Chapter 280: One Man’s Miracle
The Moon landing documentary on Bilibili has gone live, 6 yuan for four hours, launched on the eve of Spring Festival, with purchase numbers already exceeding 50 million, almost matching Bilibili’s daily active users.
According to Bilibili’s 2021 financial report, their monthly average users are 272 million.
This wave directly made Bilibili a fortune, with a paid conversion rate close to 20%. Note that the 50 million paid users are just during the Spring Festival holiday, and it will continue to rise afterward.
It can be said that Bilibili only spent 1.2 billion to convert 50 million users from free to paid, in the highly mature mobile internet era of 2021, this deal is absolutely a huge profit.
CCTV just directly used clips from Bilibili’s documentary, and as for Bilibili, they couldn’t resist CCTV at all.
“The clip you just watched is from the first episode ‘A One-Man Miracle’ of the documentary Replicate Apollo, and the young man in the clip is now sitting right in front of me. Let’s give our warmest applause to welcome Professor Lin Ran, and congratulate him on successfully completing the moon landing.”
Xiao Sa clapped very enthusiastically, and the audience under the studio stage followed suit enthusiastically.
To come to the site to watch Lin Ran’s interview, you have to be from good ministries, state-owned enterprises, or public institutions in Yanjing to get tickets.
Marginal public institutions can only hear about this from friends, relatives, or classmates.
Even institutions that got tickets have to use all sorts of tricks to get them from the union.
This is the appeal of the first person to land on the moon.
“Hello everyone, I’m Lin Ran.”
Xiao Sa smiled and said: “Last time I came, I felt I could barely mention being recommended to Yenching University, now mentioning being recommended to Yenching University feels like asking for humiliation.
After all, I’m already at this age and still need Yenching University to gild my face, but Professor Lin, Jiaotong University is already proud of you.
Online everyone is joking that because of your existence, it directly helped Jiaotong University skyrocket in place, securing the Top 3 position.
Okay, top2 is still slightly ahead of top3 by a tiny bit.”
It circled back to the familiar old meme.
Lin Ran nodded: “It’s not important, as long as I’m still at Jiaotong University, Jiaotong University will eventually become top1.”
Xiao Sa quickly said: “By then I would have retired, I won’t have to face Professor Lin in CCTV’s studio anymore, I’ll have my son go to Shanghai Jiaotong University then.”
This made the audience below laugh heartily.
Xiao Sa then brought the topic back to the interview itself: “Professor Lin, when was that clip from earlier?”
Lin Ran said without thinking: “September the year before last, when I had just returned to China.”
Xiao Sa then asked: “So at that time, you had already proposed the slogan of moon landing?”
Lin Ran nodded: “Yes, at that time our employees were very clear that our goal is the moon.”
Xiao Sa asked: “We can see from the video that Apollo Technology at that time only had around 100 employees.”
Lin Ran corrected: “To be precise, it was 108 employees, including 52 interns from Jiaotong University, 27 employees over 80 years old, meaning only 29 truly experienced employees, and this includes me.”
Lin Ran recited the numbers like they were treasures, effortlessly.
Xiao Sa swallowed: “So when you spoke in the video, the ‘one against a hundred’ you mentioned included interns and NASA employees?
Did you say at that time that you would complete the moon landing by the end of 2021?”
Lin Ran answered: “Yes, my meaning was that these 108 people of ours could collectively burst out with the same combat power as the tens of thousands of NASA employees in the 60s.
No, I only said our goal is to replicate the Apollo moon landing, the specific timeline was only known to a few core employees.
After all, in that context, it would be too shocking, I was afraid of scaring people away.”
Xiao Sa sighed: “Yeah, even now after Professor Lin has successfully completed the moon landing, looking back at this journey, it still feels unbelievable.
So what gave you the confidence at that time to feel that you could definitely do it?
As outsiders, even to this day, if I go back to 2020, I still find it hard to believe you could really complete the moon landing by the end of 2021.”
Lin Ran thought and said: “I think this benefits from China’s strong industrial foundation, my mastery of the entire Apollo moon landing project, and China’s excellent engineer group.
These three together created this miracle.
So actually when I saw Bilibili’s documentary titled A One-Man Miracle, I felt it was a bit over the top.
Just me alone definitely couldn’t accomplish such a great feat.”
Xiao Sa corrected: “Professor, only the first episode is called that, I watched all 8 episodes of the documentary, I think it makes sense.
After all, at the timeline of the first episode, it’s called A One-Man Miracle because only you believed that the Apollo moon landing could definitely be completed.”
Bilibili’s documentary is divided into 8 episodes, each 30 minutes.
Xiao Sa then asked: “I believe this is a question that I and most people are very curious about, that is, did Apollo Technology’s initial funds come from Buzz Aldrin, and if so, how did you convince him?”
Because of what Aldrin said on the moon, he has a very positive image in China.
After all, to Chinese people, those words essentially meant political death in America, it’s a act of sacrificing life for righteousness.
In China’s values, acts of sacrificing life for righteousness have very high evaluation weight.
Plus even from a utilitarian perspective, cross-century moon landing’s Aldrin still has sufficiently high evaluation.
Combined, Aldrin is absolutely a positive figure in China.
“This is because we both have the same obsession with going to the moon.
Buzz has always been thinking about going to the moon again, and I also wanted to see it up there, so we hit it off immediately.
I just wrote him a letter, then Buzz bought a flight ticket to China, and even brought his old buddies along.
Including the funds, he sold all his assets, about 30 million US dollars total, his villa, residence, stocks and everything in America, all turned into seed funding for me.
So I’m very grateful to him, of course I didn’t let down his trust, 30 million US dollars for a round-trip moon flight ticket, not expensive.”
The audience below including Xiao Sa had their mouths open the whole time, from the point of settling it with one letter, everyone’s mouths haven’t closed.
This works too?
“This works too? Just one letter?” Xiao Sa couldn’t hold back.
Lin Ran thought: “And one phone call, that’s it.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of pulling investment being this easy.
After all, Aldrin gave you all his assets, this really is high mountains and flowing water meeting a soulmate, like Zhong Ziqiao and Bo Ya meeting, no need for too many things, everyone can reach consensus.
But thinking about it, it makes sense, novels need logic, reality never does.
Professor Lin and Dr. Aldrin share the same love and obsession for moon landing, so the two hit it off, reached cooperation, and together created a new miracle for the world.” Xiao Sa summarized.
Lin Ran said: “Actually money is not a problem for me, it’s just a matter of sooner or later.
I found Buzz just thinking we could quickly confirm the moon landing matter.
Finding other investors, I’d have to explain why not do reusable rockets, why moon landing, and after moon landing about turning the moon into a forward base, how much investment needed.
Not to mention the latter, others can’t understand your intentions, and saying the latter, the huge costs for moon transformation easily scare away investors.
So at that time I simply thought finding Buzz was the easiest, and later developments matched my expectations, finding Buzz only took one letter and one phone call.
Then after settling Buzz, Shanghai local state-owned capital provided me with an investment of the same amount, pulled sponsorship from Bilibili and Tencent, basically covering the moon landing costs.
From my perspective, it felt very smooth, just like butchering an ox, looks very complex but according to my understanding of the ox, disassembling it was very easy.
Outsiders might think wow, such a big project done in over a year, as the overall lead of the moon landing project and also the astronaut, having to undergo a lot of training to land on the moon, must be extremely hard and tiring.
Actually no, I felt it was very smooth, not much fatigue, instead very excited, wanting to do more.”
Lin Ran smiled, the audience read the meaning of happiness from it.
Xiao Sa asked: “So after completing the moon landing, what is the thing you most want to do?”
Lin Ran smiled: “The test launch of our internally named ‘Burning One Modified’ reusable rocket.
This should also be China’s first medium reusable rocket.
Actually I’m a workaholic, don’t know when life started, just kept rushing forward without stopping, and don’t want to stop.”
Lin Ran knows exactly when, December 31, 2019, that was the big turning point of fate, his life, the whole world changed because of it.
“Seems like successful people, the more successful the more they like to work, like their career.” Xiao Sa said.
Lin Ran: “I don’t know about others, I don’t know if I can count as successful, but at least I love what I do.”
Xiao Sa sighed: “So the professor at just over 20 years old achieved accomplishments others dare not even dream of.
Whether in the field of mathematics or the field of aerospace, making others hard to catch up.
Every time interviewing the professor I feel a lot of pressure, the other’s level is much higher than mine, I’m afraid after the program airs netizens will complain again, saying standing with the professor I look like an elementary school student.
So professor, in this moon landing process, what was the most unforgettable moment for you?”
Lin Ran said without thinking: “When I stepped on the moon’s land, only one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, this was absolutely my unprecedented experience.
Including because the moon landing itself was serendipitous, so inwardly very emotional.
Back when I chose Apollo moon landing as my undergraduate thesis topic, my advisor was also supervising four other students, when he met with us five he joked that maybe one of you could participate in the moon landing project, become the main force of the moon landing project.
Later I met him at school, he never imagined that not only am I the main force of the moon landing project, I single-handedly led a private institution’s moon landing, and even personally stepped on the moon’s land.
After unremitting efforts, stepped on another planet, this has nothing to do with reputation, honor, status, the moon always hangs in Earth’s sky, I went, I saw, I felt it.
Just like Mallory answered why climb the mountain, because the mountain is there.
Similarly, why moon landing, because the moon is there.”
Lin Ran’s face was full of emotion.
The audience could also feel the emotions contained in Lin Ran’s words, everyone spontaneously applauded.
Actually there was originally why become an astronaut, and topics around astronauts.
But given what Lin Ran said earlier was a bit taboo, this part was completely cut.
Xiao Sa then asked: “Professor, after this successful moon landing, I believe routine round trips between moon and Earth should not be a problem.
1.2 billion RMB for one moon trip, including further reducing this cost later, I believe going to the moon itself is not a problem, then turning the moon into an outpost, that is as you mentioned in the interview, building electromagnetic launch towers, photovoltaic power stations, moon base etc. on the moon, how long do you think it will take to achieve these, what difficulties will be encountered in the process, and what benefits can this bring to us ordinary people?”
Lin Ran said: “This topic is too big.
From a technical perspective we need to overcome the moon’s temperature differences, make spacecraft launched from the moon able to withstand high acceleration and heat loads.
Deploying a moon launch tower, with current technology, we might need one around 1600 meters high, then the weight transported to the moon exceeds 400 tons.
400 tons just to build one launch tower, this cost is a bit too high.
And such a big launch tower, how many people needed to assemble it? Can we send so many people to the moon at once? How to ensure their survival on the moon?
These are all problems.
Including energy supply and energy storage modules, adaptation to moon dust etc., countless problems, we need to overcome them one by one.
This is a large project a hundred thousand times more complex than the moon landing project, not only because we have the Apollo moon landing as reference, but building a launch tower on the moon, no one can give us hints, we need to step into the pits one by one ourselves.
I collectively call it the moon transformation project, this project itself has much much higher difficulty than the Apollo moon landing.
Then to achieve it, it’s a long-term process, hard to have a clear end point.
It will keep advancing, I expect five to ten years to build the first moon launch tower, then continue construction and optimization.
This is like building a city, it’s not finished and done, but dynamically ongoing.
As for benefits to ordinary people, of course there are.
Teacher Sa, do you know? Actually historically American public did not support NASA’s Apollo program, they felt the moon landing wasted too much money.
Even if really landing on the moon, what does it have to do with us?
We care about medical, education, housing and other welfare.
Even in that era’s Washington area, the place with the highest average education in all of America, polls on government spending huge sums on moon landing, support rate never exceeded opposition.
Lin Ran spoke leisurely: “Then NASA did a lot of work, including promotion among the public, aerospace lectures in schools, building museums, opening NASA trademarks, any company applying can use them etc.”
In the 60s spacetime, these activities all needed Lin Ran’s approval before funds were allocated.
He spoke with deep feeling.
“And numerous derivative applications from aerospace development popularized among the masses.
Like satellite technology profoundly influencing current weather forecasts, navigation and communication technology, GPS and Beidou satellites indispensable in modern society.
The memory foam everyone sleeps on daily now was also developed by NASA’s Ames Research Center, for improving spacecraft cushioning and safety, enhancing astronaut protection during launch and landing.
There are many examples, including if we really build a moon launch tower, just this heat management system applied to domestic new energy vehicles can fundamentally solve the problem that new energy vehicles lose range whether temperature too high or too low.
See, just this technology can give a huge boost to the entire new energy vehicle industry.
This is just the technical impact, besides technology, we will drive employment, drive the development of an entire industry, at least directly and indirectly providing hundreds of thousands of decent positions.
It is absolutely not unrelated to ordinary people, on the contrary, if commercial aerospace develops, it will be closely related to each of us.”
After Lin Ran’s CCTV interview aired, it sparked heated discussions among netizens.
“I said the Qin Shi Huang investment scam has believers, one letter pulls 30 million, no wonder so many Indian scammers call America, America is indeed stupid with money come quick.”
“Ran Shen is not just a study god, this is solid succubus physique, too good at fooling.”
“It is, reportedly in university Ran Shen monopolized the entire Shanghai Jiaotong University’s study abroad consultation business, even driving out the nearby New Oriental doing this.”
Lin Ran doing study abroad consultation, because many Jiaotong University students posted proof on various social media, then netizens linked it to New Oriental’s Jiaotong University campus closure those years, saying Lin Ran bankrupted New Oriental.
Actually New Oriental just relocated, completely unrelated to Lin Ran.
This is also a Jiaotong University legend after Lin Ran’s rise, Lin Ran drove out New Oriental.
“If our boss had this investment pulling ability, we wouldn’t be on edge at work every day.”
Everyone’s discussion focus was not Lin Ran’s elaboration on aerospace significance, but how one letter and one phone call pulled 30 million US dollars investment.
This 30 million was even Aldrin liquidating all his assets.
After time entered mid-February, at China Aerospace’s rocket test center, Apollo Technology to conduct the first static ignition test of Burning One Modified.
The purpose is to verify engine performance, structural integrity, and functionality of the added reusable system.
In the test center’s control room, lights bright, screens displaying real-time data streams.
Lin Ran sitting in the front: “Each group report status.”
Propulsion group: “Engine system normal.”
Fuel group: “Fueling complete, fuel tank 100% full.”
Structure group: “Landing legs and grid fins ready for deployment test.”
Lin Ran instructed: “Good, we proceed with static ignition test.
This is our first test of the reusable system, everything must be foolproof.”
Announcer: “T minus 10, 9, 8”
At T zero, 7 YF-102 engines ignited, flames jetting, deafening.
Lin Ran stared at the screen: “Engine pressure normal, thrust level within expected range.”
Alarm sounded suddenly.
Technician tensely: “Professor, engine 4 has fluctuation.”
Lin Ran frowned, staying calm: “Monitor closely. If exceeds limits, we may need to abort.”
Fluctuation stabilized.
Technician relieved: “Back to normal.”
Lin Ran: “Continue, initiate landing legs deployment sequence.”
Screen showed landing legs slowly extending and locking.
Lin Ran: “Landing legs deployed successfully. Now test grid fins.”
Grid fins adjusted angles, simulating descent control.
Lin Ran: “Grid fins responding well, end test, shut down engines.”
Engines shut down, applause in the meeting room.
Lin Ran: “Well done, this static ignition test very successful, now analyze data, ensure no anomalies.”
The entire ignition test process, test parameters 7 YF-102 engines full power ignition, sustained 130 seconds, verifying thrust stability and landing legs/grid fins deployment.
Data collection included engine pressure, temperature, vibration data, landing legs locking force and grid fins response time.
Grid fins are a special aerodynamic control device, used to provide directional control and stability when the rocket returns to the atmosphere, first appeared on Soviet Union’s 50s developed ballistic missiles, later used by SpaceX on reusable rockets.
They help the rocket adjust trajectory and attitude during high-speed descent, ensuring precise landing.
Grid fins consist of a series of crisscross grid-like structures, when airflow passes through these grids, it generates lateral force, helping the rocket adjust direction.
Grid fins are particularly effective in supersonic and subsonic phases.
During rocket’s inverted descent, that is engine-up posture, grid fins work like small wings, providing stability and control.
Grid fins reduce air resistance when folded, suitable for launch phase, provide precise trajectory adjustment when deployed.
At the same time compared to traditional planar fins, grid fins are lighter and more heat-resistant, suitable for high-speed reentry environment.
(Grid fin close-up)
Including Chinese company iSpace Glory’s 2019 developed Hyperbola-1 rocket, first stage also included four grid fins.
Landing legs mainly support the rocket maintaining attitude stabilization during landing.
The entire team appeared calm without waves, in other teams, if static ignition test succeeds, they would definitely hug each other.
Apollo Technology’s team members’ applause was just polite.
This is the confidence the moon landing brought to the entire team.
After data collection finished, while preparing for Burning One Modified’s official launch test, Lin Ran could not imagine that this rocket, not long after, would play a huge role in Eastern Europe’s meat grinder.
