Reborn since 1993

Chapter 896 The cunning rabbit dies and the lackey is cooked

Li Dongling was stunned when he heard this suddenly. He did not expect that this leading figure in the aerospace field would come to Pingyang in person.

Li Dongling actually had some guesses in his mind about what Academician Sun was talking about. A good cook cannot cook without rice, and a penny can make a hero fail. These are not empty words!
"Let's go there now!"

Li Dongling said to Xiao Kecheng that the enemy had already come to kill them, and Dongling Hi-Tech needed to treat them well no matter what.

Academician Sun not only represents himself, but also countless people in the entire domestic aerospace field, including missiles and fighter jets, who have learned from him.

It can be said that he is the largest faction in the domestic aerospace industry. After all, the domestic aerospace system was almost established by him alone.

Even though Academician Sun is worried about the Beidou funding now, anyone who offends him will never get an order from any unit or department of the domestic aerospace agency again. It will probably be difficult to enter this industry!

Now the Space Administration and other departments are tightening their belts, but it does not mean that such hard times will continue forever. Especially as the domestic economy improves, there will be more and more research and development projects in the sky and on the ground, and the Space Administration will receive more and more orders!

After giving a few instructions to Ren Yuefeng, Hu Zixian and others, Li Dongling rushed to where Academician Sun was.

……

While Li Dongling was on the road, a group of people from Hanxi provincial capital, Shangzhong and other places hurried towards Pingyang.

"Teacher, why didn't you tell us in advance that you were coming so that we could pick you up at the airport!"

In a research institute in Pingyang belonging to the Ministry of Aerospace Industry, a middle-aged man in his forties, holding a cup of tea in his hand, spoke in a flattering manner to Academician Sun, who was approaching his seventies.

If the people in the institute saw that the director, who was always serious in the past, showed this attitude, they would probably be shocked.

"Tell you in advance?"

"And then wait for you to fool me, right?"

Academician Sun looked at the middle-aged man with a glare, and then said angrily, "When I came here, the research institute had the largest liquid rocket research base in Asia!

What has it become now? In these years, we haven’t even produced a single R&D result, and even those bases are almost abandoned!"

The man who was scolded by Academician Sun felt a little embarrassed, but he couldn't refute it because what Academician Sun said was true.

When he first started working, Academician Sun began to lead the research and development of domestic satellite, rocket and missile projects. Academician Sun visited almost all domestic research institutes, coordinating cooperation among the various research institutes to overcome technical difficulties.

As an important place for military research and development, Hanxi naturally has a large number of aerospace research institutes. The man had been instructed by Academician Sun in the past, so he could also call him teacher.

Just like men, there are a large number of heads of research institutes in the country, which shows the influence of Academician Sun!

"Teacher, times have changed!"

The man said somewhat helplessly, "A few years ago, the main body of the research institute here moved to the provincial capital of Hanxi and merged with other research institutes.

Although the research institute has been retained, it is short of funds, and the number of research and development projects has been decreasing. Now our institute can only barely maintain the payment of salaries. It is fortunate that the Pingyang Municipal Government has ample finances and is willing to subsidize part of the funds for our institute.

Aerospace research institutes in other regions are having an even worse time. Many have been owed salaries for several months or even a year or two. Young people simply don’t want to join research institutes anymore!”

When Academician Sun saw the man's look, he sighed helplessly. He knew that the middle-aged man was telling the truth.

This is not only true for the Pingyang aerospace research institute, but also for other large and small aerospace research institutes in the country, which are actually much the same.

Furthermore, not only the domestic aerospace industry, but also the global aerospace industry has been in a state of sluggishness or even recession these years.

Needless to say, after the Russians fell, they were extremely poor. The Buran space shuttle was left in a warehouse. Even the Russian Space Agency survived by selling the RD180 rocket engines left over from the Russian era, and they sold them to NASA in the United States...

What they are playing with is abstraction. If the Space Administration, which competed with NASA for space dominance during the Soviet era, knew that its successor was so incompetent, I wonder if it would be so angry that it would jump out of its coffin.

But more abstract than the Russian Space Agency is the American NASA, which has let its horses go to the mountains and taken its weapons into storage.

NASA's greatest achievement in the past few decades, apart from its own high-profile moon landing mission, is that it helped America develop the "Star Wars", which fooled the Russian bear, successfully emptied its treasury, and killed it.

During the heyday of NASA, there was no doubt that America was challenging Russia for supremacy in the space race. Dollars were poured into NASA like they were free, with 4% of GDP being given to NASA every year.

Why did the Russian bear fall for it and believe in America's Star Wars plan? It wasn't just a few words that fooled it.

At that time, America really emptied its treasury to give it to NASA to play with, and threw real money and real dollars at it. Every year, rockets and satellites kept rising into the sky like two-footed kicks. I just want to ask, under such circumstances, is the Russian bear panicking?
It is not an exaggeration to say that NASA at that time was not short of money at all. Whatever it lacked, it would be built by the combined efforts of America, Western Europe, Japan and other places. When the Russian bear fell, NASA also suffered the fate of being abandoned after the rabbit died, and its funding was cut by a large part every year by the masters on Capitol Hill in the United States.

Without the Russian bear, the guys on Capitol Hill in America have no interest in exploring Mars or migrating to space. Isn't it a waste of money to spend tens of billions of dollars on NASA every year?

Many things do not happen overnight. As for the fact that NASA failed to send people into space and failed to bring them back decades later, this did not happen suddenly, but there were signs of it a long time ago.

Since the fall of the Russian bear, the major threat has been eliminated and there is no longer any threat to its existence. NASA has also relaxed its vigilance over the years.

Not only is there less funding, but without competitors, there is also no motivation to move forward. NASA's space capabilities can be said to have collapsed.

More importantly, various suppliers that produced rockets and satellites for NASA went bankrupt and transformed because they could not receive orders.

Practitioners in the entire American aerospace industry chain have no successors. In addition, America has begun to deindustrialize, engage in financial fraud, and promote happy education.

When the last batch of drilling and welding masters who have worked for NASA for more than 20 years grow old, the technology of that era in America will basically be sealed and will be impossible to replicate.

Not to mention that NASA’s drawings were lost, even if they were not lost, it would be impossible to find a company or a skilled craftsman to produce them. It could only start from scratch and slowly look for suppliers and train production staff!

As for buying rocket engines from the Russians, nominally, the Russian rocket engines are just cheaper, and America can also build its own high-thrust rockets, but there is no need to do so. But what the reality is, I guess only NASA itself knows.

Seeing Academician Sun remained silent, the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask curiously, "Teacher, are you here for a public event this time, or..."

The aerospace research institute in Pingyang now has basically no research and development capabilities. There are even rumors that the rocket research and development base will be turned into an exhibition base to be used as an aerospace education base and tourist attraction.

If Academician Sun was here for official business, he should have gone to the provincial capital of Hanxi. Basically, all the elite members of the Aerospace Research Institute in Hanxi Province have gathered in the provincial capital.

"I came here for official business, but I also have some personal selfish motives!" Academician Sun took a sip of tea and said slowly.

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Teacher, I wonder if it's convenient for you to talk about the project?"

The man is only in his forties, which is the golden age for a technician. He really doesn't want to waste time until retirement. If there is a chance, he certainly still wants to participate in the project.

Seeing the man, Academician Sun hesitated for a moment. He knew that it was not just the man in front of him. Too many research institutes in the country were waiting for projects, but funding was a big problem. If you give a project, you have to give funding, otherwise wouldn't that be hooliganism?
"It will probably be here soon!" Academician Sun glanced at the time and said to the man.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone from the institute ran in and said, "Director, Mr. Li is here at our institute!"

"Which Mr. Li?" the man couldn't help but ask.

"Besides Mr. Li from Dongling Hi-Tech, who else could there be in Pingyang?!"

"In addition to Mr. Li, there is also a person who claims to be the general manager of Amap!"

"Li Dongling!"

Hearing Li Dongling's arrival, the middle-aged man was obviously stunned for a moment, then he stood up suddenly. He now knew who Academician Sun had rushed to Pingyang to meet.

The middle-aged man didn’t know how big the project would be that could attract Academician Sun to come all the way here, but he knew that this was an opportunity for him and countless people in the domestic aerospace industry!

A space project may require the participation of dozens or even hundreds of universities, research institutes, and companies, and the mobilization of tens or even hundreds of thousands of personnel, which is why it costs so much money.

"Academician Sun!"

After entering the institute, Li Dongling, Xiao Kecheng and others saw Academician Sun, who was over 70 years old but still in good spirits.

Xiao Kecheng was extremely respectful when facing Academician Sun. People who make a living in the field of technology would treat Academician Sun with awe as if he were a god.

Academician Sun shook hands with Li Dongling, looked directly at him, and recalled the various rumors he had heard about Li Dongling before.

If he had not specifically inquired about Li Dongling's previous style of doing things, and did not know that Li Dongling invested in the establishment of Doxin Semiconductor and Oriental Optoelectronics to develop domestic chips and panels, he would not have come this time.

Looking at Li Dongling, Academician Sun suddenly smiled and said, "Mr. Li, you won't be unwelcome to an old man like me, right?"

Li Dongling was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then he smiled bitterly and said, "Academician Sun, you are joking. It is a great honor for Dongling Hi-Tech and AutoNavi Maps to have you here. We are so happy to welcome you. How could we object?"

I think there is no place in the country that would not welcome Academician Sun's arrival!"

(End of this chapter)