Technology: breaking the hegemony that monopolizes the world

Considering the strange and "historically spiral" development environment of Blue Star, Gu Qing can no longer sit behind the scenes as before, relying on the Kyushu think tank and Zhang Tianhao's confidantes to promote technological leapfrogging.

Therefore, seeing Yang Shixiong, the person in charge of the space station R\u0026D project, and other doctors and engineers frowning, but unable to come up with a substantial improvement plan, Gu Qing sighed faintly.

He walked to the sub-operating console next to the main operating console, turned on the simulation system and the intelligent AI Tiangong "plug-in", and while sorting out the data, he said: "For the design of the space station, what we need is a bold design, careful verification, practical and radical.

There is no air pressure in outer space, but the air pressure inside the International Space Station is as high as 101 kilopascals. We all know that the engineers designed this to simulate the natural environmental atmospheric pressure on the ground of Blue Star, but it also means that some of the cabins of the International Space Station have long-term pressure. They are all under extremely high internal and external pressure.

According to the data of Tiangong survey, the thinnest part of the bulkhead of the experimental module on the International Space Station is only 4 mm, but it has to withstand a high pressure of 101 kPa, which will naturally lead to many problems.

For example, four years ago, there was an air leak on the International Space Station. After investigation, the astronauts on the International Space Station locked the air leak on the Zvezda service module. There was also the particular problem of rising temperatures inside the cabin.

Three years ago, Mao Bear's astronauts discovered six cracks inside their country's Twilight Module, which indicated that the Twilight Module had shown signs of metal fatigue.

Two years ago, a year ago, or even half a year ago, problems with the International Space Station were discovered one after another. The countries and institutions that cooperated with the space station were gloating about the problems in the cabins that others were in charge of, while looking sadly at the problems in the cabins they were in charge of. .

In fact, once the use time of these design and construction weaknesses exceeds the design life, these problems are inevitable.

But the frequent occurrence of these problems does not mean that the design of the International Space Station has no absorbable advantages.

As the international space station developed by Bluestar technological powers and countless scientists and engineers at that time, its overall design adopts a truss-mounted structure. Those service cabins, experimental cabins and other facilities are developed at both ends of the truss. The addition of the 'Dragon Skeleton' naturally strengthens the rigidity of the space station.

Our annular space station can also use high-strength keels in the core part of the main body, and then these annular space station cabins do not need to be bred with pure water, we can use the annular cabin to create centrifugal force, so as to generate artificial gravity inside the space station, of course I know This is a highly controversial design.

For example, it is necessary to achieve a very high rotation speed in order to generate gravity equivalent to the natural environment on the surface of the blue star. The high rotation speed will bring great difficulties to the mechanical structure and overall heat dissipation of the space station, and will also cause great difficulties for astronauts and other people inside the space station. The crew brings great victorious challenges and psychological pressure.

But this problem can be completely solved, because we don't need to pursue the same gravity as the ground of Blue Star, we only need a stable gravity field, so the rotation speed can be controlled to a level acceptable to us humans.

And as long as they have passed the training of the Future Warrior project, they can basically bear this kind of gravity change and centrifugal rotation without stress, or easily.

As for the high-speed rotation, it is difficult to achieve a uniform and stable distribution of air molecules throughout the space station, and it is easy to make the core area of ​​the space station the center of the tornado. For this problem, we can set up different living and working areas to allow astronauts who enter the core area Wear a flight suit to solve.

Of course, in scientific experiments, if the annular space station relies on rotation to create gravity, then the central axis area will be difficult to achieve a microgravity environment due to the small rotation effect, which is not conducive to scientific experiments. Don’t forget what is the focus of our stage ?

It's a moon base!

We don't need to conduct decades of experiments on the space station, and we don't need to pursue the so-called zero gravity and microgravity on this ring-shaped space station.

If we can manufacture one space station, we will be able to design, develop and manufacture the second, third, or even fourth and fifth space stations in the future.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, as long as we start, we can continue to charge forward! "

Reducing the amount of tasks, lowering requirements, and increasing confidence and resources, the speeches around the three strategies directly made the atmosphere inside the laboratory warm again.

The smarter a person is, the easier it is to fall into the misunderstanding of his own thinking and cannot extricate himself.

Since entering Kyushu Science and Technology, I have seen a lot of industry giants and cutting-edge knowledge in the industry. These scientists and engineers who are considered elites in the outside world have naturally raised their eyes a lot, and the requirements for themselves are equivalent to those of other people. requirements.

This causes them to think of perfection after receiving the task, as long as there is any unqualified link, it will be like a stick in their throat, making them unable to let go.

It is clear that what Gu Qing requested at the beginning was to build a space station, as a springboard for Kyushu Science and Technology to the moon base, to develop some equipment needed for life in outer space, and to collect data on creatures in outer space, such as human beings living in outer space for a long time. , Will there be any changes in the internal organs?

And these scientists and engineers unconsciously regard this "mid-stage task" as their top priority in the day and night of research and development.

It was Gu Qing who tore off the window paper this time, which made them suddenly turn around and realize that they seemed to have been running wildly on another dead end.

But the ease is only easy for some people.

After hearing what Gu Qing said, Yang Shixiong, the person in charge of the research and development project of the space station, still frowned.

He bowed his head and muttered to himself: "Even so, the research and development and manufacturing technology of the circular space station are still very difficult.

In order to simulate the environment of the Blue Star, but not to pursue the gravity data of the Blue Star, the radius of the annular space station must exceed 100 meters. At the same time, the orbiting cabin and the keel cabin are both big and troublesome. Why don’t we just build a ring-shaped space station.

After all, it is a springboard technology with a single ring, and the main structure of the keel will be developed later.

But even so, a huge and precise rotating space station, regardless of the design structure, space station engine power or system control, is still difficult to solve in the short term. "

Hearing his doubts, Gu Qing didn't shake his head, but directly gave a more practical solution: "Since we want to simplify, we can use a combination of microgravity environment and short-term rotation to provide useful space for astronauts when they need it." gravity environment.

Slowly suspend power output when materials and energy are about to be damaged and limited. "

The plan given by Gu Qing was like a shooting star piercing through the dark sky of Xiongna in Yangshi, which was shrouded in countless doubts.

The eyes of the middle-aged man flickered with excitement, "Well! Yes! Ordinary ring! It's an ordinary ring! From the very beginning, we can build a keel, and then build a ring on this keel.

It was very simple at the beginning, and gradually increased the difficulty later, collecting enough detailed data step by step, increasing the structure step by step, and perfecting the design.

In the future, a small ecological ring can even be expanded on this basis.

Not just a few astronauts, as long as the materials allow and our plan is correct, this space station can fully guarantee the life and work of dozens of astronauts in the future.

In this way, in addition to space experiments, we can also develop space tourism, and even arrange those astronauts and scientists who are going to the moon base to be the first stop on the space station. , Wait until everything is safe, and then set off for the moon.

This space station is a novice training base! Experimental base!

As long as the direction is correct, we can collect more data, which can fully support our design of the second space station, and we can even rely on the huge area of ​​the first space to achieve profitability! "

The more he thought about it, the more dazzling the light in Yang Shixiong's eyes became.

The rest of the lab has also entered a state of excitement at this time.

"The boron nitride ceramic matrix composite electric propulsion system is used as the propulsion technology of the Hall thruster, and with the wireless array engine, it can realize the normal situation without fuel, and only use the ion flow ejected by electric energy to provide power for the core cabin. A composite propulsion system that uses fuel and electricity to provide thrust."

"The high-performance silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminum-based composite material jointly developed by the Titan Star Department and the Aerospace Group can be used in key components of the space station's solar wing extension mechanism.

And we don't need to use lithium-ion batteries, we can use graphene batteries to ensure that more energy can be stored. "

"Medical sample analysis instruments, gravity analysis instruments, electromagnetic analysis instruments, and radiation analysis instruments can all use magnesium parts and special titanium alloys from the Titan Star Department, which fully meet the multifunctional requirements of weight reduction, corrosion resistance, and interference resistance."

"But how to deal with the engine? What about those high-temperature components? Although space is not a sea of ​​​​blazes and flames, the temperature difference between sunny and shady is huge. The engines on our space station do not have air cooling or natural water circulation cooling. "

An engineer with white hair on the sideburns and the team around him were frowning, forming a sharp contrast with the radical and excited scientists and engineers around him.

When Gu Qing looked around, he naturally noticed the strangeness of this small team.

He glanced at the information provided by Xuanwu in the SR1 glasses, and sighed in his heart.

"When you were allowed to enter the special equipment research and development center, you were unwilling to separate, so now you can't get some technology authorization, and you just drink and peck."

But the sigh in his heart, Gu Qing will not express it on his face.

He walked straight to the side of the small team, and said in a caring tone: "Dr. Xu, I heard you are thinking about high-temperature components?"

When Xu Changqing heard a familiar clear voice coming from beside him, he subconsciously turned his head and looked over.

"Well, Gu, Mr. Gu."

Faced with this middle-aged man who was embarrassed to say hello, Gu Qing waved his hand and said: "Don't feel embarrassed, science and technology research and development should not be undone if you sleep wrong, the dispute between you and that colleague, we are both right and wrong.

So you do have a problem?

It's better to say it out, one of us counts the shortcomings, and the three of us count the strengths, maybe we can have a breakthrough direction. "

Facing Gu Qing's attitude, Xu Changqing nodded slightly.

Of course he knows that his big boss is not talking nonsense. Boss Gu, who has a huge amount of technology and research and development resources of Kyushu Science and Technology, if he can't solve the problem, then this planet can solve this problem, and it will only exist in a very few people who are extremely secretive and extremely secretive. high lab.

So he cut straight to the point and directly addressed the problems that trapped his team.

"For power engines other than the space station wireless array engine, the thermal barrier coating materials for their high-temperature components are still unsolvable for the time being.

According to international solutions, this kind of thermal barrier coating generally uses a ceramic coating, which is used as a thermal protection coating for high-temperature components of aero-engines and gas turbines. It can play a role in related important mechanical parts and special material parts. Good heat insulation can directly improve the service conditions of high-temperature components, prolong the service life, and even save the most precious fuel of the space station.

At present, the most widely used thermal barrier coating material in the world is zirconia-based material, which is expensive and troublesome to manufacture, and it will undergo a phase change at a high temperature of about 1200 degrees Celsius, and the coating will fall off quickly. It will fail, which will directly lead to an exponential decline in service life.

In the design of our space station, the operating temperature of some special engines can reach an ultra-high temperature of 2000 degrees Celsius. This temperature will directly peel off the thermal barrier coating material, and even fail after a few operations. "

"This problem? It is indeed an international problem, and I have understood it before."

Gu Qing's words made the atmosphere of the research and development team a little bit lower.

A problem that even his own boss can't solve is definitely a world-class problem that may not be solved within a few years.

Even if they are experts in this industry, they will feel lost after knowing Gu Qing's judgment...

"But you didn't have permission before, so you didn't know that our company's special equipment research and development center has developed ultra-high temperature resistant materials, and it is also a customized material for engines, engine systems, and aerospace products.

In addition, the special metal engineering laboratory cooperated by our company and Yunming University of Science and Technology has just made new achievements a while ago. The ultra-high temperature tantalate thermal barrier coating technology they research can increase the maximum service temperature to 1700 degrees Celsius To 2100 degrees Celsius, there is even room for improvement in the future.

Cooperating with the high-temperature-resistant metal materials of the special equipment research and development center, it should be able to solve the problem of your project. "