From University Lecturer to Chief Academician

The space test of the light pressure engine has entered the final preparation stage.

The team focused on improving the small spacecraft. The small spacecraft produced by the space agency only provided the combined structure of superconducting batteries, Hall engines, and basic electronic control systems.

The electronic control system used by the small spacecraft is modified and developed based on the satellite control system.

The size of the small spacecraft determines that it cannot install a first-level radar signal receiver. Conventional communication signals must be used as a control method, and a release and recovery part must be added.

Release, that is, the small spacecraft takes off and operates independently from the high-pressure engine compartment.

This aspect is quite easy.

Small spaceships have their own power, and they can take off directly by opening the carrying compartment. It is even easier than taking off and landing aircraft from an aircraft carrier, because aircraft takeoff and landing on a space carrier need to be accelerated, while small spaceships take off in space and have no influence on the takeoff speed. If required, just accelerate away directly.

Recovery, in which the small spacecraft lands and returns to the carrier compartment, needs to be carefully studied.

A large collision during the process is likely to cause damage to the carrying compartment and small spacecraft.

The team had a long discussion and finally decided to start from two aspects. One is to add a landing bracket to the small spacecraft, which can firmly grasp the fixed rod in the carrier compartment.

In addition, the carrying cabin has also been modified to make the ground around the fixed pole and the inner wall of the cabin have certain elasticity and high temperature resistance.

This way, small collisions will have no impact.

The electronic system also requires very detailed research. It is not easy to control a small spacecraft, especially in the huge space. The electronic operation will be very complicated, and it also needs to have automatic recovery control function.

"It would be best if we could control the small spacecraft with just a few buttons."

"The test plan is to let the small spacecraft escape from the light pressure engine and circle the earth, and then control the return to the carrier cabin."

"If it is manual operation, it will be relatively simple. Automatic operation will be more difficult, but we must complete it."

This is the difference between drones and manned aircraft.

Manned aircraft can achieve more functions, have a larger operating space, and are more flexible. For example, some flexible fighter jets focus on flexibility, and fighter jets require pilots to control operations when taking off and landing.

Drones are all controlled automatically.

It is more technically difficult for large UAVs to take off and land autonomously, relying entirely on radar, electronic systems and corresponding automatic control functions.

Wang Hao participated in all research work related to small spacecraft.

Another main direction, the carrying and releasing of the V191 super-large satellite is relatively simple, and it can even be said that there is no difficulty.

All the team has to do is to conduct the test normally. When the light pressure engine reaches a certain height, it will control its lateral acceleration to a certain extent, and then the satellite can be released.

The V191's weight isn't an issue either.

For light pressure engines measured in 10,000 tons, there is almost no difference between 16 tons and 60 tons, and it is impossible to reach the upper limit of its carrying capacity.

The upper limit of the load capacity of the light pressure engine is estimated to be around 3,500 tons.

This does not mean that the maximum carrying capacity is 3,500 tons, but that when the carrying capacity exceeds 3,500 tons, it will affect the performance of the light pressure engine. For example, the flexibility will be significantly worse.

3,500 tons is a very astonishing figure.

In human history, the highest-performance launch vehicle is the Saturn V, with a near-Earth carrying capacity of no more than 118 tons. It once launched the 47-ton Apollo lunar module into lunar orbit.

Conventional large rockets generally have a carrying capacity of less than 30 tons.

The load capacity of the light pressure engine is now at its highest stage, because the engine's power system has been perfected, but many established components have not been assembled, which frees up a lot of capacity space.

In the future, when it is perfected to the level of an aerospace carrier, it will need to build more cabins, install more equipment, and carry more small spacecraft, which will increase a lot of weight.

First up is the cabin.

The light pressure engine unit has already made plans. They will build more than 20 cabins. The width of each cabin next to the concave reflector is about 8 meters and the length is about 18 meters.

18 meters is the width surrounding the cabin.

The space in the cabin is still very large, and the twenty cabins can be divided into various parts. In the future, the number of people that can be carried will reach more than two hundred.

The total length of the surrounding cabin is nearly 380 meters, and the manned cabin only occupies about half of it. The other parts are used to carry small spacecraft, cargo, and satellite equipment.

At the same time, several sets of gravity shield equipment and two sets of radar equipment will be added.

This is the most basic.

The design of the space carrier also includes alternative energy devices. For example, an annihilation particle device is added to the concave reflector for replacement use. A second device can also increase safety.

The power system will also be added with a light energy magnetization power generation device.

For superconducting batteries, two sets of backup batteries are also needed to cope with insufficient power supply.

etc.

These will be installed after the space test is completed, at which time the light pressure engine can be officially called a 'space carrier'.

…

A month later, Spacecraft Industries issued a "space test" announcement--

"All performance indicators of the light pressure engine have passed the safety evaluation, and we have determined that it will be tested in space on the 1st of next month."

The external announcement did not talk about the test content in detail. The only focus was that it would launch a super-large satellite weighing 16 tons.

When they saw the announcement from Aerospace Industries, many media and institutions breathed a sigh of relief. The content of the announcement was not unexpected, and they felt that they had finally waited for this day.

This day will come sooner or later.

Eight months ago, the light pressure engine underwent a high-altitude test. The test was not public, but detailed data was obtained later. The flight altitude of the light pressure engine exceeded 85 kilometers.

85 kilometers, that is, 85,000 meters, the flying altitude is very astonishing. As long as it increases by more than ten kilometers, it can be said with certainty that it has entered space.

In fact, 85 kilometers can barely be considered space, and the gap between 85 kilometers and 100 kilometers is not too big.

Later, the light pressure engine took off and landed three more times, but the maximum flight altitude was only 40,000 meters, which did not attract much attention.

It is now confirmed that space testing will be carried out, and the flight altitude will definitely exceed 100 kilometers. In addition, it is announced that it will carry and launch satellites, and it is likely to enter hundreds of kilometers of space.

"This should be a real space test."

"I also thought that the space test was at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers, but I didn't expect it to be hundreds of kilometers."

"Maybe it's more than 1,000 kilometers? With the performance of the light pressure engine, it feels like it's not impossible to land on the moon..."

Many people are discussing the performance of light pressure engines, but relevant agencies are more concerned about the weight of launched satellites.

16 tons!

This weight has far exceeded the heaviest satellite in the history of human spaceflight. As long as the launch is successful, it will rewrite the record.

The largest satellite in the history of human spaceflight is the "Jupiter 3" commercial communications satellite carried by the Space Exploration Company, which weighs up to 9.2 tons.

At that time, the "Jupiter 3" was transported to an altitude of 30,000 kilometers.

However, "Jupiter 3" is a geosynchronous satellite used for communications. It has not yet reached the set orbit altitude of 30,000 kilometers. "Jupiter 3" started its own engine again and continued to climb for more than 6,000 kilometers before reaching the target orbit.

As satellites become larger, the functions they can achieve become more powerful.

"Jupiter 3" has seven solar panels, with a total length of nearly 50 meters after unfolding. The most surprising thing is its communication capabilities. It uses a Ka-band antenna to achieve a communication capacity of up to 500Gbps.

The communication satellites launched during the same period had a communication capacity of only 100Gbps.

It can be seen that the satellite's fast head can naturally greatly improve its performance.

The satellite that the light pressure engine is now equipped with weighs up to 16 tons and must have very strong performance. Relevant agencies judge that it is likely to be a high-end military satellite.

More institutions are focusing on the weight itself. With the light pressure engine's magnitude, it can carry satellites of 16 tons, and it can carry satellites of higher weight.

If the carrying weight exceeds 100 tons, it can easily send the space station to the sky (the total weight of the Zhonghua Space Station is only about 100 tons, and it took more than a dozen rocket delivery missions to successfully build it).

If a single satellite exceeds 100 tons, the functions that can be achieved will be amazing.

The most basic thing is to greatly improve the quality of satellite communication. Today, for most areas, satellite communication is still a high-level vocabulary.

This is mainly because satellite communications have few functions and unstable signals.

However, satellite communication is the connection between equipment and satellites. A great advantage is that it will not be restricted by region. Whether it is in a high mountain or an uninhabited environment, the satellite communication signal is uniform.

If large satellites of tens or hundreds of tons can be transported into space, it is not impossible for satellite communications to make leapfrog progress and gradually replace conventional communication methods.

In addition, positioning, reconnaissance, detection, etc. will definitely be greatly improved.

When satellites become very large, the accuracy of positioning, reconnaissance, and detection will naturally increase.

In fact, the military is about to realize it. V191 is not an ordinary military satellite, but a satellite equipped with a first-level radar that integrates reconnaissance and communication functions.

The ultra-large first-order radar provides extremely high penetration, can detect a range of nearly 10,000 kilometers, and can also achieve barrier-free communication within 20,000 kilometers.

V191 is not a geostationary satellite. Its function is still mainly for reconnaissance and detection. The communication function is only an incidental function of connecting with the military radar station.

The launch of V191 is to detect overseas nuclear facilities, military bases, large aircraft carriers, etc. that may pose threats.

…

Before the light pressure engine was tested in space, international public opinion continued to be heated.

Many large media outlets are reporting on spacecraft companies, light pressure engines and high-end technologies, and there are also reporters looking for news materials from other aspects.

For example, SpaceX.

Light pressure engines are tested in space and large satellites are launched. The company that is most affected is the Space Exploration Company.

Prior to this, the share price of Space Exploration Company continued to fall, but not much, only about ten points in a year.

After the spacecraft company made the announcement, the stock price of the space exploration company immediately fell sharply, even falling fifteen points in one day.

Many stock market experts predict that the stock price of space exploration companies will continue to fall. If the light pressure engine can complete the release of large satellites, it would be good for the market value of space exploration companies to retain one-third of its original value.

This one-third is due to the large number of satellites that have been launched and will continue to provide satellite communication services to users.

Many reporters immediately went to interview Space Exploration Company. Their CEO Musk did not accept the interview. He just tweeted - Terry said that Space Exploration Company has the high-end technology, and he said helplessly -

“We are experiencing subversive technological suppression!”

Everyone can understand this sentence.

The technology of the Space Exploration Company is very high-end. The rocket recovery technology they have researched has greatly reduced the cost of satellite launches.

This technology loses its meaning when placed in front of the light pressure engine.

The light pressure engine continuously produces energy inside, consuming nothing more than maintenance costs, and its carrying capacity is ten to a hundred times higher than that of conventional large rockets.

This is pure technological crushing!

Musk is indeed depressed. His most famous names are Tesla and SpaceX.

A few years ago, the emergence of magnetized lithium materials greatly increased the performance of lithium batteries, allowing electric vehicles to easily exceed a thousand kilometers, and some can even reach two thousand kilometers. The performance of lithium batteries has become incredible.

At that time, the first company to apply for the use of lithium batteries was the Huajia Automobile brand.

It took a whole year for Tesla to apply for the use of ultra-high-performance magnetized lithium batteries, but the high-end market was also occupied by a large part.

Later, first-level silver was introduced, and other competitors used first-level silver to greatly enhance the performance of electronic systems, lithium batteries, and even electric motors.

Tesla was one step too late and suffered a second heavy blow.

If circumstances didn't allow it, Musk would have wanted to change his nationality and label his company a florist, but Tesla is easier to say, and Space Exploration Company is simply impossible, and he has always been more concerned about space. Explore the company's growth.

Now that the Space Exploration Company has also been significantly affected, Musk pursed his lips and stared, nodding. He felt that he should consider retiring in advance...

Or, let go of the company completely and seek new development as a flower grower?

…

One week before testing begins.

Many people can't wait, and many institutions have made preparations. They need to know more about the performance and scientific and technological information of the light pressure engine.

For example, the Hexagon.

Top officials have developed reconnaissance plans and even backup plans of attack.

The plan is not to directly attack the light pressure engine, but under special circumstances, a backup plan will be considered to interfere with the light pressure engine.

What if signal interference or other means that cannot be directly detected can affect the operation of the light pressure engine, causing it to lose control and crash?

They have arranged more than twenty satellites at various orbital altitudes for this purpose, specifically for reconnaissance and backup interference.

Senior officials also held consecutive meetings to discuss various plans. Their minimum requirement was to understand in detail the performance of the light pressure engine and the new technology system assembled.

Just as high-level officials were holding a new meeting, an officer suddenly entered the meeting and shouted, "New news! The flower grower has made an announcement!"

"What announcement?"

The officer immediately provided new information.

Senior officials also checked the new announcement together. Their expressions were disdainful at first, but soon turned to shock, and some even broke out in cold sweat--

From 12:00 on June 1st to 12:00 on June 3rd, the spacecraft company's light pressure engine will be tested in space.

In order to ensure the flight safety of space satellites, the light pressure engine base faces a cylindrical area 1,200 kilometers above the sky with a radius of 200 kilometers, prohibiting any aircraft or satellites in unconventional orbits from entering.

Conventional orbiting satellites that are not within the prohibited range are as follows: GW-13, GW-142, GW-143, GW-144, Starlink-81, Starlink-82, DN-31, DN-111, USA-215, USA-113, kh -3, unknown-1, unknown-2...

The announcement not only lists the code names of ‘orbiting satellites that are not within the prohibited range’, but also lists the images of each satellite below the code name.

It also includes some satellite images with unknown code names, and some even come with analyzed ‘trajectory functions’.