Super technology leader

"The President is very disappointed in us!" Kunar, the spokesperson for the Meriken Space Agency, whose job was on the line, slammed the table in the meeting room.

It was a classic replay, and the others in the meeting room felt like this scene had happened several times before. Some even wanted to laugh.

"Tianxia is launching a manned lunar landing mission on the 16th of this month. According to our previously established plan, we must launch our manned lunar landing spacecraft before the end of the month. But now, we haven't even determined which plan to use for our lunar landing spacecraft!"

"Before, you all said your plans were 99% complete. It was difficult for us to judge or choose. Now, Tianxia has made the choice for us!"

"So, after a meeting of the think tank, the standard for adopting a plan is now unified. There is only one condition: whichever spacecraft can be launched the earliest, and must be launched within this month, we will adopt that plan!"

Okay, now some people can't laugh anymore.

The previous plan was indeed like this, and at that time, Tianxia had rescheduled the manned lunar landing mission to a later date. They didn't expect the other side to move it up so much.

Everyone was just saying things like '99% complete' because they wanted to compete for the order. If they didn't exaggerate, how would they show that they were awesome?

If you're not awesome, how would the space agency choose your plan?

It's like when you're late for work, do you tell your boss 'I didn't get up' or 'I'm on the way'?

If you've been playing all day and the client urges you to work, do you say 'I haven't started' or 'I'm working on it'?

The answer is obvious.

On the way (just getting up).jpg

Working on it (opening the computer).jpg

But now Tianxia has directly set the launch date for the 16th, and all systems have been activated. The equipment needed for the mission is already on the way, which is obviously serious.

The other side is serious, and the situation on the Meriken side is like the boss is directly at your door. Are you about to leave or almost at the company? The result will be out soon.

So now the three companies are a little flustered. Fortunately, not all three are '99% (newly created folder)'. Two companies have made good progress.

These are the two companies and two lunar landing devices that netizens don't favor, but industry insiders do.

Deep Blue Origin's "National Team" lunar landing device is a replica of the "Apollo" lunar landing device from back then. It is also a classic ascent and descent stage structure, stacked one on top of the other.

However, the "National Team" lunar landing device is larger and stacked higher.

The Apollo lunar landing device was 7 meters high, while the National Team lunar landing device reached 12 meters.

The weight also changed from 15 tons to more than 30 tons.

If you say it's an enlarged replica, it really is an enlarged replica. The Apollo spacecraft used stairs to descend, and it also uses stairs.

The key is that even though the Apollo lunar landing spacecraft's stairs were only 2 meters high, it took the astronauts a lot of effort to get down. But the National Team lunar landing spacecraft's stairs are as high as 9 meters...

This...

That's really straight and high, very spectacular.

But what looks spectacular on the ground is a fatal flaw on the moon.

When astronauts put on their cumbersome extravehicular suits to go down the stairs, it may take them a day to reach the lunar surface.

Fortunately, because the spacecraft has become larger, the spacecraft's stay on the lunar surface has also become longer. The Apollo lunar landing spacecraft's longest stay on the lunar surface was 3 days, while the National Team spacecraft can stay for 7 days, which is enough time for astronauts to get on and off the spacecraft.

The take-off is also a traditional take-off method, discarding the bulky descent stage, and the ascent stage's jet module takes the manned capsule into the air, then docks with the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit and returns to Earth.

Because its breakthrough is not significant, its progress is indeed good, and it is the fastest of the three plans.

Then there is the Power Systems Company's "Base" lunar landing device.

The reason it's called this name is because its appearance looks more like a lunar base than a spacecraft.

Its technical breakthrough is not significant, but there is a significant breakthrough in the arrangement of the power modules.

Compared to the National Team lunar landing spacecraft, which has larger modules and a height of over 12 meters, the height of the Base lunar landing spacecraft has decreased in the opposite direction, down to only 4 meters.

Of course, the manned capsule is low, but if the solar panels are unfolded upwards, it is not low, and the height also exceeds 10 meters.

The reason why the manned capsule has such a "low" height is because it removed the original power platform below and arranged it on both sides of the manned capsule.

There are two large fuel tanks on each side of the manned capsule. The injection system is installed on the two inner fuel tanks. When it lands, it first consumes the fuel in the outer fuel tanks. When it approaches the lunar surface, it discards the two outer fuel tanks, so it can land smoothly.

Take-off is easy. The extra things have already been discarded during landing, so you can directly ignite and take off.

The key is that its manned capsule is very low from the ground, so the stairs are also low, only 1 meter!

Not to mention that 9-meter-high thing, it is even lower than the previous 2-meter stairs, which is very convenient for astronauts to get on and off the spacecraft.

Because the structure has been changed, its progress is slower than Deep Blue Origin's spacecraft, but like Deep Blue Origin, it is led by its own company, and then gathers the strength of several companies to jointly develop it. If you urge the progress of other companies, it should be faster.

Of course, if it can be faster, Deep Blue Origin can also be faster, so it's basically the same.

Finally, there is Space Fork's "Lunar Starship," which netizens favor.

Compared to the joint research and development of the other two companies, it is fighting alone, and not only is it fighting alone, its lunar landing spacecraft is also super huge.

Its height has exceeded 30 meters, and its weight has also exceeded 100 tons.

The latest novel is first published at Six/Nine/Books/Bar!

Because the power system and fuel tanks are all below, its exit is more than 20 meters from the lunar surface, and you can only rely on elevators to go up and down.

This sounds exciting to netizens, but it also indirectly increases its development and use difficulty.

First of all, in terms of research and development, its target was the "standard lunar landing time" two years later, which was the official return to the moon time previously set by Meriken.

Who knew that the sudden appearance of the Pathfinder Company directly advanced the Tianxia people's lunar landing time by several years, and suddenly ran ahead of Meriken's return to the moon plan, so Meriken was unwilling and asked the three companies about their "99%" progress, and it also advanced.

In fact, it's okay to advance a little bit. Squeeze the time and make do with it. Who knew that Tianxia jumped three times and two times and directly jumped to the 16th of this month.

In this little time, the other two companies haven't completed it, let alone Space Fork's "juggernaut" Lunar Starship.

In terms of use, it also requires space orbit "refueling" technology.

The starship is too big and too heavy. If it is not refueled in Earth orbit, it will not be able to go anywhere.

If the time is two years later, all the problems will not be problems. With its "sci-fi" level performance and appearance, it will definitely be able to get the lunar landing order.

Unfortunately, there is no two years now.

So this time I can only give up.

Fortunately, Space Fork now has a large number of orders in Earth orbit and doesn't worry about making money. After a year or two, the Lunar Starship can still grab the lunar market.

The other two companies also understand this, so they must get this order.

Their lunar landing spacecraft does not have late-stage advantages, so they can only do the early stage first, and then think of a way.

The boss of Deep Blue Origin said: "Choose us, we can set the launch time on March 31, and our equipment progress has really reached 99%. There is enough time to do safety testing to ensure that this lunar landing mission is 100% successful."

Although the National Team lunar landing spacecraft is not as close to completion as he said, it is really almost there. Working 24 hours a day for a month is equivalent to three months of work days.

The boss of the power system refuted: "We can set the time on March 30, and we also guarantee 100% success of the mission. Moreover, the other party's spacecraft stairs are too high, and it is very dangerous for astronauts to go up and down, and it is extremely time-consuming, which seriously squeezes the time for scientific research."

"You..."

The boss of Deep Blue was anxious. He wanted to refute but it was not easy to refute. This was a direct exposure of shortcomings, so the thoughts in his brain flashed one after another. He had to think of a countermeasure.

Suddenly he thought of the Lunar Starship's elevator. Yes, we can also build an elevator!

"Height is not a problem, we can also build an elevator," the Deep Blue boss slapped the conference table and said excitedly: "The Lunar Starship's 20-meter exit height can be used for elevators, and our 9-meter height is even less of a problem!"

"And we can set the launch date on March 29! If we operate properly, we can still land on the moon in March!"

Chapter Two at 12 o'clock