Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1366 The Chief Engineer's Ambition (Second update, please subscribe)
There were too many secrets in the Soviet Union.

Even so, for most people, they will never, ever know what is not a secret and what is a secret.

Just as all Soviet people knew, Soviet astronaut Gagarin knew that a Soviet rocket had sent the first artificial satellite into space, and that in the past few years the Soviet Union had launched probes to the moon, Venus, and Mars.

But apart from that, who developed the rocket?

Where the rocket was launched.

The vast majority of people knew nothing about it. They would only hear or see a sentence in newspapers or on the radio: the Soviet Union had once again successfully launched a spacecraft or satellite.

Even though Western countries' high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and reconnaissance satellites have photographed the Baikonur Cosmodrome, this place is still highly confidential to the Soviets and any snoopers may pay with their lives.

The Kazakh locals living near the launch site are very clear about this. They know that they cannot get close to the area surrounded by barbed wire. Not only that, but even the cars entering and leaving there cannot get close, because getting close to those cars may cost them a heavy price.

Fortunately, most of the materials transported to the launch site enter the launch site by train, and only occasionally some vehicles pass by here, just like now when a Victory sedan and a jeep are driving on the gravel road, the nearby herdsmen will actively avoid them to avoid unnecessary trouble.

The person sitting in the back seat of the car was none other than Korolev. Although the rockets he designed sent satellites and humans into space, the outside world knew nothing about him. However, to the Soviet high-level officials, he was no secret. Just like now, he had just received a local medal in Almaty - this was normal, because in addition to the medals awarded by Moscow, he also had medals from more than a dozen other republics.

However, now the gold medal was casually placed in his briefcase, and the briefcase was still the same shabby old bag with a history of more than 20 years.

Korolev, who was holding a document in his hand, could not help but exclaimed in surprise as he flipped through the document:
"The Athlon microprocessor... With it, the problems we encountered in engine control should be solved. 50 microns, 3068 transistors, it's really amazing!"

In amazement, Korolev said:

"But this microprocessor is too expensive. One microprocessor costs tens of thousands of rubles."

Even as the chief engineer, he was surprised by the high cost of chips.

"Chief Engineer, I heard that the Electronic Research Institute has begun researching this microprocessor. I believe that we will be able to successfully copy it soon."

"Well, let's hope so! An N1 rocket requires at least 20 of these microprocessors. If we rely on imports, a large part of our budget will have to be spent on them. Moreover, these microprocessors are bought with gold!"

Although Korolev did not understand foreign trade, he knew very well what was needed to buy various equipment from abroad - gold or US dollars, and the Soviet Union could only provide the former because the latter was too scarce. Because of the choice of barter trade, the Soviet Union lacked foreign exchange such as US dollars and could only pay with gold.

"The military does not support our exploration activities, believing that it is a waste of money. They need more funds to build missiles, so we must save every ruble..."

Unlike the United States' "Apollo Project" which had sufficient financial support, the Soviet Union's moon landing plan did not have sufficient funds. If it were not for Korolev's adeptness in dealing with high-level officials, the plan would probably have been stopped by the military long ago!
In this way, Korolev, sitting in the car, flipping through the instruction manual, was imagining his rocket in his mind.

In fact, his rocket has completed the basic design, but there are still many problems. However, it doesn’t matter. Whether it is launching a satellite or sending astronauts into space, success is not inevitable. It is risky... This is the nature of human space travel.

"The key is still the control of the 30 engines in the first stage..."

While Korolev was thinking about how to use the Athlon processor to control the engine, the convoy stopped at a checkpoint. The Internal Affairs Ministry officer in charge of the launch site's security looked through the car windows and carefully checked every one of them, even Korolev.

This is the principle.

Just like unscheduled aircraft are not allowed to land at the airport inside the launch site - because the plane he took when returning from receiving the honor in Almaty was not a scheduled one, even Korolev's plane could land at an airport more than 100 kilometers away from the launch site, and then return to the launch site by car.

In the Soviet Union, confidentiality was paramount and no one was exempt from it.

An hour later, Korolev finally returned to the office after a bumpy ride. Perhaps because of the long ride, he felt extremely uncomfortable. He frowned and even touched his heart. Three years ago, he was hospitalized for a heart attack. During his recovery, he was found to have kidney problems, which were caused by his early years as a hard labor prisoner.

The reality of his illness forced the doctor to ask him to rest for a long time, but Korolev not only did not rest, he even worked harder.

When Korolev opened his briefcase and took out a worn aluminum cup from it, he threw the medal box that had rolled into the cup aside and couldn't help complaining.

"Another two days wasted!"

The exquisite velvet medal box and the worn briefcase on the table are in stark contrast. This briefcase has been with Korolev for many years. He has no pursuit of material life. When he died in another world, there was only 16.24 rubles in his bankbook and the aluminum water cup that had accompanied him all the way from Siberia.

Although two days were wasted, Korolev realized the importance of these things. The experience in Siberia taught him that some things, seemingly useless, are extremely important.

After pouring a cup of hot water, Korolev once again walked to the drawing board, on which was hung the structural sketch of the N1 rocket.

"Engine, the key is still the engine..."

Holding the aluminum water cup in his hand, Korolev's brows were furrowed.
Ever since he was hospitalized three years ago, he felt the preciousness of his remaining life, so he decided to race against death and send humanity further into the universe before leaving this world.

From that time on, Korolev worked longer hours.

"The key is that the KORD system controls the thrust differentially of the 24 engines on the first-stage outer ring by adjusting the flow of propellant, and can shut down faulty engines relative to each other to ensure the normal flight of the rocket..."

KORD is the Russian abbreviation for rocket thrust controller, which controls all engines of the rocket. In another world, KORD cannot respond quickly and correctly to some fast-appearing events, so all four launches ended in failure.

But now, Korolev has a better choice. "KORD, microprocessor, now, we can start preparing for ground tests..."

While Korolev was thinking about all this, he felt extremely unwell, so he sat down and drank two sips of water. Still feeling unwell, he picked up the phone.

More than an hour later, in the hospital at the launch site, looking at Korolev who was about to be pushed into the operating room, his deputy Vasily Mishin, who heard the news, said:
"Sergey, I think we should go back to Moscow for the surgery, where there are better doctors and medical conditions."

Facing the assistant's persuasion, Korolev said:

"It's okay, it's just a minor operation. Such a minor operation can be done here."

The doctor's diagnosis was simple - the hemorrhoids were caused by sitting in the car for too long and the bumpy ride. Such a minor problem certainly did not require a trip to Moscow.

Although the doctors were reluctant to perform surgery on such a big shot, the operation was performed in Baikonur at Korolev's insistence.

"In a few days, we will conduct our first ground test. We can't let this little thing delay our progress. Vasily, the moon is there..."

Then Korolev smiled and said to the doctor:
"Okay, doctor, let's go into the operating room!"

In this way, Korolev was pushed into the operating room. Before anesthesia, the doctor took a look at his chin, noticed the scar on his chin, touched it deliberately, and asked.

"You ever hurt your jaw?"

"Yes, I broke my jaw in prison."

After listening to his answer, the doctor thought for a moment and said:
"Nurse, please give the chief engineer oxygen first."

"Is such a minor surgery necessary?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief Engineer, although this is a minor operation, I think we should still be cautious. I don't know if there will be any accidents during the operation, but we should consider this possibility. Because your mouth has been injured, it may not be able to open normally during the operation, so oxygen cannot be delivered. So, it is better to be careful."

The doctor warned cautiously. He now wanted to kick the chief engineer off the operating table. Such a big shot, lying on his operating table... It would be fatal!

Therefore, he had no choice but to be cautious and even deliberately "exaggerate" the risks.

In this way, Korolev was inserted into an oxygen tube, and after he lost consciousness due to anesthesia, the operation began.

Not long after the operation began, the doctor was dumbfounded:
"It seems to be not just hemorrhoids, but also a polyp."

What should we do now?
Now that the operation has begun, let’s continue!

As a professional, the doctor fully demonstrated his professionalism. Compared with ordinary hemorrhoid surgery, this operation is longer and although the doctor performing the operation is not as good as the experts in Moscow, he is at least much better than the drunkard expert.

In another world, Korolev's surgery was performed by Minister of Health Petrovsky himself, a great scientist of national treasure level. However, he drank too much on the day of the surgery.

At first, the operation went smoothly, but later, the nurses found that Korolev had difficulty breathing, so they wanted to give him oxygen. Because Korolev's jaw could not open normally, the oxygen tube could not be inserted, and just like that, this national treasure-level scientist died directly on the operating table.

This also completely rewrote the Soviet Union's space program!

The doctor didn't know all this at the time, and neither did Korolev who was sleeping.

However, as the operation progressed, the doctor also discovered that the polyp had a prodromal focus of the disease. As a result, the operation, which could have been completed in a short time, lasted for three hours.

By the time the operation was completed and Korolev was pushed out of the operating room, Vasily had even called for officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In fact, at the beginning, Vasily was waiting there patiently, but as he waited, he became a little uneasy, so he asked someone to call people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

When they heard that the chief engineer was in the operating room and had not come out for several hours, the KGB officers who were drinking immediately rushed over with a group of people. In case anything happened, they would all be exiled to Siberia.

When they arrived, the operating room door was finally opened!
The officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who had just arrived asked directly:
"Why did the operation take so long?"

"During the operation, I discovered that there was still a polyp, and it was the front focus of the lesion, so it was delayed until now, but..."

The doctor, who was in a state of emergency, began to explain nervously. After listening to his explanation, Vasily asked nervously:

"What about now? What's the situation now?"

"The operation went smoothly! Comrade Chief Engineer will be able to return to work soon!"

What they didn't know was that in another world, a few years later, it was the same surgery that took his life...

(End of this chapter)