Super technology leader

The rebirth or regeneration of artificial satellites is not as simple as it seems.

With the involvement of Navigator Aerospace, people can directly observe the process of research engineers building satellites, which appears quite simple—just installing some pre-prepared components.

However, this is only what is seen, what is presented in front of the camera. Behind the scenes, engineers have a lot of work to do. The engineers visible on camera are far from enough; a large number of personnel, facilities, and resources are operating around this artificial satellite.

Nevertheless, humanity's first upgrade and modification of an artificial satellite in outer space seems promising, giving more people confidence.

Confidence in the face of the universe, in the future of humanity!

Some are even contemplating whether humans can manufacture satellites directly in space in the future.

Manufacturing from scratch in space is undoubtedly challenging, as the only manufacturing equipment currently available in space is the Tianting Space Station's manufacturing center, which is only about 30 meters by 10 meters in size—smaller than some ground-based production equipment.

The lunar base also has some manufacturing equipment, but it is even smaller than the manufacturing center. One manufacturing center is equivalent to several lunar modules.

Oh, and there are also a few small 3D printers in the International Space Station and Tiangong, which are even smaller.

In fact, people are considering keeping the component production stage on the ground, as the ground has a complete production system, and it would be foolish to abandon it.

When people talk about manufacturing satellites in space, they mean manufacturing the parts on the ground, packaging them, transporting them to space, and finally assembling them in the maintenance module.

If the entire satellite is transported from the ground to space, there are too many things to consider, many of which are not necessary for the satellite's operation in space. However, those things become necessary for the overall transport from the ground.

If it's just parts, the structural strength of individual parts is certainly much greater than that of a satellite. As long as they are well-packaged, they can be sent to space with brute force.

By assembling satellites in space, the auxiliary structures related to "violent transportation" would certainly not be needed, so the same platform could be equipped with more devices, maximizing the utility of the satellite's functions.

However, this requires redesigning, which may not be possible in the short term.

But testing directly in space, especially with discarded or semi-discarded satellite platforms, doesn't seem too costly and is entirely feasible!

It's a great future direction!

Soon, Navigator and Tianxia's first space-upgraded and assembled satellite was moved out of the maintenance module and operated normally. Everyone was very happy, as human aerospace technology had taken another big step forward.

News reports often mention how dangerous Earth is and how harsh the environment is, but for ordinary humans, even the harshest environment on Earth is like paradise compared to other planets in the solar system. It's as if developing aerospace technology isn't that important.

Yet, humans are a species that loves to watch the excitement, so when aerospace technology continues to advance, they are also very excited.

They also want to see what's in the mysterious space.

For example, the neighboring Trisolaran system—are there Trisolarans?

Because the neighboring star system is the closest to the solar system, humans have the most fantasies about it.

After all, even for this nearest star system, people have analyzed that with humanity's current aerospace technology, it would take at least several hundred years to fly there.

Hundreds of years...

It's truly unimaginable what the human world will be like then.

At least for now, resource recycling in Earth's orbit has already begun.

However, due to communication issues, Navigator is currently still cooperating with Tianxia, salvaging Tianxia's satellites, reviving them, and upgrading them.

Their work speed is quite fast, repairing four satellites in half a month.

This includes the first satellite redesigned and upgraded from scratch, which took a full ten days.

The reason they can handle four satellites in half a month is that some satellites don't require such extensive work; some just need a fuel refill.

The fuel problem can now be handled by the lunar base. In the beginning, it's just providing fuel resupply for satellites and "worker bee" spacecraft. The daily consumption isn't high, so the lunar base's supply is not a problem.

Don't underestimate the fact that these fuels need to be transported from the moon by lunar spacecraft, but its transportation consumption is far less than that of "nearby" Earth.

This ultimately comes down to the issue of gravity and the atmosphere.

With sufficient fuel, engineering spacecraft can go out and play every day. They, uh, yes, they—because every few days, another maintenance module is launched, so two engineering spacecraft are now available.

In addition to transporting complete satellites, they also salvage space debris in orbit and transport it back.

Most of the basic operations of the two maintenance modules come from the manufacturing center, because they can't always transport things from the ground to space. Since they want to explore the possibility of humans living in space, the manufacturing center must be self-sufficient.

Space debris cannot be transported back arbitrarily, because this debris has owners. Every launch of a spacecraft on Earth is recorded, so they can't randomly retrieve things.

Currently, Tianxia has no problems. They signed an agreement, and completely scrapped aerospace equipment is directly recycled. Useless items are directly thrown into an electric furnace to be processed, which is also a good way to test the microgravity smelting project.

Some space debris is not okay, because it is complete, and the permissions are very clear. If it belongs to a certain country, it belongs to that country. But some things that have been shattered in collisions are hard to say.

For example, a fragment of a solar panel and battery board without any identification marks can be pulled back for recycling and reuse.

Even if there are identifiable remains, it's not a big problem. After bringing them back, they can be directly thrown into the furnace, and the output is material.

As long as it doesn't have a beacon, so that the original rights-holding country doesn't know that it overlaps with the location of the Tianting Space Station's manufacturing center.

Anyway, their current strategy is that complete, discarded satellites cannot be touched. Other unmarked debris can be salvaged and thrown into the furnace.

Because the worker bee spacecraft make enough round trips, and more and more astronauts work in the manufacturing center and maintenance module, they sometimes take photos or videos of the industrial area, which are then processed by Navigator Aerospace and uploaded to the internet. People have a more comprehensive understanding of the manufacturing and maintenance center.

Navigator Aerospace's actions are quite rapid, and the industrial area is nearly 80% complete.

Of course, the main reason is that the Yishan rocket and the design plan are reliable. Although the industrial area looks large, its transportation frequency is quite low. The individual modules are large, so only a few Yishan rocket launches are needed.

Currently, it has one manufacturing center and two maintenance modules, and later added eight large heat sinks specifically for cooling the manufacturing center.

It is still missing eight large fuel storage tanks to complete 100% assembly.

But that's not urgent, because there aren't that many spacecraft in space right now, and there aren't that many long-distance space missions, so a large amount of fuel resupply isn't needed.

Fuel resupply for small equipment can be done directly using the maintenance module, which can also store a lot of fuel, enough for two small engineering spacecraft and satellite maintenance refueling.

From some perspectives, the combination of the manufacturing center, maintenance module, and heat sink is not very large, with a length and width of only about 50 meters by 40 meters, but the array of solar cells deployed on the manufacturing center is really large.

Its deployed length reaches 120 meters, and its width reaches about 40 meters, so from certain angles on the ground, the effect captured by long-focus lens cameras is similar to the size of the International Space Station, except that the "light spot" of the industrial area appears thinner and longer.

Ultimately, it still did not dock with the current Tiangong Space Station, even though its large axial docking port seemed to be able to dock with the rotating simulated gravity module's large axial docking port.

It chose to operate independently, which also proved some people's previous guesses.

It will be built independently, and only after the commercial area is built will the final ultimate docking take place.

Actually... Navigator doesn't want this either. It also wants to build smoothly.

Starting from the initial docking, and then gradually building from small to large, increasing step by step.

Instead of building independent modules first and then docking them together to form the Tianting Space Station, as it is now.

The problem here lies in the fact that the Tianting Space Station is a huge project, a huge project that can nurture many companies.

Navigator has many competitors in the country, many private aerospace companies, but rather than saying they are competitors, it is better to say that Navigator is the thigh, and they are the pendants on this thigh.

The development level and technological level of the two sides are really not on the same line. They are far behind Navigator.

They have their own core technologies, and if they are given a little more time, they will grow into private aerospace companies with their own unique technologies, capable of entering the international market to compete and be tested.

But, Navigator appeared.

Its technology is simply a dimensionality reduction strike against those private aerospace companies. It is only because Tang Chao is the boss of Navigator, and he is also a Tianxia person, that he understands the predicament of being alone in the face of the future situation.

So he also agreed to support other aerospace companies, and even pulled out the national team to do technology "diffusion" together.

However, one cannot simply sell technology. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" is the best approach.

Only when these private aerospace companies digest the technology that has been diffused to them, and summarize their own new technologies, is the whole process complete, and those private aerospace companies can be considered to have grown.

This is the case now. Those companies have received orders from the Tianting Space Station, and while digesting and absorbing foreign technology, they are constantly seeking breakthroughs, so as to have their own new technologies, and jointly play the role of "many hands make light work" in the development of human aerospace, rather than a big shot bringing back a pile of firewood alone, lighting a bonfire, and they are sending barrages next to it.

"Wow, great!"

"666666!"

"Big shot is awesome!"

"I'm kneeling!"

Having only one person working and only one person being able to do the work is very unhealthy for an overall society. It is very dangerous to tie all the future to one person.

Tang Chao also understands this principle. Although he had a golden finger and for a while thought he was the protagonist, he later became sober again and felt that it was indeed a bit unreliable to tie the future of the world to himself.

Just like a country, if there is a rich man, or even the richest man in the world, but everyone in the country except him is very poor, then is this a developed country?

Obviously not.

This is definitely a deformed society.

Tang Chao did not think too highly of himself. He didn't want such a world, mainly because everyone except himself was poor. Who would he play with?

Can billionaires have a common language with poor people who have difficulty even getting enough to eat every day?

Such a world would definitely be boring, unless that richest man was a pervert.

But Tang Chao is obviously not a pervert.

Therefore, human civilization must develop comprehensively. Even if it cannot be truly comprehensive for various reasons, being relatively comprehensive is also acceptable. It is really not suitable for a single branch to develop forward in a unique way.

Maybe one day this unique branch will be cut off, leaving only a yard full of lawn.

If there are no flowers, no one will care about this yard. The lawn will slowly turn into weeds, and finally pile up, and no one will pay attention to it. The yard will definitely be dilapidated.

Just waiting for people is indeed unpleasant.

Navigator's industrial area is almost finished. After the eight fuel tanks are built, they can be transported up in four times. At that time, the progress of the entire industrial area can reach 100%.

As long as the lunar base is strong enough, the fuel supply station in Earth's orbit can be opened.

As for the commercial area, there is no sign of launching at all.

Oh, it's not that there is no sign at all. There is, and that is the two large rotating gravity simulation ring modules.

They are real ring modules, and a circle is a simulated gravity module. Small and medium-sized ones cannot be compared with them at all.

By the same token, large rotating gravity simulation modules are also more difficult to manufacture and assemble.

Therefore, their production and manufacturing company is Navigator Aerospace.

Large simulated gravity modules and large fuel tanks are Navigator's work, and they will be launched and assembled in space according to plan later. This is Navigator's later work.

In addition, the Tianting Space Station has to wait for other companies, so Navigator will certainly not be idle.

"The lunar base must hurry up. New fuel production equipment must be launched, and the aircraft specifically used to transport fuel must also be accelerated."

Tang Chao sat in the main seat of the conference room and talked eloquently, talking about their subsequent mission goals.

"The Yishan rocket is already a mature technology. It shouldn't be difficult to change its carrier into a fuel transporter that flies exclusively between the moon and Earth's orbit. I don't need it to enter the Earth's atmosphere. I need it to focus on transportation projects between the moon and Earth's orbit, just like the lunar spacecraft."

"Currently, orders from other private aerospace companies are being produced according to plan, but for us, their speed is too slow, so in addition to the projects I mentioned before, we must also start new projects."

"Our next stop," Tang Chao said, pointing at the screen. A red planet was displayed on the big screen in sync.

"Mars!"