Chapter 118: New-type Ship
Fan Ren knew that the scientists present did not trust the test content conducted on his flying boat very much, so he could only helplessly pull up the recording content for everyone to view.
When the recording played to the point where the Mars ground appeared on the screen, these designers all shut their mouths one by one, their gazes fixed intently on the display screen.
Shocking?
Not really.
In the footage, they saw the unique orange-yellow desert terrain of Mars that had never been seen on Earth, as well as the gray atmosphere filling the sky.
And finally, on the Utopia Plain, Spitz Company’s Mars Base appeared.
“The main thing is that during the design at that time, we only considered going to Mars once, and conveniently placing our quantum relay satellite into Mars synchronous orbit. Um, re-entering the Mars atmosphere afterward was my personal decision, and also outside the test plan. But now it seems that this flying boat has the capability to fly in the atmosphere.”
The designers present couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed upon hearing this.
Listen, ‘just’ going to Mars once, ‘conveniently’ dropping a satellite.
And it even flew a lap inside the Mars atmosphere, although the atmosphere density there is low, and the planet’s gravity is slightly lower, but no matter what, it’s still an unknown planet.
Liu Shengzhan turned his head and looked eagerly at the ‘remains’ of the flying boat, saying: “Fan Ren, don’t belittle yourself. I think this flying boat is very useful. You just said that the fastest speed on Mars can reach 22 Mach?”
“Yes, 22 Mach. No wind tunnel testing was done, and the aerodynamic layout isn’t very reasonable. Otherwise, it could be faster.”
“Aerodynamic layout is no issue; our designers are very skilled in this area. The main thing is applicability. Can it directly take off from Earth and enter space?”
Fan Ren replied with some regret: “It can, but the engine cost is too high. If it’s to also accommodate navigation within the atmosphere, as the flying boat gets larger, the required thrust would necessitate more engines, which might not be cost-effective.”
“Commander Liu, Earth’s gravity is relatively high, so we can continue using traditional aircraft. Today’s meeting is mainly to reference this experimental data and discuss the design direction for future spaceships.”
Li Jiandong patted the other’s shoulder, looking at Fan Ren with satisfaction in his eyes.
Currently, various projects at the Space Hub are in full swing, and the Moon space elevator has already been constructed more than halfway.
Under this background, relying solely on those few Star Transport Series Rockets for transportation is already very strained.
The Ministry of Industry must quickly start designing new types of spacecraft suitable for space operations.
He continued:
“Our transport ship has been sent to the Space Hub and will be assembled soon. However, this kind of transport ship is only suitable for cargo transportation of large-volume items like ore. We also have a large number of workers and professionals responsible for various projects who need to travel between Earth and Moon.”
Liu Shengzhan pondered and now had some ideas in his mind, taking over the conversation:
“The Space Force newly established by the military headquarters also needs various combat ships. Since the future missions of the Space Force will involve monitoring high and low orbit satellites, I think our military’s ships need some capability to fly within the atmosphere.”
He paused, looked at the designers who were deep in thought, and said expectantly: “See if you can design a tugboat with capture capability and some towing power. The space rules we formulate will surely be challenged by certain forces. Directly shooting down is certainly effective once and for all, but it also leaves no room for maneuver.”
Fan Ren nodded, thinking of a movie he had watched in the dormitory back then.
In space, a large spacecraft directly cuts off the solar battery panels of smaller satellites, and can also deploy a large net to drag away some small satellites.
This is a very good idea.
It’s just that it might involve low orbit operations, so there might be some requirements for thrust.
Thinking of this, his eyes lit up.
“There’s a way!”
Fan Ren quickly pulled up the Star Transport Series Launch Vehicle on the display screen, pointing at it:
“This will do. The Star Transport Rocket after removing the first level propulsion system has nearly 200 tons of payload. Originally, after our new transport ship is put into use, these Star Transport Rockets will enter a semi-retired state.”
He stared at the photos of these rockets that had made great merits for Xinghai, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
“Commander Liu, the requirements you mentioned can be fully met by the Star Transport Rocket. We can modify it specifically: install deployable and retractable mechanical arms and other salvage equipment in the original payload bay, and replace the original second level hull with a nuclear fusion engine to give it long-endurance patrol capability.
At the same time, retain several of the removed second level thrust engines and install them on the sides of the rocket tail, while keeping a certain chemical fuel tank.
This way, in low orbit operation environments, if a tugboat operation is needed, it can temporarily pair with chemical fuel propulsion for towing operations.”
After Fan Ren finished speaking, everyone gradually formed a rough picture in their minds of what he described.
It’s just that a cylindrical rocket with several chemical fuel engines dragging on both sides feels a bit odd.
Fan Ren didn’t care about that; as long as it’s useful. There are now over a dozen Star Transport Series Rockets, and it would be too wasteful to fully retire them all.
Besides, since it won’t enter the atmosphere, there’s no need to consider aerodynamic layout at all.
In vacuum, a big iron lump of the same mass compared to his flying boat requires the same thrust.
Fan Ren stared at Liu Shengzhan and muttered: “Water tugs aren’t particularly good-looking either.”
“I think it’s feasible!”
The master craftsman from the military headquarters responsible for fighter jet design nodded heavily; he had understood what Fan Ren meant.
In his view, appearance doesn’t matter; practicality does.
The modified Star Transport Rocket can fully satisfy maintenance, capture, towing, and a series of on-orbit satellite operations.
Moreover, this can save a lot of construction cost. To say something not afraid of being laughed at, in their generation of scientists, the idea of achieving big things with small money is ingrained.
At this time, Liu Shengzhan could only nod. Currently, the main budget is focused on Ministry of Industry projects. The Space Force is also important, but its primary job is to protect Great Xia’s interests from harm.
With this modified Star Transport Rocket, at least they can live up to the series of previous statements issued.
Fan Ren smiled at the corner of his mouth.
Of course, this couldn’t fully satisfy Commander Liu’s Space Force requirements.
Immediately after, he operated a bit, and the Star Transport Rocket on the display screen switched to a spaceship they had never seen before, appearing before everyone’s eyes.
This spaceship had protrusions at both ends of the bow, a straight hull section, and two slightly raised cylindrical bodies at the stern.
Fan Ren dragged the image to rotate, revealing the cylindrical bodies at the stern.
They were exactly two nuclear fusion engines.
