Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1408 Gao Zhendong, the Mud Immortal (5k)

He's so calm and collected. Even though he didn't know about this beforehand, he remained completely unfazed. This is one of Gao Zhendong's strengths; it seems like not many things can move him.

But then again, is it really possible that he was completely oblivious? That's unlikely. This kid is actually quite perceptive in this regard; he just doesn't care much about it.

For Gao Zhendong, all of this was expected. The inertia of history was still there, especially since the party involved was a country that had nothing to do with him.

Besides, although Gao Zhendong was just an ordinary person in his previous life, he dared to say that no one in the world could compare to him in terms of the grand scenes he had witnessed. Even the most imaginative person could not imagine as many strange and wonderful things as he had seen.

So, if you want him to be moved by something, it's probably not as effective as setting off a firecracker under his butt.

Therefore, Gao Zhendong did not make any major moves, but simply waited quietly for the meeting to proceed.

After the comrades had digested the news, the committee leader continued, "Regarding the aerospace sector, it's somewhat different from other projects with signed implementation agreements. The other party can make any changes they want at any time. Moreover, due to the special nature of aerospace, the original cooperation agreements were already quite broad, without many binding conditions or clauses..."

Everyone understands that this is different from doing business; it is indeed very special.

"...So comrades, don't have any wishful thinking. We are indeed striving, but we are not very optimistic about the outcome," the leader added.

We are relatively rational and willing to try our best, but unfortunately, this kind of thing cannot be decided unilaterally.

His words essentially closed the final door on this matter.

After the initial shock, the comrades came to their senses and began to consider what to do about the matter.

After a moment of silence, some comrades started laughing.

“It’s alright. They withdrew their help before, and we still managed to send satellites into space, even better than them! We’ll do it ourselves. I refuse to believe that without Zhang the butcher, we’ll have to eat hairy pork.”

This statement energized everyone.

"Yes, we can still move forward without them, we can move forward at our own pace."

"Well, actually we're just helping them solve the rocket's flight control problems; it doesn't really help us much."

"It's not that bad. We have learned something. With them, we can move forward. Without them, we can still move forward on our own. Maybe we'll be slower at the beginning, but eventually we will catch up with and even surpass them."

"It's actually a real pity. If we could complement their technology, we could really do a great job."

"Whether it's a pity or not is not up to us. Anyway, that's how things are. Let's be realistic and decide what to do next."

"..."

Seeing that the comrades were in high spirits and, after their initial surprise, seemed almost completely unaffected and even quite confident, the committee leaders were relieved, as they had been worried that morale might be affected.

"Alright, since everyone is confident, the next thing we need to discuss is how to deal with this specifically. Comrade Zhendong, what do you think?"

Gao Zhendong had remained calm and composed throughout, barely saying a word, which made the committee leaders curious about what he was thinking.

He knew very well that Gao Zhendong was quite wary of the other side, as if he had known this day would come all along.

Among the comrades responsible for front-line technical work, Gao Zhendong stands out as the one who combines technical expertise, sensitivity, and a broad perspective. His opinions are well worth listening to.

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhendong closed his notebook and smiled, "I think we should first take stock of our assets."

"Let's take stock of our assets?" Everyone, including the leaders, was curious about what this was about.

"Yes, let's take stock of what we've accomplished during this period of cooperation!"

Since it's a collaboration, there will definitely be gains. No matter how much the other party tries to guard against it, they can't completely prevent them from getting anything; it's just a matter of how much. For example, the thrust control mechanism of a rocket engine involves every aspect of the rocket engine. To put it more abstractly, sometimes even a single parameter name can inspire those with high technical sensitivity and strong technical skills to solve their own problems.

Since things couldn't be changed anyway, Gao Zhendong knew very well that he might as well see how much he had learned and, combined with his own abilities, see which direction he should take next.

After Gao Zhendong's explanation, the comrades all felt that it made sense. Since they were going to decide on the next step, it was necessary to take stock of their resources. After all, the scope of their cooperation was not very broad, but it was not very narrow either. It was still necessary to make a summary, otherwise they really wouldn't know how much resources they had.

"Okay, come on, comrades, let's all share what we've learned," the leader said with a smile.

Speaking of this, everyone is wide awake now. And you know what? We really learned a lot from our collaboration with them.

After all, our expertise lies in control systems, and in the aerospace industry, control systems have extended to almost every aspect. Working on control systems allows you to see a lot.

One by one, the comrades reported on their achievements during this period in an orderly manner.

"Our main gains are in the area of ​​high-thrust rocket engines. We have some theoretical insights and some technical details. In order to control the rocket thrust well, they inevitably need to disclose some of the rocket engine theories, combustion processes, and important control nodes, mechanisms, and equipment to us. Although they are very careful, we have still learned something."

The comrades, who came with a learning mindset, brought back almost every technical detail they encountered. Even those who couldn't take materials back still managed to memorize a lot of information.

“It’s different here. My comrade from the north used to work on manned spaceflight. Besides the spacecraft control system, I intentionally or unintentionally learned a lot from him about things to pay attention to in manned spaceflight, especially those related to humans.”

For the North, there are countless lightweight aerospace control systems they want, among which those used in manned spaceflight are naturally of paramount importance. Although they have achieved several firsts in satellites and manned spaceflight, there is still a big one to come—the lunar landing.

The other party was definitely going all out to move in this direction, and the reason that the cooperation was aborted halfway was because they wanted to obtain a large rocket with sufficient thrust.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for people with manned spacecraft to participate.

However, what was unusual was that this comrade was able to extract a lot of information from the other party that was unrelated to the content of the cooperation.

This earned the respect of all comrades; what a talent! He actually managed to trick someone into revealing information! Of course, it's possible the other party did it on purpose; it's hard to say.

In any case, these gains, combined with the recoverable satellite technology previously acquired from the other side, make some fields seem less unattainable, since their recoverable satellites were originally modified from spacecraft, so the basic technology is still there.

This made the comrades somewhat tempted, didn't it...?

Even if we don't do this project for now, what we learn is still a gain, and we'll be able to use it someday.

"Probe! I participated in their celestial probe project. Putting aside everything else, we brought back some of their ideas for celestial exploration, sensor routes, and technical approaches for orbit transfer, deep space tracking and control, etc." one comrade said with a smile.

In this momentous era, both the United States and the United States on the other side of the world are racking their brains to create big events in various fields to gain traffic. Among them, the aerospace field, which currently represents the pinnacle of human technology, is naturally the hardest hit.

In the 1960s and 70s, they were practically sending all sorts of probes into every planet they could reach and into interstellar space, regardless of their actual scientific value; as long as they could boast about it, that was enough. It was like a grand interstellar stage, where anyone could come and do whatever they wanted. In some ways, it wasn't fundamentally different from the strange live streams and short videos Gao Zhendong saw online decades later. If you had to compare them, their work was probably more expensive and used more advanced technology.

It's quite lucky to have made this discovery. Even if it's just scattered technical information, it's still technical. Knowing how others plan to explore unfamiliar planets and what methods they will use is also a significant gain. Learning from others can be beneficial.

Comrades chimed in, and after taking stock and tallying the results, we found there was actually some substance. However, it was all scattered and disorganized, feeling a bit like a jumbled mess.

Considering we weren't part of the overall effort, these gains are quite good.

One comrade couldn't help but ask, "Leaders, comrades, is it time for us to go on manned spaceflight?"

When it comes to this, everyone, regardless of who they are, is on high alert, even those who don't approve of it.

The leader glanced at Gao Zhendong.

This comrade's suggestion instantly ignited the atmosphere in the meeting room.

"I think it's possible, at least technically. With the spacecraft foundation of recoverable satellites, plus what we've learned recently, it's feasible to consider manned spaceflight."

This statement isn't exactly crazy; it seems like if you have the foundation, and with a little hard work, you might actually be able to achieve it.

"No, no, it's too expensive. The main problem is that it doesn't have much practical value for the time being. Apart from sending someone up there to prove with their own eyes that the Earth really is a ball, there's not much else they can do."

"I also think it's a bit of a waste. The main problem is that with the existing payload, we can't carry out any meaningful space experiments. It's just to put a person up there, which doesn't make much sense."

"But we should consider that sending someone up is meaningful in itself. It greatly helps to boost people's confidence."

"I think so too. Comrades, think about it. We will eventually fly into space. We have to take this step sooner or later. Why not do it sooner? Before we can carry out complex space experiments, we need the most basic verification steps, which are simply putting people in space. We can move step by step towards a real manned space laboratory. The most basic manned spaceflight is like the first bun after you've eaten seven buns. You can't say it's useless. So I think the view that it's meaningless to just put a person in space is wrong."

"I didn't say it has no technical significance. What I meant was that it's too expensive and not meaningful at this stage. Things are always developing dynamically. Wouldn't it be better to wait until the conditions are right before doing it?"

Comrades expressed their opinions freely, arguing heatedly until their faces turned red.

The leaders in the committee did not stop it. There is no right or wrong in this matter, only whether it is appropriate or not. Letting comrades speak their minds is not a bad thing.

After much discussion, some comrades noticed that a certain expert was still hiding to the side, not saying a word.

Committee member Gao Zhendong.

This person has made significant achievements in specific aerospace technologies, contributing many valuable insights, including those related to electromechanical systems, materials, energy, control, orbit, attitude, communication, and application payloads. In terms of technical evaluation, without his assessment, comrades always feel that something is missing.

“Committee Member Gao, come here, you be the judge. Is this something that should be done or not?” A comrade’s eyes lit up, and he turned the attention to Gao Zhendong.

I didn't mean any harm; I just wanted to know this tech guru's opinion.

The committee leader glanced at Gao Zhendong with a hint of schadenfreude. "I told you to hide, but now you can't hide anymore. If I don't name you, someone else will. You've been too prominent in this field, shining too brightly. You can't hide now."

Catching a glimpse of the leader's gaze, the comrades also turned their attention to him. Gao Zhendong helplessly closed the notebook he was writing furiously. He did want to avoid it, after all, he had already expressed his thoughts to the committee leaders, and there was no need to say it again. He didn't expect that he still couldn't avoid it.

"What the comrades said makes sense..."

If this were a ball game, and the comrades were the spectators, there would probably be boos everywhere. Hey, Committee Member Gao, you're here to smooth things over.

Fortunately, this wasn't a ball game, so the comrades just stared intently into Gao Zhendong's eyes.

"Personally speaking, this is definitely something we need to do. As for whether it will happen sooner or later, or whether it will be done on a large scale or a small scale, it mainly depends on one thing, and it actually has nothing to do with technology..."

"Nothing to do with technology?" The comrades were a little confused, but the leaders were on high alert. If it had nothing to do with technology, then it was very important to them. Moreover, they had to keep an eye on Gao Zhendong to make sure he didn't slip up and say something else that wasn't related to technology.

"The key question is whether we want to become the world's third pole..."

Holy crap! He actually dares to say that! The boss knew that once this kid was pushed to the limit, he'd unleash his ultimate weapon, either technical or something else entirely.

He quickly chimed in: "We certainly want to be a role model for the Third World and demonstrate the power of this path to the poor in Third World countries."

The terms "极" and "级" have the same pronunciation but different meanings.

Gao Zhendong looked at his leader with great admiration. "You even managed to rhyme here! Impressive! You managed to turn this around so smoothly."

However, since the old man had already said so, Gao Zhendong couldn't continue along his original lines. He would just let it go as it was, as long as the meaning was conveyed: "Yes, if we want to become a role model for the Third World as soon as possible, then we'll do it faster. If we feel that this matter needs to be done naturally and naturally, then we'll do it slower."

Comrades, we're not quite sure what Gao Zhendong really means. So, do you want it to go slower or faster?
"Be more specific." The leaders are always eager for drama and don't mind things getting out of hand.

Gao Zhendong was at a loss: "My idea is that we can't stop moving forward, but we can't go too fast either."

That's a novel idea.

"We can't stop, we can't go fast?" the chief engineer pondered.

"Yes, it's neither scientific nor reasonable to completely halt this matter and leave it aside. If we have to start from scratch when we need it, it will take a long time. But it's also unreasonable to rush into it now. After all, we still have a lot to do. Although spaceflight is not extremely expensive, it is still expensive. Moreover, even within the space industry itself, there are many other things that are more worthwhile to do at this stage."

Others may not know that our manned spaceflight program is not very expensive, but surely Gao Zhendong knows that?
His words were not without reason and were quite persuasive. The comrades were all seriously considering Gao Zhendong's words.

Gao Zhendong continued, "So I think we shouldn't stop. We can start working on some related technologies, such as spacecraft reentry, space life support, high-thrust rockets, and deep space tracking and control. Many of these technologies are also applicable to other space activities. Let's get started and achieve multiple benefits. To put it bluntly, with current rockets, we can't even launch astronauts who don't do anything but orbit around a few times."

The comrades nodded in agreement. Although the words sounded a bit harsh and had a hint of "trying to walk before you can crawl," the suggestion was one that resolved the dilemma.

It's not that we won't do it, but we'll start with what's frequently used, urgently needed, and necessary, proceeding step by step and gradually. It will naturally come to fruition in time.

"In this way, it has not had a significant impact on the more urgently needed aerospace applications, nor has it delayed the progress of manned spaceflight. As we have an old saying, 'It's not the slowness that's scary, it's standing still.' As long as we don't stand still, we will eventually achieve victory!" Gao Zhendong's words were powerful and resounding.

It's not about being slow, it's about not standing still. This concise and down-to-earth statement is vivid and engaging.

"Clap clap..." The comrades were all moved by the enthusiasm in his words and applauded one after another. It was so infectious. Comrade Gao Zhendong not only had technical skills, but also ideas, as well as the vigor and enthusiasm unique to young comrades.

Looking at the comrades applauding enthusiastically, the committee leader was somewhat amused and exasperated. He had managed to smooth things over in the end.

(End of this chapter)