Chapter 146 Track Design Calculation
"Excuse me, is this Professor Chen? I'm Xu Yuan from Qinghua University. Professor Xu Chongxing asked me to come here."

At the entrance of the Space Technology Research Institute, Xu Yuan took the initiative to identify himself after the call was connected, and then waited patiently for the other party's response on the microphone.

After about two or three seconds, a deep male voice was heard.

"Wait."

He uttered two words at first, then perhaps felt that something was wrong, so he added another sentence.

"I'll pick you up at the door."

After saying that, he hung up the phone and a busy tone sounded.

Xu Yuan took the phone away from his ear. For some reason he always felt that Professor Chen was not very friendly to him.

However, for such project leaders, time is precious and they don't like to be disturbed, so it is normal for conversations on the phone to be short.

After thinking about it, he didn't think about it any more and just stood there waiting patiently.

After barely ten minutes, a tall and thin boy wearing a pair of half-frame myopic glasses walked towards him quickly from the building. When he got closer, he could still see some acne marks on his face that had not disappeared.

"Junior Brother Xu Yuan, welcome to come and help. My name is Xiao Xinbin, and I am currently working as an assistant researcher in the institute."

"If you don't mind, you can just call me Senior Brother Xiao."

Xiao Xinbin stopped thirty centimeters away from Xu Yuan, put on a bright smile and introduced himself.

Seeing how familiar the other party was, Xu Yuan subconsciously asked while shaking hands with him:

"Brother Xiao, do you know me?"

"You proved the Qiu Chengtong conjecture at the Princeton academic conference and amazed a group of overseas mathematicians. I think everyone in the domestic mathematics community should know you."

Xiao Xinbin answered in a deep voice with a smile on his face, not hiding the admiration on his face at all while saying this.

Xu Yuan obviously did not expect that the senior brother in front of him knew so much about the mathematics world.

Then he thought of something and asked, "Is Senior Brother Xiao also studying mathematics?"

The main reason why the other party was able to come and pick him up must be that he was working on Professor Chen's project, and logically speaking, he should be studying a satellite-related major.

It should not be related to pure theory and applied mathematics.

Fortunately, the other party did not hide anything in this regard and answered directly the next second.

“I studied mathematics for a few years, but later on it became more mixed.”

After saying that, he realized that he still had a mission to accomplish, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "Junior Brother Xu, I'll take you to see Professor Chen first."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Brother Xiao." Xu Yuan nodded.

Soon, under the leadership of Xiao Xinbin, Xu Yuan also entered the building where the Chang'e-1 lunar exploration satellite project was located. On the way, Xiao Xinbin enthusiastically introduced the situation of the research institute.

After several conversations, Xu Yuan learned that Xiao Xinbin was a doctoral student at the Institute of Space Technology, but he had graduated long ago and chose to stay in the institute.

Currently working as an assistant researcher, participating in some aerospace engineering projects.

Unlike the Jincheng Aircraft Design Institute, the Space Technology Research Institute is now more like a university.

In addition to recruiting master's and doctoral students, there is also a postdoctoral mobile station dedicated to training aerospace talents for the country.

Soon the two of them arrived at the door of an office, and Xiao Xinbin said:
"This is Professor Chen's office. He should not be in the workshop at this time."

"After you say hello to Professor Chen, I will take you to our orbital design and calculation area. Get familiar with the environment before you start working."

Xu Yuan listened carefully to Xiao Xinbin's words, but a question mark emerged in his mind as he was familiar with the working environment of the track design and calculation area. This seemed different from what Professor Xu Chongxing said.

Track design calculations?

Didn’t you say that you will participate in the research on the overall layout and mass distribution of satellites?

Although satellite orbit design and data calculation are also important steps for the successful launch of a satellite, what they involve is obviously more mathematics.

You should know that what Xu Chongxing said was to let him participate in the research on the overall layout and mass distribution of the satellite.

But just as he was about to ask for clarification, he saw Xiao Xinbin knocking on the door.

Then a deep voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Seeing Xiao Xinbin pushing the door open, he had no choice but to put this question aside for the time being and quickly followed him into the office.

As Xu Yuan's eyes passed Xiao Xinbin and looked forward, a middle-aged man with a square face suddenly came into view. Because of the heating, he was only wearing a shirt and a dark sweater, and judging from his thick black hair, he should be less than 50 years old.

"Professor Chen, Junior Brother Xu is here."

Chen Jianfang, who was working at his desk as if writing a report, stopped what he was doing when he heard Xiao Xinbin's words, then raised his head and looked at Xu Yuan.

If it were other students who had not left school, they would definitely be nervous and have sweaty palms when faced with such scrutiny.

But Xu Yuan was completely different. After all, he had given reports to so many world-renowned mathematicians, so he was naturally able to remain calm.

He just stood there and let the other person look at him openly.

After about ten seconds, Chen Jianfang withdrew his gaze, stood up and walked over with a relaxed expression.

"Your talent in mathematics is well known in China. This time you are here to assist us in completing the lunar exploration satellite project, which is a great help to us."

"After that, follow Xiao Xiao to complete the satellite orbit design and calculation work." "I will also ask everyone to actively consult you about other areas involving mathematics. If you have any questions, you can always come to me."

The voice just fell.

Xiao Xinbin next to him immediately became excited: "With Junior Brother Xu's help, we will definitely be able to complete the accurate track design plan soon." It was obvious that he had been looking forward to someone's help for a long time.

Xu Yuan listened to everything Professor Chen said. Although his attitude was acceptable and he took him seriously, it was only limited to mathematics.

When it comes to something as important as the specific project you're in charge of, there's no way low-level mistakes would occur.

It can only be said that Chen Jianfang and Xu Chongxing had differences, so they did not mention the overall design of the satellite's appearance.

After thinking about it for a while, he realized that Chen Jianfang must not have confidence in his level of mechanics.

However, it is normal to have such an idea. After all, apart from the confidential stealth fighter, he does not have any related achievements.

In addition, the higher his achievements in mathematics, the more people will think that he has no time to study other subjects.

The thought stayed here, and Xu Yuan did not go to point out the matter to Professor Chen in person.

Anyway, he has already participated in the Chang'e-1 project. Even if Chen Jianfang does not allow him to participate, there will be no problem in him studying the overall appearance design plan when he has time.

If the plan is reasonable and has no loopholes, then everyone will be happy.

Otherwise it won’t be too late to bring it up then.

Having made up his mind, he did not delay any longer and immediately nodded and looked at Chen Jianfang and responded.

"Okay, Professor Chen."

"Then let Xiao Xiao take you to familiarize yourself with the environment first. There is no need to rush into the specific work." Chen Jianfang said after his eyes lingered on Xu Yuan.

At this time, Xiao Xinbin was pulling Xu Yuan outside with excitement on his face, as if he was afraid that the person would run away.

-

"You don't know, Junior Brother Xu. Many of our country's first research on lunar exploration satellites are new attempts, and we will encounter various problems in the process."

"Take the orbit that I and a few other people are responsible for, for example. Because it is different from the conventional Earth orbit design, we have to consider new issues such as the lunar gravitational field. We also have to design the satellite's flight to the moon and the intersection process of being successfully captured by the moon."

On the way to the work environment, Xiao Xinbin enthusiastically talked to Xu Yuan about the difficulties in track design.

It can be seen that their work is not going smoothly at the moment.

As Xu Yuan listened to this, he was thinking that the difficulty in designing the lunar exploration satellite orbit lies in changing the orbit.

After the lunar exploration satellite enters the geosynchronous orbit, it needs to change its orbit multiple times during its flight around the Earth and the Moon.

This requires not only precise calculation of the trajectory, but also calculation of fuel usage to save as much fuel as possible.

After all, propellant is required for every orbit change.

Originally, Xu Chongxing wanted him to show his talent in mechanics, but after being arranged to participate in the track design, he actually developed a lot of interest in it.

For him, it is like facing a math problem. He needs to find a suitable orbital plan and accurately calculate the parameters of each orbit change and rocket-satellite separation.

In the process of solving this problem, you can better combine the mathematical knowledge you have mastered.

The key is that compared to proving those mathematical conjectures, this kind of practical problem is far less interesting.

Soon Xu Yuan followed Xiao Xinbin to the work area. He saw that the computer at the seat was still on, but he didn't see anyone else here.

Seeing this, Xiao Xinbin smiled and explained, "They are probably in the discussion room studying the track design plan."

"I'll introduce them to you when they come out. You can sit here first."

After saying that, he specially arranged a seat for Xu Yuan.

After Xu Yuan sat down and looked around, he took the initiative to say to Xiao Xinbin:

"Senior Brother Xiao."

"Can you bring me the orbital information and measurement data so I can take a look?"

Xiao Xinbin, who had just sat down, was startled when he heard Xu Yuan's words, then quickly turned his head and looked at Xu Yuan and said, "Junior brother Xu, don't be so anxious. Professor Chen asked you to get familiar with the working environment first."

"Since everyone is here, let's start early." Xu Yuan shook his head and replied with a smile.

When Xiao Xinbin heard Xu Yuan's words, an excited expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"Then please wait a moment, Junior Brother."

After saying that, he stood up and went to look for relevant information without any hesitation.

The main thing is that the basic design of Chang'e-1 has been completed, and many parts have entered the production stage, but the orbit has not yet come up with a reliable solution.

If the orbital solution problem can be solved earlier, Chang'e-1 can be launched into space to carry out its mission as soon as possible.

Now with Xu Yuan's help, the track design might be able to make progress in a short period of time. How could Xiao Xinbin not be anxious?

If he didn't want to leave a good impression, and if Professor Chen hadn't spoken, he would have been eager for Xu Yuan to get to work right away.

Now that Xu Yuan has taken the initiative to ask to start working, he will definitely try his best to satisfy all his requests.

……

(End of this chapter)