The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 448 Aerospace Science and Technology Conference (Subscription Request)
There was no report on the successful launch of the 'Long March 3B carrier rocket' and the 'Beidou test satellite '.

No one in the country knew that a milestone had been born for China's aerospace industry, ushering in a new era for China's aerospace industry.

A few days later, a conference on the aerospace field was held in Beijing.

The level of this conference was very high. The old man personally attended this science and technology conference. In addition, he was either a member of the academic department or a backbone force in the field of science and technology in China.

There are two topics in this meeting, one is 'Beidou Satellite Navigation System' and the other is 'Manned Space Engineering'.

At the meeting, the successful launch of the 'Long March 3B carrier rocket' and the 'Beidou test satellite ' was reported.

"It will take us 10 years to launch 38 Beidou satellites. Ten years later, that is, in 10, the Beidou satellite navigation system will be established. By then, there will be 1995 Beidou satellites with a global coverage rate of 98% in space, forming the entire Beidou satellite navigation system. It will take another 24 years to upgrade them, and by 10 we will have achieved the second generation of Beidou satellites." Liu Tao reported on the plan for the Beidou satellite navigation system.

The Beidou Satellite Navigation System was not built overnight. It took 10 years to build the first generation of the global satellite navigation system, and another 10 years to build the second generation of the global satellite navigation system.

This is a major event, a national event, which involves all aspects.

Corresponding adjustments and matching measures must be made in both the military and civilian fields.

There must be a master control station, data injection station and monitoring station on the ground, which means that we need to build 1 master control station, 3 data injection stations and 5 monitoring stations next.

In addition, there is a GPS receiver as the user end.

Only three of these satellites are needed to quickly determine the user's location and altitude on the earth. The more satellites that can be connected, the more accurate the decoded location will be.

This is naturally divided into civilian standard positioning services and military precise positioning services.

The military positioning service has a much higher positioning accuracy, far higher than civilian positioning services.

The Beidou navigation system has many advantages: it uses low-frequency signals and can maintain considerable signal penetration even in bad weather; its global coverage can reach 98%; it has three-dimensional constant speed and timing with high precision; it is fast, time-saving and efficient; it is widely used and multifunctional; it can be moved and positioned; unlike the dual-star positioning system, the receiver does not need to send any signal during use, which increases its concealment and improves its military application effectiveness.

Panshan Group will take the lead in providing technology and funds for the entire Beidou Satellite Navigation System, while China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will be responsible for launching Beidou Satellites. Both parties will also work together on application development.

This requires that the country allocate more educational resources in this area and cultivate more talents in aerospace and other related majors.

The entire project will cost about 10 billion RMB over the next ten years!
Ten billion RMB, this is far more than China’s spending on aerospace!
If Liu Tao had not mastered the relevant technology, it would have taken China at least 20 to 30 years, and the total expenditure would have been at least 300 to 400 billion RMB.

This is Liu Tao's role, saving a lot of time for China's scientific and technological research and development, as well as a lot of scientific research investment and avoiding detours.

38 Beidou satellites were launched in ten years, which means an average of 3.8 Beidou satellites were launched per year.

Before that, China might not launch a satellite in a year. Then, it was Mr. Qian who reported on the "manned space program". China must carry out the manned space program!

Because manned space flight is the most representative high-tech project of our time, the implementation of manned space flight has great practical and far-reaching significance for a country's politics, economy, science and technology, national defense, talent training and many other aspects.

Manned space flight is the epitome of space technology, and it has extremely important political influence on the world pattern and a country's international status.

When it comes to choosing the technology route for manned space flight, Mr. Qian chose manned spacecraft.

At that time, the world was experiencing the heyday of developing space shuttles. Many people were surprised that Qian chose to develop an "outdated" spacecraft.

You know, European and American countries and even the Soviet Union have abandoned the technical plan to develop spacecraft and instead developed reusable space shuttles.

Before this, many scientists believed that my country's manned space program should have a high starting point. Spacecraft are built and thrown away one by one, which has no future. We should advocate space shuttles.

"As a developing country, China should develop manned space flight by using spacecraft, which is economical, not too technically difficult, and already very mature." Qian said, "What's important is that China has mastered the recovery technology of returning satellites, which can be used to recover spacecraft. Therefore, developing spacecraft is more in line with my country's national conditions."

There are many scientists with different opinions.

The old man looked at Liu Tao and said, "Comrade Liu Tao, please give us your opinion."

"According to public information from the United States, a space shuttle has more than 250 million parts, 370 kilometers of cables, and 27000 heat-resistant tiles. It can be said that this is the most complicated machine ever built by humans, bar none!" Liu Tao said, "With our current level of technology, it is difficult to manufacture it in a short period of time. In addition, the development of a space shuttle requires more financial support. According to the US cost, a space shuttle costs about 30 billion US dollars. If we get a discount in China, it should cost 20 billion or 25 billion US dollars."

"According to Mr. Qian's estimate just now, the manned space program will require an investment of approximately 100 billion RMB, and it will take ten years to achieve manned space flight." Liu Tao said, "If we choose the space shuttle, regardless of whether it can be built, the entire manned project will require an investment of approximately 1000 billion RMB, a difference of ten times!"

"Can't you build a space shuttle?" a scientist questioned.

"Even if we can build a space shuttle, can we afford it? It costs about $5 million to launch a space shuttle for one mission!" Liu Tao asked, "Who will pay for it? Can the China National Aerospace Corporation's annual space funding support one launch? Are other space projects not being carried out?"

"How much money can the country invest in space projects every year?" Liu Tao mentioned a very crucial point.

Technology and funds!
Even if he can solve the technical problem, what about the funding?
He made a huge fortune from the Plaza Accord, but it was still not enough to support the entire manned space program using the space shuttle.

The old man couldn't help but feel a headache. The investment in spaceflight was too expensive.

Even though China's economy has improved significantly now, the country is unable to afford manned space projects.

After all, the country’s top priority and priority is still to develop the economy!

(End of this chapter)