Chapter 247: As If Worlds Apart
He was shrewd enough when he was a businessman, and now that he has become a politician, he takes all the benefits without touching any risks.
He throws his son to the Vietnam frontline to earn the halo of having served in the army and fought on the frontline, gilding him with a layer of gold.
Under the Americans’ electoral system, voters eat this up.
Especially white voters, they revere this so-called tough guy image.
And what could prove you’re a tough guy better than having served in the army and fought in war?
But Fred doesn’t want his son to go die either.
The 1966 statistics are shocking: over 6350 soldiers lost in Vietnam’s jungle, with injured numbers breaking through 30,000; those Vietnam warriors disguised as trees are not to be trifled with.
Fred chose to send his son to New York Military Academy at age 13, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to let his son carry a rifle and fight for his life against enemies in the muddy tropical rainforest.
Fred is a political rising star, no doubt, but being a political rising star also means he hasn’t accumulated much in terms of connections and resources.
Plus, with the White House and the Two Houses now controlled by the Donkey Party, whether it’s the frontline generals or the Pentagon side, they don’t need to give Fred any face at all.
And Fred’s implicit competitive relationship with Nixon makes it very difficult for Fred to escape Nixon.
Nixon served as Vice President for Eisenhower for eight years, so he has deep connections within the American army.
The one who can help him the most is Lin Ran.
Lin Ran’s relationship with McNamara is beyond doubt; not only does everyone in Washington know it, but New York does too—McNamara is the professor’s disciple.
As long as Lin Ran is willing to help, isn’t it nice to stay in the rear tapping away at a calculator?
As for when his own son enters politics and runs for election, that will be at least twenty years after the war ends; as long as he doesn’t mention it, who will know whether he was on the frontline or in the rear?
Lin Ran patted the other’s head; the blond hair was rough, “Good boy!”
Fred absolutely couldn’t imagine what Lin Ran was thinking inside.
Following Fred into the Elephant Party’s largest stronghold in New York: the Union League Club.
Sure enough, just as Fred said, the place was already bustling with guests.
The guests were holding champagne, chatting in twos and threes around the venue.
After Fred walked in, Lin Ran could clearly feel that everyone’s gazes gathered on him.
“Everyone, quiet down. I’m very pleased to introduce today’s guest, Mr. Randolph Lin, the professor’s arrival!” Fred said loudly.
The scene erupted in warm applause; regardless of gender, everyone’s expressions were extremely enthusiastic.
Lin Ran nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Fred continued: “Last year, under the professor’s leadership, NASA successfully completed the moon landing. Although our Mr. President held a press conference at the White House, accepting reporter interviews and trying every way to claim the merit for himself, we all know very well that these are all the professor’s merits!
Ever since the professor joined NASA, we have all witnessed NASA transform from a lion raised in a zoo that didn’t know what it should do into the most fearsome apex predator in the food chain!
Let us all raise the wine glasses in our hands, to celebrate the arrival of 1967 and to congratulate the professor on leading NASA to one outstanding achievement after another in the past.”
Staff nearby had already brought wine glasses to Lin Ran and John Morgan; pale yellow champagne awaited Lin Ran to pick it up.
Lin Ran felt this opening was a bit strange; it wasn’t like a New Year’s celebration party, but more like a victory banquet held for him.
Holding a victory banquet for a Donkey Party senior official at the Elephant Party’s secret rally site—Lin Ran always felt this was a bit too strange.
But everyone raised their wine glasses, and cheers and celebrations rang out in the air.
In the subsequent free mingling session, every person came forward to chat with Lin Ran for a few words:
“Professor, your contributions are unmatched.
Without your wisdom and persistence, the moon landing program would not have succeeded. Undoubtedly, you are our hero.”
“Professor, you are the country’s treasure. Your achievements will go down in history, and the American people will remember them forever.”
Standing in the center of the venue, Lin Ran clearly remembered that a few years ago, in the same place, everyone had taken turns coming to chat with him.
But the person they were chatting with wasn’t him, but John Morgan.
Lin Ran had a feeling as if a lifetime had passed; six years had gone by, and John Morgan’s status had climbed quickly too, but it was nothing compared to his own.
Finally, Fred found an opportunity to talk quietly with Lin Ran in a secluded corner:
“Professor, do you think there’s any problem with America right now?”
Lin Ran raised an eyebrow; under the dim lights, he couldn’t discern Fred’s true intentions: “What do you mean?”
Fred said: “America needs change! Lyndon Johnson will only lead us into the abyss.
Vietnam has turned into an endless war of attrition, with one American soldier after another dying on the frontline. I’m very worried about them.
So professor, your godson is about to go to the frontline soon.”
Lin Ran was somewhat surprised after hearing this; in his impression, Fred’s son dodged the draft, which led to mainstream media like the New York Times digging it up and mocking him wildly during the 2020 election as a way to smear his image and undermine his voter support.
But now, he actually heard from Fred himself that his godson is going to the battlefield.
Old T and the battlefield feel completely unrelated.
“That’s really bad news.” Lin Ran pretended to be grief-stricken, though inside he was extremely curious, wondering what kind of person Old T would grow into in this spacetime.
His father transformed from a real estate businessman into a crazy politician; he can’t dodge the draft and has to go to the Vietnam frontline, this war that fundamentally changed America’s young generation.
The lost generation originated from the Vietnam War.
Lin Ran could hardly imagine what Old T would mutate into in this spacetime.
“Yeah, but serving in the military is the duty of every American; my son certainly can’t evade it.” Fred’s face was full of heaviness.
Lin Ran thought to himself, I’d have to be a fool to believe you; with your wealth and current status, getting your son out of military service isn’t a piece of cake? I’m not someone who grew up reading Reader’s Digest; I don’t believe American tycoons don’t take shortcuts or back doors.
Moreover, Lin Ran knew very well that on America’s social media, Old T had been nicknamed “bone spur military school boy” by others, mocking him for using bone spurs to dodge the draft in the 1960s.
“Professor, you know, Vietnam is a rotten war, an unprecedentedly rotten war; what Lyndon Johnson has done is simply terribly awful!
I’m very worried about Don’s safety; I’m very worried about him. He hasn’t even spent good time with his godfather yet.” Fred was almost crying.
Lin Ran was speechless; you little punk won’t just come out and ask me, hoping I’ll offer it myself.
You want me to offer it myself? Fine!
“Fred, don’t worry about this; I won’t let my godson fall into danger. I’ll personally instruct the relevant people to take good care of him and arrange a suitable position for him.” Lin Ran said seriously.
Inside, he thought: You don’t ask me, wanting me to offer it myself—isn’t that just trying to take advantage of me?
The logic here is that if Fred asks, it means Fred owes a favor, but by playing pitiful and waiting for Lin Ran to offer, he’s taking advantage.
Then when the time comes, I’ll chat with Lyndon Johnson, say my godson Fred’s son is going to the frontline, and ask him to take care of it. As for how Lyndon Johnson takes care of it, that’s none of my business, Lin Ran thought.
Whether Lyndon Johnson throws your son to the frontline as infantry or puts him in the rear tapping a calculator, I don’t know; I believe Mr. President will give him a sufficiently suitable position.
And if he’s thrown to the frontline, I can’t be blamed; how would I know Lyndon Johnson would do such a thing! Then I’ll join you in strongly condemning Lyndon Johnson.
Originally, if Fred had straightforwardly asked him, Lin Ran would have helped by talking to McNamara, since fun like T can’t be missed.
But Fred’s approach made Lin Ran feel very dissatisfied.
He’d seen enough fun in the 2020 spacetime; having no fun in the 1960 spacetime isn’t so bad either, so let him face the judgment of fate and see if he can kill his way out of the Vietnam jungle.
Without experiencing the tempering of iron and fire, how can he truly become a Great Again warrior?
“Come, thank your godfather properly!” Fred called his son over.
Lin Ran nodded slightly, thinking to himself: “Sure enough, he still has to thank me.”
After the moon landing ended, there was a long vacation.
Lin Ran applied for a sufficiently long vacation from the White House, a full two months long.
Two months wasn’t considered too long to the outside world.
But for Lin Ran, who had gates with different time flow rates, 60 days meant he could stay a full 3600 days in 2020.
Of course, these 60 days weren’t all spent continuously in 2020; some time had to be spent on New York socializing, like now using vacation time.
Including some time to vacation in Hawaii with Jenny.
But Lin Ran estimated he could still get twenty or thirty days.
At a 1:60 ratio, that would mean staying a full 1200 to 1800 days in the 2020 spacetime.
This was a long time, also a time to accumulate sufficient energy for the 1960 spacetime.
2020 had entered late December; all work at Apollo Aerospace was proceeding orderly according to plan, and sporadic red and white decorations appearing in the office building reminded everyone that Christmas was coming soon.
Lin Ran had been frequently traveling between Shanghai and Yanjing lately, because he needed to persuade China Aerospace to help replicate the F-1 engine and J-2 engine.
Saying it that way, as long as these two engines are sorted out, it means half the success of replicating the Apollo moon landing in modern times.
For China Aerospace, they don’t need to do the F-1.
A couple more words here.
The F-1 rocket engine is a single chamber liquid rocket engine developed by America in the 1960s for the Saturn V rocket, widely used in the Apollo moon landing missions. Its key parameters include:
Thrust around 6770 kN, slightly higher in vacuum, using gas generator cycle, with rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants.
During development, it faced serious combustion stability problems, solved through special injector and baffle designs.
The F-1 is also the most powerful single chamber liquid rocket engine in history; its thrust represented the limit of liquid rocket technology at the time.
On one hand, China is chasing SpaceX’s technical route, following a multi-engine cluster mode, lacking practical demand for developing large single chamber engines.
On the other hand, China Aerospace is also researching an engine called YF-130, with thrust around 4900 kN, comparable to the F-1 used in the Saturn V.
(China rocket engines being tested at the Tongchuan test center)
They’re not urgent about building the F-1 at all; they don’t want to build it.
Instead, the manufacturing difficulty itself isn’t too big a problem for China Aerospace; in the past, they were limited by precision in manufacturing large thrust chambers and cooling systems, but in recent years, China has successively solved this problem.
And Lin Ran’s repeated trips to Yanjing were to persuade the Chinese side to develop the F-1.
However, Lin Ran realized that simply persuading China Aerospace wasn’t that easy; he couldn’t just talk, he had to prove himself.
Even if it took more time.
So he still had to start with manned spaceflight.
First send people up, then talk about the rest.
Right now, he only had five billion RMB on hand; asking China Aerospace to open a new production line specifically for F-1 and J-2 engines wasn’t that simple.
So starting from November, after his fifth trip to Yanjing failed to convince them, he changed his approach.
Today is the day the first original rocket design drawing for Apollo moon landing is finalized:
Lin Ran proposed a two-stage rocket design scheme: first stage with 7 YF-102 liquid oxygen kerosene engines in parallel, each with 835 kN sea-level thrust, total thrust 5845 kN.
Second stage with only 1 YF-102V vacuum-optimized engine, vacuum thrust around 900 kN, specific impulse 330 seconds.
Both of these rocket engines are models sold publicly by China Aerospace on the marketplace.
Private aerospace enterprises basically all buy YF series engines.
Of course, there are also self-developed ones, like LandSpace’s self-developed Tianque series methane liquid oxygen engines for the Zhuque-2 rocket.
iSpace is also developing the JD-1 engine, aiming for reusability.
Lin Ran said: “The rocket design is now complete. We reference the Long March 2F, which can send about 7.8 tons Shenzhou spaceship to low Earth orbit, total thrust about 5920 kN, liftoff mass 464 tons.
Long March 2F uses 8 YF-20B engines, 4 on the core stage, 4 on boosters.
YF-102 has higher thrust; 7 provide 5845 kN, close to our needs.
We simplify the design, cancel boosters, use only core stage with 7 YF-102; the structure will be simpler. In the past two months, we’ve optimized mass distribution to ensure sufficient thrust-to-weight ratio and delta-v.”
Lin Ran then stood up at the whiteboard, skillfully drawing a rocket sketch with a marker, labeling 7 YF-102 engines in a hexagonal arrangement with one in the center.
He quickly calculated: “Assume total liftoff mass 438 tons, gravity about 4292 kN; 7 YF-102 provide 5845 kN, thrust-to-weight ratio 5845 ÷ 4292 ≈ 1.36, meets launch requirements.
YF-102 is gas generator cycle, similar to SpaceX’s Merlin 1D.
Merlin 1D sea-level specific impulse about 282 seconds, vacuum about 311 seconds.
YF-102 is similar: first stage average specific impulse 290 seconds, second stage YF-102V vacuum specific impulse 330 seconds.
Then first stage dry mass needs to be as low as possible.
Modern rockets have first stage dry mass ratio about 10-15%.
Assume first stage propellant 350 tons, dry mass 30 tons; second stage 50 tons, payload 8 tons, total mass 438 tons.
First stage initial mass m0=438 tons, post-burn mf=30+50+8=88 tons, mass ratio MR=438÷88≈4.98.
Assume first stage average specific impulse 290 seconds, exhaust velocity ve=290×9.8≈2842 m/s, delta-v1=2842×ln(4.98)≈4563 m/s.”
He continued: “Second stage initial mass m0=50+8=58 tons, post-burn mf=5+8=13 tons, mass ratio MR=58÷13≈4.46.
YF-102V specific impulse 330 seconds, ve=330×9.8≈3234 m/s, delta-v2=3234×ln(4.46)≈4835 m/s.
Total delta-v≈4563+4835=9398 m/s, close to 9000-9500 m/s requirement.
During this time, we’ve considered gravity and drag losses, optimized the trajectory, and added propellant in the process.
The Burning One Rocket has now completed preliminary design; next, everyone’s work is to handle simulation verification of the technology itself.
Additionally, on materials, we need to fully communicate with suppliers to confirm if there are materials meeting our conditions that can reduce dry mass while ensuring rocket stability under high thrust.
I plan for us to complete theoretical verification by mid-January, then spend two months assembling the rocket, and complete the final launch before spring in March.”
Wang Jiarui and Liu Jiyuan are both freshmen at Jiaotong University, members of Lin Ran’s math class; they’ve been interning here for half a year and are very familiar with Engineer Li from the orbital calculation group.
They’ve gradually mastered some professional rocket design software usage.
In this half year, everyone also learned where this company’s money came from: fleeced from Aldrin.
This left them amazed; there’s such an operation?
After all, Aldrin’s Beverly Hills mansion sale was also a piece of news big and small in America.
Apollo Technology’s employees had one who saw it online by chance, and it spread from one to ten, ten to hundred, until everyone knew.
This also made everyone marvel at Lin Ran’s “conning” ability; he could even turn the old man’s home into gold coins dropping out—what superpower is this?
“Engineer Li, how are the test results for the professor’s rocket design?” Wang Jiarui asked.
Li Rui sighed: “Extremely perfect.
Test results show that General Manager Lin’s design not only successfully sends the rocket to the predetermined orbit but also excels in technological advancement and economy without flaw.
To put it this way, the rocket’s first stage power system uses 7 engines in parallel; in testing, the thrust curve on the screen was as steady as a straight line, without any fluctuations.
When the rocket flies under high thrust, the pressure and vibration it endures is imaginable, but the professor’s design makes it incredibly stable.
Test data shows no signs of structural deformation or failure in the rocket.
Our structural engineers feel General Manager Lin has reached a realm that’s hard for everyone to understand.
In material selection and structural layout, every detail is considered, like stress distribution in key areas and anti-vibration design, all accounted for.
Structurally zero mistakes, still so steady under high thrust—design foundation is bottomlessly deep.
How to put it, I really don’t understand why bother with the Apollo moon landing?
With General Manager Lin’s ability, why not just pull investments on the marketplace and honestly develop civilian rockets?”
