March, meeting within the safe standard of propulsion material radiation, they still said it gave off a bad impression.

They even said they were unsure about approving the test flights for the XN90, claiming that no matter what, contaminants would be released, arguing we shouldn’t set such a precedent.

As for the Aero-Space Plane, production will continue according to plan, and the military’s first batch of four won’t be changed. As for nuclear propulsion, plans won’t be considered until they are clear."