Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 916: The world’s first, high-thrust Hall thruster

Everything Cao Yang boasted finally came true.

This time the launch of the "Chang'e Space Station" will naturally be no exception.

After completing the launch of the core module, the second launch was carried out the next week, and more space station components began to be launched into space.

Not surprisingly, this launch was also very successful.

However, after the new components were launched, a brand new problem began to appear in the eyes of Venus Technology and its peers.

That is whether Venus Technology has the ability to perfectly assemble these components in space so that they can truly function.

This kind of work is actually not difficult at all on the ground.

Even assembly work is the simplest process for the production of many products.

But in space, this problem is not simple at all.

The Hall thruster utilizes the Hall effect. This effect means that when an energized conductor is placed in a magnetic field, the Lorentz force will deflect the charges in the conductor, thereby generating a voltage difference on both sides of the conductor, that is, the Hall voltage. .

There are various reasons for this.

Under normal circumstances, Hall thrusters can operate continuously for thousands of hours, while traditional rocket thrusters can only operate for a few minutes to a few hours.

Zhao Siyu stood in front of Cao Yang and watched the entire component assembly process.

For example, on the International Space Station, polar bears are needed to launch rockets and transport some fuel every year.

This gives Hall thrusters a great advantage during long voyages.

As long as a certain angle is slightly misadjusted, big problems may arise.

In the control hall inside Daystar Technology, technicians are methodically monitoring the assembly and connection of the core module of the Chang'e space station and other components.

No matter which result it is, it is definitely not what Cao Yang wants to see.

Many people are concerned about how Venus Technology will deal with this issue this time.

For example, it could be used to explore planets, stars, and black holes in distant galaxies, and even for interstellar travel.

"Open docking device number three!"

"The No. 1 Hall thruster starts normally!"

Because this means that you need to have relevant power output.

Although we have made full preparations before, this is the first practical operation after all, so everyone still pays more attention to it.

Compared with chemical rocket engines, this propulsion method does not require the combustion of fuel to generate high-temperature and high-pressure gases. Instead, it uses solar energy, magnetic fields, and electric fields to generate high-speed ion flows, so it can convert energy into thrust more efficiently.

If it's at best, it's just a waste of time and troubleshooting all over again. If it's more serious, it just destroys the device.

In addition to exploring the solar system, Hall thrusters can also play an important role in deep space exploration missions.

However, the space station needs to operate for a long time. If it relies on rockets, although it is not impossible, it will cause many problems.

However, China's technical level in this area was relatively poor before.

"It usually takes several days to assemble this kind of component for a general space station, but we completed all the work within half a day."

Therefore, many countries have conducted a lot of research on Hall thrusters.

Hall thrusters have extremely high efficiency and a long working life.

"The docking was successful!"

The polar bears began to study this stuff in the 1950s and 1960s. Although the United States has a slightly different direction, it is now vigorously developing technology in this area.

"Mr. Cao, this time the assembly speed of our core module and other components is several times faster than that of other space stations."

On the one hand, the various movements related to the space station itself are very subtle operations, and you cannot make big movements.

Cao Yang naturally knows the various design structures of the core cabin. After all, he has personally participated in many projects.

"The high-thrust Hall thruster plays an important role here."

For example, when humans begin to explore Mars and other planets, Hall thrusters can provide reliable propulsion for spacecraft, allowing spacecraft to travel in the solar system for years or even decades without having to worry about running out of fuel. .

However, as Qian Junfeng watched the docking process with Cao Yang and Zhao Siyu, he had countless questions in his mind that he wanted to confirm.

After all, similar operation simulations have been carried out countless times before.

The purpose is to allow the International Space Station to operate normally.

Since most of the work is completed automatically by the system, manual intervention will only occur when special circumstances arise.

In the past, many people felt that when watching some operations related to the space station, they felt that it was slow and unsatisfactory.

The core component of the Hall thruster is the ion generator, which contains ionized inert gases, such as argon and xenon. The Hall effect is used to generate an electric field and expel ions at a high speed of 10 to 80 kilometers per second, thereby generating thrust.

"The angle is adjusted properly!"

Of course, it is also very difficult to make big moves in space.

For example, when launching, it relies on the thrust of the rocket.

So controlling the atmosphere inside the hall is not particularly stressful.

"How much thrust can this Hall thruster achieve?"

Even though they have been catching up for many years, the thrust of the Hall thrusters of Aerospace Science and Technology is still within 1 Newton, and the unit can only be marked in millinewtons.

But polar bears and the United States have both entered the era of cattle as the unit.

Seeing that the Hall thruster installed on the core cabin of Daystar Technology was working better than he imagined, Qian Junfeng's first reaction was that the other party had made a relatively big breakthrough in the Hall thruster.

This is definitely not a trivial matter for China's aerospace industry.

Because of this technology, both the United States and the polar bears are blocking China.

They will never take the initiative to tell you how this thing should be designed.

This is also an important reason why China has not made any particularly big breakthroughs in recent years.

"Mr. Qian, the power of our Hall thruster has reached 120KW and the thrust has reached 6.4N. It is currently the number one in the world."

Zhao Siyu's light words brought a huge impact to Qian Junfeng.

6.4N?

Many people may think what can such a little push do?
Although the force of pushing with one hand is more than 6.4N.

But you need to know that the latest design data of the X3 Hall thruster developed by the United States is only 100KW power and 5.4N thrust.

And this is just their design data. It will take another three years to successfully develop this product according to the plan.

As a result, Venus Technology has now used 6.4N Hall thrusters on the Chang'e space station.

This is definitely an atomic bomb.

"Mr. Zhao, does the combined thrust of the four Hall thrusters reach 6.4N?"

In Qian Junfeng's view, even this result is already remarkable.

Not to mention being number one in the world, there is no problem with China being number one.

Being able to achieve this level is actually quite remarkable.

It is actually sufficient for use on the space station. As for various satellites, there is no problem at all.

However, this is definitely not what Zhao Siyu wants to express.

"It's the thrust of one Hall thruster that reaches 6.4N, not the combined thrust of the four."

"Otherwise, how could I dare to say that the thrust of this Hall thruster is the best in the world."

"Compared with the Hall thrusters we previously used on Starlink satellites, we have directly achieved a thrust increase of dozens of times."

"In the future, we can further improve on this basis and make greater contributions to our space exploration projects."

Zhao Siyu's face was filled with confidence.

Although there are still many rocket engines installed on the Chang'e space station, in order to quickly promote the movement of the space station in an emergency.

For example, in the event of a meteorite impact, the position of the space station needs to be quickly adjusted.

In terms of short-term explosive power, Hall thrusters are definitely incomparable to rocket engines.

But most of the time, Hall thrusters are enough.

Because it can work for a long time and continuously provide a thrust to the space station, from a physics point of view, it can eventually increase its speed to a very high speed.

And with the Hall thruster, the number of times the rocket engine is used can be greatly reduced.

This means that rocket fuel reserves can also be much smaller, and there is no need to add fuel frequently.

Take a look at the International Space Station. It costs hundreds of millions of dollars every year to refuel just because the work in this area is not done well.

This is definitely a huge burden and is very detrimental to the long-term operation of the space station.

"Mr. Cao, Mr. Zhao, without saying a word, you have brought another huge surprise to everyone."

"The United States and the polar bears have blocked our Hall thruster technology for so many years. I didn't expect that you would break through it like this."

"I think the 6.4N thrust will be the most advanced in the world in the next ten years."

"The only one who can defeat you is Venus Technology itself."

What Qian Junfeng said was really not flattery, but the truth from his heart.

Although this thing is just a gadget, the key is that it is used on most spacecraft.

Especially as China prepares to enter outer space on a large scale in the future, the demand for Hall thrusters will become even stronger.

The role that high-thrust Hall thrusters can play is absolutely huge.

Even according to the situation on Venus, Aerospace Technology needs to consider adjusting some of its future layout.

“Our ultimate goal is to expand the thrust of the Hall thruster to the level of 1,000 Newtons, so that the exploration of Mars and the construction of a Mars orbiting space station can greatly reduce the carrying of various fuels and provide astronauts with more adequate supply."

Zhao Siyu once again released a satellite.

A thousand-N Hall thruster is something that no one can even imagine.

Although Daystar Technology has not yet produced such exaggerated products, it is already very impressive that someone dares to set such a goal.

This gives people the feeling that when the tonnage of our ships has just exceeded 1 tons, you said that you want to build a super ship with a displacement of one million tons.

If an average company said this, everyone would treat it as a joke.

But when Venus Technology said this, the situation was different.

Qian Junfeng really thought about it seriously, thinking about what huge changes would happen if the Hall thruster could really reach 1000 N thrust in the future.

Let alone 1000 cows, even if it reaches 100 cows, that is an incredible change.

This pie is very exciting. "With Venus Technology's current technology accumulation, I feel that once the Chang'e space station is completed, the next phase of space exploration activities can be launched as soon as possible."

"Whether it is the launch of a lunar orbiting space station or a lunar satellite, or a further lunar landing, we can start to consider it."

"We can work closely together on this."

Qian Junfeng knew that in terms of technological accumulation of aerospace technology, it was estimated that there was no way to suppress Venus Technology.

The opponent's progress is really too fast.

In this case, the best way is to cooperate with Daystar Technology, and we can work on the follow-up projects together.

Of course, this kind of cooperation cannot be confirmed by simply chatting today.

Daystar Technology also needs to further clarify its specific plans before conducting in-depth discussions.

While Cao Yang and the others were watching the successful completion of the first phase of the Chang'e space station's assembly work, personnel from many companies such as NASA and Space Exploration Technology Corporation across the Pacific Ocean were also paying close attention to this scene.

Although Daystar Technology will release some information to the public on its official website and official WeChat account.

But all details will certainly not be released.

Therefore, NASA personally organized several forces to monitor the Chang'e space station in all aspects.

Even several military reconnaissance satellites have adjusted their orbits and angles in order to capture the clearest pictures of the Chang'e space station.

"Gentlemen, everyone has seen everything that just happened."

"The Chinese people are more exaggerated in their technological breakthroughs in the space station than we imagined."

"Especially when the core module was being adjusted, the rocket engine did not start."

"It can be seen from the halos that appear in the photo that the other party is using Hall thrusters."

"And the thrust of this Hall thruster must be very large."

"This is just a technological breakthrough that we have initially learned about. We may not necessarily know about other technological breakthroughs if Daystar Technology does not announce them to the public."

Griffin looked at the giants present with a heavy heart.

Many senior officials from SpaceX, Boeing, and NASA were present.

Everyone is more or less savvy with technology, and Venus Technology’s current Chang’e space station is obviously beyond their imagination.

"As for the Hall thruster, I remember that NASA is already developing a 5.4N high-thrust product, right?"

"In two or three years at most, this product should be successfully developed. By then it will definitely be far superior to the level in China."

John is also relatively familiar with many programs at NASA.

Seeing that Griffin had made the atmosphere a bit tense, he couldn't help but want to relieve everyone's pressure.

John is still very confident about the technological level of the United States.

"Yes, we are studying high-thrust Hall thrusters, and we expect to complete all research and development work in 2017."

"But I estimate that the thrust level of the Hall thrusters currently used by Daystar Technology will not be lower than our new products, and it is not surprising that it will even be higher."

As the administrator of NASA, Griffin understands technology.

From various aspects of data calculation, we can get a lot of useful information.

While this information may not necessarily be what they want to see, it is likely to be the truth.

That's why his face is so heavy.

Because he really felt the pressure that Daystar brought to NASA.

"Although the Hall thruster is a very important component, the level of the space station is not solely determined by the Hall thruster."

"I think we can further confirm all aspects of the situation before making a judgment."

As a representative of Boeing, David is not under so much pressure.

Although Boeing is an important participant in the U.S. aerospace industry, in terms of space exploration, Boeing is mainly involved in the field of satellites.

Therefore, the establishment of the Chang'e space station does not have that big a direct impact on Boeing.

Of course, the extent of the indirect impact is difficult to measure.

At least at this stage, no one can give an accurate answer.

"Our Space Exploration Technology Company's Starlink satellites also have Hall thrusters used to adjust the angle of the satellite."

"But the thrust is very small, and it can only achieve Weniu in time. If Venus Technology can really do better than NASA's latest products, that would be an exaggeration."

Masco is now full of a sense of crisis.

He is currently mainly involved in the electric vehicle and aerospace industries, but these two industries have a high degree of overlap with Future Automobile and Venus Technology.

"Don't we have many satellites in space?"

"Some of these satellites are nearing the end of their useful life or have already expired."

"Can we make good use of these satellites and wait until the Chang'e space station is completed and let these satellites accidentally collide with them?"

John suddenly made a very exaggerated suggestion.

It is always easier to destroy than to build.

To build a space station, even with the speed of Venus Technology, it took almost two years.

But if it were to be destroyed, it might only take a few seconds.

In space, it is very difficult to repair any damage.

And any kind of accident is possible.

After hearing John's words, Griffin's eyes lit up, but he knew that this was a Pandora's box.

Once opened, the situation may be completely out of control.

After all, the United States has abandoned satellites, and so does China.

Even Venus Technology now has thousands of satellites floating in the sky.

If the other side also gives America a few unexpected collisions, the situation will be completely out of control.

The impact of this is something that everyone has to consider.

"The orbits of those satellites that are abandoned or about to expire are relatively fixed. If there is a sudden change, the other party must know that we have done something, which will lead to uncontrollable consequences."

"So I think this plan is not very appropriate."

When Griffin said this, many people breathed a sigh of relief. After all, not everyone is so crazy.

But Griffin soon added, "But isn't the Space Exploration Technology Company launching Starlink satellites every month?"

"When there are so many Starlink satellites in the sky, the airspace where they can be launched will be relatively small."

"Let one of the Starlink satellites approach the Chang'e Space Station and see the other party's reaction first. I think it can be considered."

Obviously, although Griffin did not agree with John's proposal, he still adopted part of it.

It's just that the method he plans to use is gentler, and he doesn't directly engage in such a fierce conflict.

This point should be in line with what many people think.

Of course, Masco was a little confused after hearing this.

After all, once this happens, it means that the relationship with Daystar Technology will further deteriorate.

Although we were direct competitors in the past, there was no direct conflict.

After this incident, the situation will be completely different.

Maybe this is a life-or-death situation.

"Griffin, do you really want to do this?"

Although Musko is full of disgust for the competitor of Daystar Technology.

But he was still a little worried about using this method to suppress the other party.

After all, similar methods can be used by oneself, and the other party can also use them.

SpaceX has many Starlink satellites, but can there be as many as Venus Technologies?

Although the United States no longer has its own space station, it still has many aircraft.

"Do it, why not do it?"

"We cannot just watch as a Chinese private enterprise's aerospace technology is ahead of ours."

"Besides, we are just testing each other's reaction first, and we don't want to hit each other directly for the first time."

Griffin gave his reply with certainty.

The United States has always been very active in making trouble.

Any opponent that challenges U.S. interests needs to be suppressed.

Even if the means of suppression are disgusting and not in line with the rules, they must be done.

Anyway, they follow the view of the jungle and believe that history is written by the victors. .

As long as the United States can always be the winner, it doesn't matter what disgusting methods are used in the process.

At that time, many people on the Internet will even spontaneously help them explain.

After all, when a spacecraft is flying in space, it is normal for some accidents to occur, right?

"They have now launched for the second time, and soon the remaining components should be launched up and then assembled into a complete space station."

"We made plans in advance and started implementing this plan when their space station was just set up."

"It would be best if we could scare them and cause problems on the Chang'e space station."

Griffin said firmly.

He was even looking forward to this day.

"I think it would be better to wait until the Chang'e space station closes its components for the last time to conduct a collision attempt?"

"At that time, the opponent's space station had not been completed, and all forces were busy building the space station."

"This is the most likely situation for accidents to happen."

John said sadly.

His proposal was immediately agreed to by Griffin.

(End of this chapter)