Chapter 300 The launch everyone is looking forward to

When Xu Yuan personally announced the time for the manned moon landing, everyone at the scene was stunned at first, then came to their senses the next second and burst into thunderous applause, all of them excited and happy about the news.

The new generation of spacecraft has been successfully developed and the manned lunar mission has been implemented ahead of schedule.

This is indeed a normal thing.

The audience watching this press conference today also had this idea.

I hope to see self-driving astronauts landing on the moon sooner rather than later.

But no one expected that the plan would be advanced so much that they would choose to land on the moon next year.

Completely exceeded expectations.

If this news had not come from Xu Yuan's mouth, many people would probably doubt whether it was true or not.

The CCTV reporter who asked the question seemed to have forgotten his words and paused for a few seconds before reacting.

He immediately asked, "Academician Xu, is what you said true?"

"Are we going to carry out a manned lunar launch next year?" He couldn't hide the joy on his face at all.

Guo Dongxiao from the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, who was sitting on the podium, no longer remained silent. Without waiting for Xu Yuan to speak, he took over the reporter's words with a smile and answered.

"Of course it's true."

"We are currently discussing the implementation plan for manned lunar landing to ensure that the mission is successfully completed with the utmost safety."

"In addition, we also have to thank Academician Xu, Academician Chen, and many other researchers who are working on the next-generation spacecraft. If they hadn't completed the research and development work ahead of time, our manned lunar landing program wouldn't have been so smooth."

“The following applause should be given to them.”

While confirming the news again, a new round of enthusiastic applause broke out at the scene.

And it was Guo Dongxiao who took the lead.

After the surroundings calmed down again, Xu Yuan continued: "Everyone can continue to pay attention to our official account in the future. We will release news about the manned lunar mission in succession." This was a good ending to this part of the press conference.

now.

For journalists and reporters, the emotions are undoubtedly extremely exciting.

I can't wait to write a press release.

Let more people know this news as soon as possible.

After thousands of years, the dream of flying to the moon that everyone has always pursued is about to become a reality.

This is undoubtedly the biggest news.

It's also a romantic thing.

It is conceivable that the period from today to the successful moon landing next year will be the most anticipated period for everyone.

It is not an exaggeration to say that every day is like a year.

Of course, the people who reacted most quickly were the netizens who watched the live broadcast.

As soon as Xu Yuan finished speaking, he left the live broadcast room and quickly spread the news on major website platforms and in his frequent chat groups, surprising everyone wherever he went.

The press conference has not yet ended, and the term "landing on the moon next year" has already topped the hot search list on all platforms.

I can't even take care of my work.

They opened their commonly used social software to discuss the matter with their friends and netizens.

Share your joy with each other.

"Oh my god, could someone please tell me, did I hear it correctly?"

"How could what Dean Xu said be false? Don't worry, I heard it right."

"Fuck, what a surprise!"

"What do you mean by double happiness? I originally thought that the successful development of the new generation of spacecraft would be the focus of today's press conference, but I didn't expect that there would be another master who just appeared."

"We have finally come to this day, and we need to leave our footprints and flags on the moon."

"Dean Xu is awesome."

"To be honest, I really enjoyed listening to it today. I'm so excited."

"It is exciting to bring the moon landing date forward to next year, but the next period of time will be very difficult. I really want to sleep until the moon landing day."

"Remember when we first announced our moon landing plan, a group of people overseas said that we would not be able to land on the moon within ten years. But we will officially land on the moon for exploration next year. I wonder if they are hurt by this slap in the face now."

……

Of course, although everyone is excited, there are also a few people who are concerned about landing on the moon ahead of schedule.

It is believed that the new generation of spacecraft has just been successfully developed, so more time should be given to it to mature. As for carrying out a manned lunar mission, there is no need to be too anxious.

It’s totally okay to take your time.

In short, we must ensure the safety of manned lunar landing.

Although this makes sense, everyone's emotions are already aroused, so naturally they all support an early moon landing.

The biggest reason is to just trust Xu Yuan.

As soon as the concerned comments appeared, they were quickly met with a large number of responses supporting the early moon landing.

"After all, the new generation of spacecraft has just been successfully developed, so the technology may not be mature in some areas. It would be better to wait two years before carrying out the manned lunar landing."

"So many aerospace experts say we can land on the moon ahead of schedule. Do ordinary people know more than the experts?"

"If you are an expert who only knows how to argue, then I won't argue with you, but for a national scholar like Academician Xu, we just need to trust him unconditionally. Don't forget that as long as Academician Xu is in charge of a project, there has never been an example of a situation that could not be completed."

"The sooner we complete the manned lunar landing, the more it will shock overseas and make them understand what a true space power is."

"You can completely trust Dean Xu."

"My mom asked me why I was holding my phone. I was twisting back and forth on the bed and humming. I was so excited that I couldn't stop."

Xu Yuan hasn't paid attention to the situation on the Internet yet, but he can basically predict it.

Soon when this process is over, the content after the press conference seems less important.

Not long after.

As this morning's press conference officially ended, Xu Yuan and others left the scene, and reporters and media immediately went to work on the spot, quickly writing news articles based on the questions just asked and publishing them as quickly as possible.

Originally, due to the spread of netizens, the news of next year's moon landing has already topped the hot search list.

Now that it has been reported by so many media outlets, the topic has become so popular that it can only be described as exploding.

This scared many technical staff of the website. They didn't even have time to eat and kept rubbing their keyboards to ensure that there would be no lag or server crash.

The extensive coverage by the official mainstream media has made many parents who rarely use the Internet aware of the incident.

Over the next two days, it became a topic of discussion among the entire nation.

When taking the bus or subway, you can hear people chatting, and their expressions and tones are full of confidence and pride.

-

After NASA, a country is about to achieve the feat of landing on the moon again after several decades.

This is no longer just a domestic issue.

With extensive media coverage, news about next year's moon landing quickly spread overseas.

This caused many overseas media to express shock, and the articles they published were full of surprise and envy.

No one expected that the article that sharply criticized China for not being able to achieve a manned lunar landing within ten years would come back so quickly, which was completely beyond normal cognition.

As for overseas users from all over the world, they were even more shocked and unbelievable.

After learning that the story was true, in addition to looking forward to next year's moon landing, people also did not forget to drag out NASA's Space Agency and criticize it.

Accused them of excluding others from the International Space Station project.

Otherwise, if everyone cooperates with each other, maybe their own astronauts can get a ride, and then it can be considered that their country has also landed on the moon.

There are many similar remarks.

"Oh my God, how on earth do they do that?"

"They have just proved the Riemann hypothesis, taking mathematics to a whole new level, and now they are going to land on the moon. The development of human civilization depends on them."

"This is really great news. I look forward to seeing their astronauts land on the moon. Human exploration of outer space is always a great cause."

“They are the true beacons of humanity.”

"I am glad that advanced science and technology are in the hands of true human civilization."

"How come they have successfully developed a new generation of spacecraft in such a short time? Our space technology in Japan is developing too slowly."

"NASA should be held responsible for this. If it had not rejected China's participation in the International Space Station project, astronauts from many countries might have the opportunity to travel to the moon on the Lanyue spacecraft."

"Our aerospace technology is also strong. The next step will be for our astronauts to land on the moon."

……

at the same time.

As for NASA, which is frequently mentioned, its director, Roberts, is in Texas.

Boca Chica Launch Center is the main base of SpaceX for Starship research and development, testing and launch.

Due to various reasons, NASA has cooperated with SpaceX to date, and it is obviously very normal for Bolsons to come and check the progress of research and development.

In the afternoon test workshop, Bolsons looked at the huge machine in front of him that was about to be tested.

My mood is relatively complicated.

Looking back at how glorious they were decades ago, their development in the aerospace field can only be said to be far ahead of others.

But now we need to rely entirely on Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.

Otherwise, progress in the aerospace field will be basically zero.

At this time, the engineer from Space Exploration Technologies Corporation next to him began to introduce the starship.

"Our starship is now more than 80 percent complete. After continued development and subsequent testing, it is expected to conduct a full system flight test next year."

The starship adopts an integrated rocket-ship design, consisting of an ultra-heavy launch vehicle and a starship spacecraft.

The entire system is about 120 meters long, the theoretical takeoff thrust can reach more than 7,000 tons, and the two stages can be reused. In the future, starships will be used to achieve manned circumlunar flights and trips to Mars.

Judging from theoretical data alone, the performance of Starship will undoubtedly exceed that of the Long March 10 carrier rocket.

After all, their goal is to go to Mars.

But what comes with it is the huge difficulty of research and development. From the perspective of outsiders, it is completely impossible, but since SpaceX is still willing to do it, it should be supported from all aspects.

It is equivalent to making a contribution to human exploration of outer space.

Borsons naturally knew about starships, and he knew how difficult it was to develop them.

So when I heard that the full system flight test will be carried out next year, I was quite appreciative.

The large number of reports on the Long March 10, the Mengzhou manned spacecraft and the lunar lander in recent days made it impossible for him not to know about them. Especially when he saw that the other side had advanced the manned lunar landing to next year, his emotions became even more complicated.

No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to imagine how the other party could complete the upgrade of the new generation of spacecraft in such a short time.

Although the other side has independently built the world's second space station, the launch vehicle and manned spacecraft it uses are still a long way from successfully landing on the moon.

Especially some important related technologies.

It is precisely because of these reasons that when the other side officially announced its moon landing plan, he judged that it would be impossible to achieve manned moon landing within ten years.

Didn't even take it too seriously.

Mainly in his prediction, after such a long time, even if the other side mastered the next generation of spacecraft technology, SpaceX's Starship would probably have been successfully developed. As long as the Starship exists, it will become a relatively simple matter whether it is landing on the moon or going to Mars.

In this way, their position in the aerospace field will not be affected.

But ideals are beautiful, but reality is very cruel.

It seemed as if the other side had already mastered the new generation of spacecraft, so they were able to develop it successfully so quickly.

And decisively moved the moon landing forward to next year.

It is also worth mentioning that when he saw the relevant news, he organized aerospace experts to study and discuss the new generation of spacecraft such as the Long March 10 based on the known information.

The result is that this is indeed at the level of a new generation of spacecraft.

It is capable of completing the manned lunar landing program.

This also means that when the moon landing is successful next year, the aerospace field will be completely changed.

The key is that they are powerless to change anything and can only watch.

Who made their own plan to restart the moon landing fail?

But now he felt a little better, at least he had new hope.

If the full-system flight test of the Starship is successful next year, the popularity it will bring will probably be no less than the successful moon landing on the other side, and it will also consolidate its position in the aerospace field.

"How confident are you that this full-system flight test can be carried out?"

The thought stayed here, and Bolsons came to his senses and asked a question, so that he could have some idea in his mind.

When the engineer from Space Exploration Technologies Corporation heard Bolsons' question, he looked a little embarrassed.

But it soon disappeared again, and finally gave a not very clear answer.

"The first full-system flight test, the results are unpredictable, anything can happen."

"But we will definitely try our best to make the starship test a success."

"I'm looking forward to it." Bolsons finally nodded, saying this without lingering any longer.

He then turned around and, under the guidance of relevant personnel, walked towards Musk's office.

As the boss of several companies, Musk is very concerned about SpaceX. He comes to the base in person from time to time and attaches great importance to the research and development of Starship.

Soon when there was a knock on the office door and he saw Bolsons walk in, he stood up and greeted him with a smile.

"Welcome to the Starship Research and Development Base. How do you feel now?"

"I really hope that your starship can give me a surprise. You know, the other side is about to carry out a manned moon landing." After sitting down on the sofa, Borsons answered this sentence quite calmly.

Musk's expression did not change. Instead, he seemed to agree with this matter.

"They are indeed developing a new generation of spacecraft very quickly. Although the Long March 10 is not as good as our Starship, the Starship cannot catch up with its progress no matter what."

"I have to admit that they are the country in the world that attaches the most importance to the development of aerospace technology."

After hearing this, Bolsons looked a little unnatural, and his thoughts couldn't help but go back to decades ago.

But he quickly adjusted himself and said again: "I hope that next year the full-system flight test of the starship can be carried out on the same day as the launch of the Long March 10." The decisive tone in his words showed that this was something he had thought of a long time ago.

"Launching on the same day is not a problem, but as Starship is the first full-system flight test, I'm afraid the probability of failure is very high."

Musk listened to everything Bolsons said, and the smile on his face disappeared when he responded.

He was not afraid of failure and also thought about the possibility of problems during the first full-system flight test.

But if they are launched on the same day, if the Long March 10 is launched successfully but the Starship has problems and the launch fails, it will probably have the opposite effect.

He was quite clear about what Bolsons thought about this matter.

Followed by.

He suddenly thought of something and added, "If Xu Yuan on the other side could join the research and development of the starship, perhaps the research and development of the starship would have been successful long ago."

"Xu is indeed a very talented scientist, but it's a pity that he will not accept your invitation." Bolsons replied expressionlessly.

Everyone knows that the success of the new generation of spacecraft such as the Long March 10 is inseparable from Xu Yuan, a legend in the field of science.

Seriously indeed.

If Xu Yuan participates in the research and development of the starship, then with Xu Yuan's own strong talent and strength, it is indeed possible for the starship to be successfully developed ahead of schedule and achieve the goal and ideal of traveling to Mars.

But this kind of thing is obviously impossible to happen.

Musk obviously understood this truth and nodded to express his regret at what Bolsons said.

"It's really a regrettable thing."

Next, Bolsons still insisted on his point of view and still hoped that the Starship could be launched together with the Long March 10.

“We must do this now, regardless of the outcome of the trial.”

Perhaps he didn't want to continue discussing the matter and waste his valuable experience, so Musk finally nodded and agreed to it.

"OK then."

All I can say is that as a businessman, he didn't mind the failure of the starship's first test.

So it doesn't matter when it launches.

However, getting such a result made Bolsons feel relieved.

It can be said that I have achieved my goal.

It was not a wasted trip.

After all, even though they are in a cooperative relationship, what if Musk disagrees?

Then he still had no choice.

As the matter was discussed to a fairly satisfactory conclusion, Borsons did not stay in the base, but arranged to return to the space agency that same day.

that's it.

Not long after, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation officially issued an announcement.

Announced that Starship flight tests will be conducted next year.

Perhaps it is the popularity brought by the spread of the news of the early moon landing that has made people at home and abroad pay more and more attention to the aerospace field.

It has allowed many newcomers to learn about starships.

As the news spread further, everyone looked forward to next year more and more.

Everyone wants to see which will be successful: the Long March 10 launch to the moon or the Starship full system flight test.

As for domestic netizens, although many of them are paying attention to Starship, they are not optimistic about the full system flight test.

On the contrary, I firmly believe that this moon landing will be a complete success.

-

There is an old saying that goes, the more you look forward to something, the more eagerly you want that day to come.

Often it feels like time passes very slowly.

It’s just like when you are in school, you look forward to the end of school, and when you are at work, you hope to get off work quickly.

And now this situation is reflected in manned lunar landing.

Although there is only about a year left, it feels like a year is passing by.

In particular, the official account releases new content from time to time.

In addition to the explanation of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft and the Lanyue lander, it also includes the more anticipated lunar landing plan.

Unlike overseas moon landing plans, China has chosen a more conservative and safer moon landing plan.

This manned lunar landing mission will be carried out by two Long March 10 carrier rockets, which will launch the Mengzhou manned spacecraft and the Lanyue lander to the predetermined orbit respectively.

The astronauts who carry out the intermediate mission will take the Mengzhou manned spacecraft to reach the predetermined orbit and complete the docking and transfer with the Lanyue lander.

Then we will take the lunar lander to the lunar surface and carry out corresponding exploration and investigation missions.

Ultimately, the spacecraft will rely on the ascender to return to near-moon orbit, re-docking with the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, and return to low-Earth orbit for landing.

After this plan was announced to the public, netizens who were originally concerned about the reliability of the new generation of spacecraft basically no longer worried and began to look forward to the arrival of this day.

As for overseas, institutions such as the Ouang Space Administration and the Neon Space Administration have remained silent.

After all, the aerospace experts there are not fools. They have seen the performance parameters of the new generation of spacecraft and such a conservative and relatively safe manned lunar landing plan.

I believe that no one will choose to jump out at this time to question the success rate of this manned lunar landing.

If that's true, then he's a real clown.

Another more important point is that overseas space agencies now see that China already has the ability to land on the moon independently.

I have sometimes thought about wanting to cooperate.

At the same time, I felt very regretful for my original act of exclusion.

As for Xu Yuan, since he has no other projects on hand, the rest of his time will be spent on giving lectures at school and preparing for next year's manned lunar landing.

As time goes by, and everyone is looking forward to it, the date for the manned lunar landing mission is getting closer and closer.

Especially when it comes to the summer after the New Year, there are only more than two months left before the launch of the first Long March 10.

In addition to visiting the Academy of Aerospace Technology more frequently, Xu Yuan also went to the launch base in person to pay attention to the vertical lifting of the rocket, just to hand in a satisfactory answer on the launch day.

-

(End of this chapter)