Chapter 86: Convinced
“F**K!” William Bergen cursed angrily as he walked out of the General building.
In his view, John Morgan completely didn’t understand aerospace, relying on his Morgan surname to stick his hand into NASA was one thing, but he also wanted to takeover Glenn Martin.
Marietta and Glenn Martin merger, everyone with equal power, the name still called Marietta Martin, and he could still serve as co-CEO in the new company.
After all, research and development of rocket engines still relied on him.
But merging with General Aerospace would be a complete takeover, with only the name General Aerospace after the merger.
Plus Randolph Lin and John Morgan’s close relationship, it could be said that in the new General Aerospace, even if he was still an executive, he would be an executive with no power at all.
But the situation was stronger than the person.
James Webber was adjusting NASA’s organizational structure, Lin Ran was restarting the Pioneer Probe moon landing, and at the same time NASA was doing another important thing, the bidding for the Lunar Module and Saturn V.
For the Lunar Module, Glenn Martin had already been eliminated.
But not yet for Saturn V.
In Von Braun’s design, Saturn V was a super huge three-stage rocket.
Each stage of the three stages required separate engines.
In the original spacetime, this rocket close to 3000 tons, the first stage manufacturer was Boeing Company, providing 5 F-1 engines; the second stage manufacturer was North American Aviation, providing 5 J-2 engines; the third stage manufacturer was Douglas Airplane Company, providing 1 J-2 engine.
Now still in the bidding stage.
If Glenn Martin couldn’t get this order, their financial situation would worsen further, plus they failed to participate in NASA projects, which would cause Wall Street’s expectations for them to drop again.
In short, Glenn Martin had reached the point where they had no choice but to sell themselves.
It was just a difference of who to sell to.
“If Randolph really can send the Pioneer to the Moon, then even if I don’t want to sell Glenn Martin to that Morgan guy, Mister Martin would probably be tempted.
Damn Morgan! A bunch of hyena-like guys.” William Bergen’s face was heavy, inwardly complaining endlessly.
Mister Martin was the founder of Glenn Martin Company: Glenn L. Martin, the actual helmsman of the company.
His interests were different from William Bergen’s; he pursued the preservation and appreciation of assets, while William Bergen pursued power in addition to his own treatment.
In America, it was too easy for a listed company CEO to monetize power.
General Aerospace takeover of Glenn Martin was waiting, NASA was waiting, Washington was also waiting, waiting to see if Lin Ran could really take America to the Moon.
Florida Cape Canaveral, the research and development and launch work of spacecraft were all placed here.
Lin Ran welcomed Jim Qian Bolin, who came from New York from thousands of miles away, in the meeting room.
After the two simply shook hands, Lin Ran said:
“Dr. Qian Bolin, the focus of this launch is optimization and adjustment from the algorithm field.”
The room was placed with a model of the Pioneer Probe and design drawing of the Juno Rocket. Besides Lin Ran, it was full of engineers, and the air was filled with tension.
“The Pioneer Probe is the core equipment of NASA’s early Moon probe plan, aimed at achieving hard landing on the Moon and transmitting back data.
However, multiple launches in 1959 all ended in failure. This is the failure report. I dare not confirm it is exactly the same as the real situation, but as a reference it’s fine.” Lin Ran handed the report to Qian Bolin.
Then continued:
The first launch was due to insufficient thrust of the Juno Rocket, the second launch was due to insufficient precision.
What we need to do is just improve the rocket from the second launch.
On one hand, introduce the gravitational perturbation model to precisely calculate the interference of Earth, Moon, and other celestial bodies on the probe’s trajectory.
This is the new algorithm I designed, simulating the probe’s motion trajectory in complex gravitational fields, ensuring the landing point deviation is controlled within an acceptable range.
This is the launch angle advance prediction method I just made during this time.
It can calculate the optimal launch time and angle by analyzing the relative positions of the Moon and Earth.
Of course, this requires precise modeling of celestial mechanics to ensure the probe can enter lunar orbit with minimal deviation.
Because the calculations are complex, I transferred a batch of the latest IBM 7090 computers from Los Alamos Laboratory.
Use it to calculate the ideal trajectory of the probe.
Dr. Qian Bolin, one thing you need to do is supervise the implementation of these algorithms and the modification of the rocket and spacecraft.
There’s also another very important work. I hope the Pioneer Probe not only goes to the Moon, and I don’t expect it to come back.
But I hope it can take a photo on the Moon and transmit it back.
The current buffer device is too fragile. I hope it can add a multi-stage shock absorption structure to ensure my idea can be realized.”
Simply sending the Pioneer Probe to the Moon might satisfy Washington, which is used to NASA’s failures, but it couldn’t satisfy Lin Ran.
The Soviet Union’s Luna 2 carried equipment including only a magnetometer, radiation detector, and micrometeorite detector, used to measure the magnetic field, radiation levels, and micrometeorite density around the Moon, without photography capability.
Luna 2 also just took a photo from afar.
Lin Ran hoped the Pioneer could take a photo on the lunar surface after landing on the Moon.
Qian Bolin didn’t speak, Von Braun nearby frowned, “This will increase weight, the rocket can’t bear it.”
Lin Ran said: “So we need to optimize the structure. Replace the original materials with lightweight alloys, add multi-stage shock absorption devices.
Best to optimize the rocket fuel to increase its thrust.”
Under Lin Ran’s guidance, the NASA team and engineers from General Aerospace had been working almost non-stop.
They designed a brand new landing system for the Pioneer Probe.
The laboratory at Cape Canaveral was brightly lit day and night. Engineers bustled around the probe, with welding sounds and machinery roars one after another.
Lin Ran and Von Braun stood side by side in front of the test bench, staring at the modified equipment.
“Will this work?” Von Braun asked in a low voice.
“It definitely will.” Lin Ran’s tone was firm.
Von Braun continued: “Professor Lin, I think we can get along peacefully.”
Lin Ran asked: “In the way of peace I understand?”
Von Braun hesitated first, then nodded: “Yes.”
Lin Ran knew that this modification to the Pioneer Probe had completely convinced Von Braun.
Although not successful yet, having witnessed firsthand how Lin Ran did it, Von Braun believed the success probability was very high.
Under such premise, he didn’t want to continue opposing the other for the sake of all the NAZI scientists.
Taking care of himself was the first priority. Arthur Rudolf, who left Redstone Arsenal, was completely untraceable.
None of them could contact Arthur Rudolf.
Actually, Lin Ran was overthinking it. With Arthur Rudolf’s case ahead and the White House’s will behind, no one at NASA dared to sabotage this Pioneer Probe moon landing.
“Good.”
