Super technology leader

Hangar Number Four was one of the first assembly workshops built.

Secret projects needed to be kept low-key, so Tang Chao didn't assign it to Hangar Number One, but instead, threw it into Hangar Number Four.

Hangar Number One was the largest, used for assembling rockets.

The company's smallest rocket was over 40 meters long, and the super-heavy rockets under development would reach 80 meters, so of course, they needed the largest hangar.

But let's leave that aside for now, there's enough excitement to see here in Hangar Number Four.

Entering the actual workshop area, everything was pristine white, just like the anti-static suits they were wearing.

Various pieces of equipment were arranged neatly, numerous but not chaotic, with many engineers in similar anti-static suits busily working.

The most eye-catching thing was the spacecraft in front of them, surrounded by scaffolding, sky bridges, mobile ladders, and robotic arms. It was white on top and black on the bottom, giving off a space shuttle vibe, but overall it was flatter and looked sharper and more futuristic.

This was Navigator Company's first orbital shuttle that was nearing completion.

Or you could call it a Single-Stage-to-Orbit vehicle or a space plane.

It didn't have an official name yet, only a code name: "Dart X."

Well, because it used the T-1 "Dart" aerospike liquid-fueled engine.

Everything about this spacecraft was based on those six engines, so Tang Chao simply used the engine's name as its code name.

As for its positioning, well, although many people wanted to call it a "spaceplane," it simply wasn't.

Because a spaceplane is a new type of aircraft that can perform both aviation and spaceflight, a high-level combination of aviation and space technology.

But "Dart X" couldn't perform aviation flight, or at least, couldn't perform long-duration aviation flight, because it was equipped with rocket engines.

Everyone knows that rocket engines are all gas guzzlers... no, they're all oil whales.

Even if the fuel accounts for 90% of the spacecraft's takeoff weight, it's only a matter of minutes or tens of minutes.

This amount of time is like a shiver for an aircraft in the atmosphere, just enough to take off.

At this time, someone asks: "Has it started?"

And you say: "It's already over."

How embarrassing.

However, compared to traditional space shuttles, "Dart X" also has its own advantages, and they are huge.

Otherwise, Tang Chao wouldn't have taken it out as a transitional spacecraft, and also to fish for opportunities.

Zhang Liyan wouldn't have been willing to go bald for it, and then be so excited when it was nearing completion.

Traditional space shuttles were only available to the Americans and the dead White Bear, but they all needed auxiliary rockets to send them up. They couldn't enter orbit on their own.

Let's not talk about the White Bear's. The "Buran" space shuttle was purely sent up by a rocket, and it was never put into service, only test-fired.

It didn't exert any force during the takeoff phase itself, and the rocket that sent it into space was the legendary "Energia" rocket, with a low Earth orbit carrying capacity of over 100 tons.

The Americans had more space shuttles, and they all performed actual missions.

They also said that they didn't rely on rockets, and only needed to hang a fuel tank, and they could fly into space using their own engines throughout the entire process.

But the external orange fuel tank they used was bigger than themselves, and they looked like they were attached to the fuel tank. Not to mention that they also hung two solid rocket boosters, each of which could generate more than 1,500 tons of violent thrust.

So, saying they rely on themselves is just something to listen to.

But whether it's the White Bear's or the Americans', they have all been retired, and now it's the era of second-generation space shuttles.

Oh, possible, the future era.

Because the second-generation space shuttles are all in testing and have not yet been officially put into service.

The second-generation space shuttles have been reduced in size a lot, and are basically unmanned. They can be directly placed on top of the rocket and launched.

In the end, they still rely on external force.

The only one that can go to space on its own engine is the legendary reusable, unmanned, single-stage-to-orbit space plane "VentureStar"... of one-half reduced scale prototype - X-33.

This space plane can be erected and launched on the launch pad, and then land horizontally on the runway.

Unfortunately, this technology demonstrator, codenamed "X-33", has never taken off, and the final progress was fixed at 95% of parts manufacturing and 75% of assembly.

Then, it was shut down due to technical problems, leaving another big hole for space enthusiasts.

If "Dart X" can succeed, then really, it would be amazing!

It would definitely become an unprecedented achievement in the history of Earth's spaceflight.

Navigator's previous achievements, how should I put it...

When holding competitions, their prize money is not the highest internationally.

In terms of rockets, there were bigger ones decades ago.

In terms of lunar probes, lunar rovers, and sample returns, they are not the world's first.

The fifty-ton Moon Palace II, although large in tonnage, really doesn't have too many breakthroughs, just a large lunar lander, and it's not even manned.

So, Zhang Liyan's excitement about the completion of his company's single-stage-to-orbit vehicle is not fake at all.

Zhang Liyan took Tang Chao in and out of "Dart X", and circled it up, down, left, and right several times, introducing it in detail.

Tang Chao also listened with a smile.

However, most of this was done for outsiders to see, because he had already experienced today's scene on Kerbin.

Thinking about it now, according to Kerbin's time, it was already several years ago.

Time, it's really sigh-worthy.

When he first saw this kind of spacecraft, he was as excited as Zhang Liyan.

But now, several years have passed on Kerbin, and he even recently took a trip to Kerbin's "Moon" and "Mars", obtaining black technology like controllable nuclear fusion technology and nanobot technology, he really doesn't think much of this thing in front of him.

Of course, Tang Chao was still very happy to see it on Earth, especially in his own company.

This represents that Earth is about to usher in a new era of spaceflight, an era that reduces manned spaceflight from top-notch professionalism to popularization.

The cargo capacity of single-stage-to-orbit vehicles is extremely poor, and the carrying capacity is generally only 2% of the takeoff weight, or even less.

The reason for wanting to transport goods to space without separating anything is only because it was easy to have accidents when separating early rockets.

But as human technology becomes higher and higher, safe separation is no longer a problem, then overall orbit is not necessary, and recoverable rockets that discard dead weight at critical moments are more appealing.

Because their carrying capacity can reach about 5%, and the cargo hold is easier to build larger, and can easily carry large equipment.

Of course, that's for cargo transportation.

For humans, vehicles that don't drop anything look safer.

This kind of thing that flies in the sky and enters space, even dropping a bit of slag is frightening.

Not to mention dropping such a large section, or even having to drop it two or three times.

And for some precision equipment, this kind of horizontally taking off and landing vehicle is extremely "stable", and this "stability" is very important to them.

After introducing the "Dart X-1", which has reached 97% completion, Zhang Liyan took Tang Chao to see the "Dart X-2" in the back. The assembly completion of the 2nd prototype has reached 38%, and 45% of the parts have been manufactured.

Perhaps when the 1st prototype can do orbital testing, the 2nd prototype will be almost built.

Everyone in the factory is very much looking forward to it.

Chapter Two will be at 12 o'clock