Chapter 261 Phone Call

"The first batch of H2M large space shuttles, Pioneer and Glory, were manufactured by the New Yuan Aerospace Power Company's production and research and development consortium, and the roll-off ceremony was held at 12:00 this morning."

"H2M project chief engineer Guo Shen accepted a ground interview at the Tiangong Space Station and said that the first H2M conventional-powered space shuttle 'Pioneer' will complete its first unmanned flight this month and a manned flight in December."

"Our station learned that many important members of the Space Development Committee attended the roll-off ceremony of the two large space shuttles and will nominate the main designers for the Science and Technology Innovation Progress Award.

H2M project deputy chief engineer Shelyov said: Pioneer and Glory The space shuttle is the world's seventh 100-ton space shuttle, and it also marks that my country has become the third country after the Alliance and Aramco to have large reusable spacecraft.

The H2 series uses revolutionary new technology. If the first generation was developed in the last century and the current small space shuttle is the second generation, then what we have now is the third generation of space shuttle technology, which has greatly improved in reusability, economy, versatility and safety.

The completion of the trial production of Pioneer and Glory will strengthen the pace of moving towards space..."

It was late at night on November 9th, Beijing time, and 11 am on November 8th, Aramco time.

In the high-level circle, John's victory in the election has spread everywhere, and Claire is no exception.

He watched the November 7th Central News broadcast on YouTube, and the impact of John's election as boss and the first two H2Ms coming off the production line made him a little sluggish.

Claire wanted to grab John by the collar and asked loudly: "How can you be elected? How can you be elected!"

If Diane came up, the current situation would probably remain unchanged, and she would do what she should do, but John was a man who could toss and turn, and his thinking could not be viewed from the perspective of ordinary elites.

More importantly, after John was forced to end the party and sober up, he had to give a speech before tonight, and the Ares plan he boasted about before the election was also in the content, so he had called Claire to ask NACA for interactive support.

Since the Ares plan was proposed later, Claire did not take it too seriously, but now she found out that if she really landed on Mars in 2024, NACA might have more trouble than she imagined.

Just a rough estimate, the cost would be more than 200 billion US dollars, and this is to let the Ares plan inherit some of the achievements of the Artemis plan, such as using the SLS block2 rocket to reduce the cost of the new rocket.

Add to that the investment in the Artemis plan, and it's scary to think about spending hundreds of billions of dollars in less than 10 years.

The key is that the Ares program may not be a success. The current status of the Aramco space program is indeed backward, and it is necessary to regain face in other aspects.

The newly manufactured Pioneer and Glory have put the opponent a few steps ahead. This is eye drops!

And now NACA is still worried about SLS. The development time of the new tank is too short. Although it is manufactured, it is suspected to have leakage problems. Claire has not had a day off for more than two months.

Just as he was about to take a break, the phone rang again.

This time it was not John's staff, but the future boss himself.

"Director Claire, I am very busy now and cannot come to see you in person. I want to confirm something with you on the phone."

"You say."

Claire forced himself to cheer up. He should still be the director of NACA in the next four years. He can't refuse to answer the boss's questions.

John: "I want to know, in your opinion, how long will it take to send astronauts to Mars? How long will it take to establish a Mars colony?"

Claire: "There are many variables, but if I were to plan the plan myself, I think it would be possible to launch a Mars spacecraft around 2030, complete a manned landing on Mars before 2035, and as for a permanent colony, it would take at least 10 years."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while. John was a little annoyed why he was bragging and following Kennedy's example to set an 8-year period.

8 years is the time for two consecutive terms, but who knows if he can serve a second term? I don't know, but I can't pretend not to say it in the context of the space race.

John tentatively asked again: "So, is there any way to launch a Mars spacecraft in 2020?"

John, who has already made up for some aerospace knowledge, already knows that with the existing technology, it takes about two years to go back and forth to Mars plus the mission cycle, so he doesn't expect to see the landing on Mars while he is in office. If the spacecraft can be launched, it will be a victory.

Claire: "..."

"Mr. Future Boss, I can only guarantee to launch the unmanned exploration equipment before the manned landing in 2020, find a suitable landing site, and make preliminary preparations.

The entire Mars landing plan must include at least one unmanned exploration and one unmanned resource preparation, which means at least three large launch missions. The remaining small launch missions are more limited by the Mars window period. Launching once every two years is an insurmountable obstacle. Unmanned resource launch in 2020 is the limit I can imagine.

Maybe this time is still not enough. 2022 is more sufficient. It will take another four years to launch a manned spacecraft."

Another four years? That means 2026?

This is unacceptable!

John doesn't want to make wedding clothes for others. Besides, didn't the Apollo program succeed within 10 years? Now half a century has passed. Isn't there any technological progress?

"Director Claire," John's voice was heavier: "What if I say that we must land on Mars in 2024 and ask you to come up with a plan immediately?"

Claire: "Then you also need to show the courage of the Apollo program and give NACA all support, including raising taxes, 70% tax on the rich, and making NACA's funding reach about 5% of the total federal budget."

There was no sound on the other end of the phone.

During the Apollo program, the federal government raised taxes crazily for fiscal reasons. Personal income tax, corporate tax, etc. were rising every year. According to the tiered tax collection, the highest period reached an astonishing 70%!

A maximum of 70% tax was levied on the rich and large companies!

Now most of these tax rates are stable below 20%, which means they have to triple!

As for the proportion of NACA's funding, it did reach 2% to 5% of the total federal budget during the Apollo program. You have to know that it was the total expenditure of a superpower at that time, including education, people's livelihood, and military. 5% of the proportion was almost all, and that's why it was necessary to continue to increase taxes.

To do this, the external pressure must be great enough and the boss must be strong enough. The pressure is about the same now, but does John have the courage?

"I need to think about it. I will call you later, Mr. Director."

The phone was hung up. Claire sighed and trembled slightly. I don't know if it was because of excitement or fear, or both.