Chapter 217: Senator
In the footage of the TV crew, Yun Hongjun, the commander-in-chief of the Long March 10, looked a little thin, with thick eyelids under his eyes, which all showed how crazy he had been working in the past few months.
How long did it take to design the basic design of Long March 10? 1 minute, this is the time Academician She mentioned when recalling it.
The basic configuration of an issue that had been unresolved and debated for decades was finally determined in just one minute.
When the Shuguang Plan was approved, the Long March 10 team was quickly formed, and the specific design was immediately started. Seven or eight people were recruited from the Chang 5 team, and the Long March 10 project was completed as quickly as possible by applying the design experience of the Chang 5. Overall design work.
After getting the specific dimensions, the Jingu rocket manufacturing base began to produce rocket bodies. The Sixth Institute was working hard on the YF130, and at the same time, it was also improving the YF77 vacuum version, YF75D, etc.
The rocket body is also under great pressure. First of all, using a 5-meter-diameter rocket body to manufacture a rocket with a gravity of 3,600 tons means that there must be strength problems. Bundling four kiloton boosters also requires developing a separation mechanism from scratch.
There were countless troubles encountered. Four on-site visits by leaders from above were enough to show the anxious attitude of the superiors.
In 10 months and less than a year, the space agency created a miracle in the history of spaceflight at a speed that it had never imagined. It built a giant rocket capable of landing on the moon in the shortest time.
No matter what the configuration potential of the Long March 10 is, no matter how much money is invested in it, the huge contribution of the Long March 10 team cannot be erased. They are destined to become legends.
Yun Hongjun had to personally follow the Long March 10 during its first flight. He was afraid that something might happen to the rocket that carried the dream of landing on the moon, so he simply followed the transfer ship to Qiongzhou, where he had to watch 7 ultra-long containers every day. To feel at ease.
When interviewed by reporters, although he spoke in stereotypes, people could feel the majestic power in his thin figure.
In the last scene of the day's news, Yun Hongjun said calmly to the camera:
"On behalf of the Long March 10 development team, I guarantee that the launch of the Long March 10 will proceed smoothly as scheduled. The Dawn Project will carry out its original purpose of sending our astronauts to the moon safely and returning them safely!"
…
There are many shipping routes from Jingu to Qiongzhou. The Yuanwang rocket transport ship will go all the way without any transfers. It only takes 4 days to arrive at the port, and then it will take no more than 10 days to complete unloading, assembly and inspection. The earliest it can be Launch on August 12th, August 15th at the latest.
Someone once suggested renting an 1250, which could be completed within 48 hours of two flights, and it would be much faster to get from the Xinyuan Space Launch Site where it landed to the Qiongzhou Space Launch Center, but it was rejected on the grounds of safety.
However, the shipping time is not too slow, it is much better than several inland launch sites, and it is really stable.
Unlike Xinyuan, the only feasible waterway route requires passing through the congested Yangtze River waterway, this section of the road is troublesome and risky, forcing the development of air transport.
On August 5, seven containers were transported by transfer vehicles to Station No. 1 of the Qiongzhou Launch Site.
This launch station, which has accommodated the Xinyuan 1 series, Xinyuan 2, Xinyuan 2A, and Xinyuan 3, finally welcomed its own rocket.
In order to celebrate this, the Qiongzhou Launch Administration specially held a welcome ceremony for the convoy transporting the Long March 10. The entire transfer road was decorated with red and colorful, and Director Huang personally escorted it all the way.
Since Long March 10 arrived in Qiongzhou, CCAV has reported on this giant rocket every day, and netizens across the country have also discussed it on a large scale.
Similarly, the Long March 10 has also reached extremely high popularity among foreign media.
On August 1st, CNN’s news headline had only one simple sentence:
"Long March 10 will arrive at Wenchang launch site. (Long March 10 will arrive at Qiongzhou Space Launch Site)"
CBS is more straightforward: "CASA is about to win the race to the moon (The space agency will win the race to the moon)"
This clearly represents the current attitude of Aramco towards the Long March 10. No matter how great achievements NACA has made, no matter how much the Artemis project has assembled the best of many countries and a total of hundreds of billions of dollars in funds, it is actually lagging behind.
The SLS rocket has not yet been assembled. After that, rocket body testing, launch pad modification, etc. will need to be carried out. The Kennedy Space Center spent US$1.6 billion just to renovate the launch pad.
The moment Long March 10 appeared, both NACA and Congress exploded.
Claire was dragged to Congress early in the morning, and the senator got straight to the point:
How long will it take for the SLS rocket to debut?
Claire was also scratching his head at this time. The Dawn Project had just been announced last year, and he had also seen the Long March 10 plan. He had no faith in the space agency's target of launching in August this year.
He did not know the specific progress of the Long March 5. In other words, according to NACA, the Long March 10 was completely newly developed from the rocket body, engine to the overall structure. Even at the craziest speed, it would take about two years, at least It will also take a year and a half.
On the contrary, the SLS inherited the Ares series of rockets and adopted the mature technology of the space shuttle. How could it fly before the Long March 10?
But now, he knew that his counterparts across the Pacific had built a moon rocket at a speed far beyond his imagination, which shocked him greatly.
Facing the aggressive senator, Claire could only answer his question first:
"There were some problems in the development of the SLS rocket, but we solved these problems and will still launch as scheduled."
Senator: "You mean, the SLS rocket can only be launched in October! December! Right?"
Claire said with a stiff upper lip: "Yes, it can be launched as early as early December, and it is guaranteed that the SLS rocket will be launched before 2017."
Senator: "We have already given the Artemis program a budget of up to 60 billion US dollars this year. As far as I know, the Dawn program as a whole is only 8 billion US dollars. Please tell us where these funds went and why the SLS rocket is more backward than the Long March 10?"
When it comes to funding, Claire has a headache. It is well known what the current situation of Amy is. The number and quality of workers are constantly decreasing, especially the high-tech industry needs to work overtime, and the average salary given is more than 5 times that of the other side of the sea, and the purchase price is even more so.
The fact that SLS can fly so early is the result of crazy overtime, and the $60 billion is almost spent.
But he decided not to accept the challenge, and tried to defend himself:
"China's space agency can only use the Long March 10 rocket. They need at least four rockets to land people on the moon, but the Artemis program will only use three SLS rockets. Even if it is delayed for four months now, we are still faster.
And the development and production of the Long March 10 rocket was too hasty, so its reliability must not be high."
Who knew that the senators laughed after hearing his words, and one senator stood up and shouted:
"Director Claire, did you not know CASA at all before you took up your current position? Look at the world's rocket launch success rate ranking. Do you want us to pin our hopes on their failure?!
We should impeach you and replace you with someone more sober!"