I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

"How's the test going?"

At the B-level base, Serev jumped down from the door of Tengyun Engineering Unit 001 and asked his assistant about the situation of the Qiongzhou sea-launched sounding rocket.

"It's very good. Just clean the engine pipeline with high-pressure steam. There is no damage to the rocket body at all. What we are checking now is whether there are any hidden diseases caused by the sideways movement.

Minister Guo actually requested that the primary separator be modified to leave more space. "

Launching rockets in water is actually not uncommon, after all, this is what submarine-launched missiles are.

The corrosion of the engine and rocket body by seawater is actually not great, and can even be ignored. After all, the Baikonur energy rocket that was crushed by snow has not rusted on the rocket body for so many years. It only needs to be slightly improved in some small areas.

Not to mention the engine, it can even withstand the strong corrosion and high-temperature conditions of liquid hydrogen, so seawater is nothing.

So there shouldn't be any problems with the test, it's abnormal if there is.

"Very good, let's urge the auxiliary system to prepare all the supporting facilities as soon as possible. A drill must be conducted before the official launch. The No. 4 rocket is so expensive, and it will be troublesome to repair it if it gets bumped."

Serev is quite reassured about Xinyuan 4. This super rocket is basically manufactured by the base, and the design and manufacturing are guaranteed. The only worry is the transportation and launch system. Other manufacturers are too easy to fall behind.

For example, the "Tengyun" No. 001 prototype underwent its first ground taxiing test on the night of September 17, and problems were immediately discovered.

Fortunately, it was just a minor trouble on the pipeline, but Serev immediately ordered the base and technical experts from various design institutes to support a comprehensive inspection, and spent twelve days working overtime to complete several static tests.

The original schedule of the first flight on September 25 can only be shelved. Tomorrow is September 30. There is only one day left before the National Day. This is the last opportunity for the first flight.

It was already 20 o'clock in the evening, but Serev looked at the chief engineer and researchers present, waved and shouted:

"Just stay here today and fly tomorrow!"

Standing under the large wing of Tengyun, Zeng Hongwei was using a flashlight to personally inspect the insulation skin. Hearing this, he put away the flashlight and slowly climbed down from the moving escalator.

Tengyun is quite big, with a body height of more than 5.8 meters. Ground maintenance requires escalators, which makes it uncomfortable to keep your head up.

Zeng Hongwei moved his neck and walked to Serev's side, then put his eyes on Teng Yun's body:

"Mr. Xie, is it too risky to enter orbit on the first flight?"

Serev: "It's all the same. Don't think of it as an airplane. This is a spacecraft. Its reliability requirements and design process are different from those of an airplane. We must have confidence in our rocket.

Look, our test pilots... how hard are the astronauts? "

Following his finger, he could see the cockpit glass lit up by Tengyun. The four astronauts inside, two of whom were flight engineers, were conducting their final simulation.

The theoretical limit flight interval of H1 is 7 to 10 days, H2 is at least 15 days, and Tengyun’s design interval is 2 hours.

Theoretically, Tengyun does not even need maintenance after landing. It can go to space again after filling up with fuel. After 15 trips to and from the atmosphere, it requires a 24-hour maintenance and inspection. After 60 takeoffs and landings, it needs to return to the factory for 3 days of mid-term maintenance. Warranty requires regular inspection and mandatory overhaul every 240 flights.

As for its take-off and landing life?

1000 times, and can be extended depending on the body condition.

The ex-factory price of each Tengyun is 3.8 billion yuan. Including the fuel and other expenses of 900,000 yuan per flight, the cost of a single flight is 4.7 million yuan after 1,000 lifespans. It can carry 22 passengers including two pilots. passengers, which is just over 200,000 yuan per person.

If you don’t calculate the cost, it would be even cheaper. It costs 40,900 yuan to send one person. If there is no extravehicular action, the cost of a single astronaut going to space can definitely be controlled within 100,000 yuan, which is shockingly cheap.

This is largely due to Tengyun's insistence on using liquid oxygen methane fuel, which has a poor specificity for SSTO. One fuel refill costs just over 400,000 yuan, while liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are not as good as this.

130 tons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel cost about 2.1 million yuan. The price is not too high, but the transportation and storage costs must not be ignored. The zero-evaporation storage tank is also quite expensive!

This is definitely an epoch-making product in the history of aerospace. If the Xinyuan-4 rocket is the ultimate product of the violent concept of chemical engines, Tengyun has squeezed out the last trace of potential of the chemical fuel itself on a technical level.

It is no exaggeration to say that the emergence of Tengyun is equivalent to the launch of a dreadnought, directly sweeping all previous spacecraft into orbit into the garbage heap, symbolizing the end of an era.

Although the beginning of the next era is still brewing at Qingshan Base, it is also trying to approach the limits of nuclear fission technology.

Serev is now personally working on the three spacecraft projects of Tengyun, Xinyuan-4, and XN90 at the same time! In his eyes, Teng Yun can only be ranked second, and he is not that cautious.

Although this attitude was a bit arrogant, Zeng Hongwei actually admired it even more. During the period of working together, he had thoroughly seen the ultra-high efficiency and reliability of the entire Xinyuan Company, and they had become accustomed to "advancing".

"Okay, then I'll check the landing gear."

Zeng Hongwei turned around to find the inspection manual and continued to comb the feathers of this dreamy super aircraft before it soared.

…

The final assembly hangar has a gap that can accommodate trucks, but it is very narrow in contrast to its huge size. Only by getting closer can you feel how huge it is and understand why giant rockets and giant aircraft are born here.

Lin Ju parked the factory unmanned electric car that looked like a golf cart outside the hangar door, walked down and stood by the door with half of his body exposed, admiring Teng Yun parked inside.

The assistant who was kicked by him a few days ago also walked to him silently. Looking at the brightly lit hangar from here reminded her of a text called Peach Blossom Spring. The heavy door of the hangar blocked the night outside. When you open it, the lights inside never go out. It is an independent world where the sun never sets, vast and narrow, showing emptiness amidst the crowds.

This is the essence of human aerospace and aviation. For practitioners, I am afraid it is really a paradise, right?

She told Lin Ju her feelings, and the latter tried his best to imagine this scene, and really felt the somewhat illusory romance.

Lin Ju now knows how different the thinking of men and women is. When they were building the An-1250 giant transport aircraft, he and Androv were standing here once. The latter opened his arms and shouted: "I want to build a plane that can There’s so much stuff to fill in here!”

The rough heroic spirit is very exciting, but the delicate passive feeling is also unique.