Chapter 766 - 734 3D Printing

"Boom...rumble rumble rumble..."

As the biggest obstacle that once stood in the way of supersonic passenger jets, the disruptive effect of shockwaves was incredibly strong; they could be heard breaking the sound barrier from ten kilometers away, creating a tremendous noise.

However, for the citizens of Rong City, this had become somewhat commonplace. Not to mention the presence of Airworthiness Manufacture, which led to frequent loud noises from the sky, but after New Yuan’s arrival, the frequency of the noise almost doubled.

The jets from the flight school, the aero-space planes heading back to base for parts replacement and maintenance, New Yuan’s own C810 aircraft frames – they were all continuous sources of shockwaves. The quickly-adapted citizens hardly bothered to look up at the sound anymore.

This even became a major way to tell if someone was a local or not; anyone who looked up intently into the sky definitely hadn’t been in Rong City for long.

At an intersection in the southern district, a driver waiting at a red light suddenly shouted in surprise, rolling down the window and sticking his head out to look up at the sky.

The others waiting behind also looked up in confusion and then saw an incredible sight:

In the rare clear sky, a black object of indiscernible shape was moving at high speed, tracing an irregular arc. What set it apart was the faintly blue tail flame it emitted from its underside, which was noticeably deeper than that of an aviation engine, but far from a rocket’s.

But the true novelty lay in the position of the tail flame, at the bottom – something never before seen by the citizens of Rong City, who immediately realized it was some new contraption.

The unidentified object gradually lowered in altitude, now about 1,800 meters up. It was executing its last high-angle maneuver, frantically reducing its horizontal speed.

The Enterprise didn’t linger long over the city. Roughly ten seconds later, it completely vanished from the skies above the city, but not before it was captured in photos clearly showing its shape.

...

"500 meters!"

"300 meters!"

"150 meters!"

Meng Senlin’s deputy, Fang Haijun, reported the altitude numbers with a serious expression, the g-forces now coming from the right.

The Enterprise had clearly come into view on the runway in front of everyone at the base, appearing to them as if it were "drifting" sideways as it approached.

The entire landing process of the Enterprise was a series of large circles; it used its large underside to rub against the atmosphere to decelerate. The protective plating on its belly was already covered in oxidation marks from the scorching of the tail flames.

However, from the perspective of those on the ground, it was an entirely different sight.

He Tang was instantly reminded of the old Star Wars sci-fi films. As a research worker, he naturally analyzed ships like the Millennium Falcon and, aside from their technological pathways, the landing method of the spacecraft was shockingly impactful—

—And what he was seeing now was as if it were a scene from a sci-fi film come to life. The Enterprise grew from small to large in the view, tilting and moving sideways into the airport in an utterly counter-intuitive manner. Then it slowly spun to counteract the previous inertia, with the four nozzles on its underside gradually becoming vertical, inching closer to the runway.

Even though the landing spot was two hundred meters away from the crowd, the airflow stirred up was still like a gale blowing in everyone’s face, almost making it hard to open their eyes.

Eventually, small parts extended from beside each of the four propulsion nozzles, gently touching down onto the hardened ground. This large black artifact, after a journey through the atmosphere lasting over 100 minutes, had returned to its place of origin.

The water spraying vehicles quickly moved forward to spray mist and begin cooling the surface of the shuttle. About 10 minutes later, when the crowd gathered around, the side hatch of the Enterprise opened up.

...

[Your base has used the NPAE (improved version) engine to manufacture a multipurpose space shuttle and successfully completed a shuttle takeoff and landing test. Evaluation in progress...

NPAE (improved version): A pinnacle creation of jet engines, merging a fission reactor with the latest variable combustion chamber technology – a classic that remains cutting-edge for half a century.

Enterprise: An utterly unremarkable body design; most innovations are derived from advancements in materials science. Its appearance and internal structure have no significant advantages or disadvantages, but it still meets the standards.

A significant deviation detected in the current world line, reward adjustments will be made...]

Inside the base, Lin Ju couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. Since the System mentioned "deviation," it meant the future was now certain to be uncontrollable.

It wasn’t just about aliens; the situation on Earth could also undergo unexpected changes, which was very troubling.

[Settlement in progress, the development status of the base is considered good, rewarded with technology:

FTZ 0140-type 3D additive printer: In Year 4705 of the Huangdi Era, to solve the issue of fabricating the integral keel for the first space vessel "Hongxian," the Fuzhou Ship Administration Bureau developed the FTZ 0140 laser additive printer, capable of processing single segments up to 140 meters in size.

The FTZ0140 printer materials include a wide range of steels, titanium alloys, Hastelloy, nickel-cobalt alloys, and precious metals. It is also fitted with ultra-large laser welding equipment, suitable for processing ultra-high strength metal materials, with the assisting molding strength nearly equivalent to one-piece casting.

Provided with all technical documentation required for the production of the FTZ0140 3D printer and its associated welding equipment, as well as some unknown 3D printing materials and technical requirements for reference.

Note: The efficiency of 3D additive manufacturing is not high; it is not suitable for mass production.]

...

"A space printer? This isn’t just a printer, it’s a small spaceship!"

In the evening, a group of senior scientists gathered again to study the technical data Lin Ju had obtained, and their horizons were greatly expanded.