Reborn: Billionaire in College

There are 19 minutes left until the launch window closes.

Chen Pingjiang stood in the control hall and looked at the screen. The 56-meter-high silver-white rocket stood quietly in the darkness, exuding a mechanical beauty.

The launch windows can be wide or narrow, with the wide ones being measured in hours or even days, and the narrow ones being only tens of seconds or even zero.

It is determined after comprehensive analysis and calculation based on the requirements of the spacecraft itself and various external constraints.

Because the relative positions of the sun, the earth and other celestial bodies are constantly changing, the launch window is not fixed even if the spacecraft of the same type and in the same orbit are launched.

Understanding this principle, people will not be surprised that spacecraft are launched sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, sometimes during the day, and sometimes at night.

For the launch vehicle itself, there are no strict launch window restrictions and it can be launched at any time.

However, when conducting launch tests of carrier rockets, the launch is generally carried out in the evening or before dawn because the sun is near the horizon at this time and the sky over the launch site and the area where the rocket flies is relatively dim. After the rocket ignites and rises to a certain height, it will be exposed to sunlight. The rocket body reflecting the sunlight forms a large contrast with the background sky, so that the optical tracking and measurement instruments on the ground can clearly track and measure the flight trajectory of the rocket, observe the rocket's posture and external image during flight, and the tracking, measurement and observation effects are better.

Time passes minute by minute...

Chen Pingjiang's calmness was somewhat out of tune with the busy scene around him.

The number of viewers watching CCTV News' live broadcast has exceeded one million. This is at five in the morning. If it were in the evening, the number would be unimaginable.

"I'm so nervous, but I must not fail."

"Hey, it's normal to fail. This is the world's first liquid oxygen-methane rocket."

"Time flies. A few years ago, I followed the news about Chen Pingjiang making rockets, but I didn't expect that they would be test-launched now."

"We are not the only ones watching. I think those foreigners are watching too."

"..."

A clear female voice sounded in the hall.

"Countdown, one minute."

Everyone put down their work and looked at the big screen. Years of hard work would end today.

Chen Pingjiang smiled and looked at Peng Xiaobo next to him, "Engineer Peng, I can see that you are very nervous."

Peng Xiaobo smiled shyly, "That's for sure. Failure in a state-owned enterprise before and failure now are completely different concepts, not to mention that this is the world's first liquid oxygen-methane rocket."

"It will succeed!" Chen Pingjiang murmured.

"Thirty seconds countdown!"

……

"Twenty seconds countdown!"

……

"Ten seconds countdown!"

It’s 6: a.m. Beijing time.

The countdown on the radio resonates with the shouts of the outdoor audience:

"Three, two, one"

"ignition!"

The moment the voice fell, a dark blue flame spurted out from the tail of the Deep Blue One rocket, and the thrust of 268 tons tore through the night sky.

The 50-meter-tall steel behemoth slowly left the launch pad, and the acceleration pulled the mixed mist of liquid oxygen and methane into a conical trail.

Chen Pingjiang dug his fingernails into his palms until the telemetry data came in saying "first and second stage separation successful" and then he realized he had held his breath for two minutes.

The most dangerous moment has passed.

But what follows is still crucial.

There are several stages in a rocket's launch:
120 seconds for the escape tower to separate, which is the standard configuration for manned spacecraft.

The booster separated at 136 seconds. Deep Blue One did not have traditional boosters, so this step was omitted.

The first and second stages of the rocket separated in about 160 seconds, and then the second stage rocket ignited.

200 seconds for fairing separation.

The floating engine is then ignited to control the rocket's attitude and correct its terminal velocity, thereby increasing the control accuracy of the rocket's entry into orbit.

When the rocket broke through the cumulus clouds, the viewing stands erupted in cheers like a tsunami.

An anchor named Space Otaku shared a popular science in the comments: "Look at this lavender tail flame! Methane burns cleaner than kerosene and produces 80% less carbon deposits!"

In Houston, SpaceX executives urgently connected: "Have they really achieved a closed loop? Retrieve the Galaxy engine parameters immediately!"

Max's face was filled with admiration.

That person actually did it, that’s really amazing.

In just three or four years, it has completed the journey of SpaceX and even took the lead in developing liquid oxygen and methane engines.

In the control hall.

The sounds continued to come.

"Procedure turn complete."

Wang Jianmeng, the vice president in charge of the launch mission, smiled and said to Peng Xiaobo, "How is it? A lot more relaxed, right?"

Peng Xiaobo nodded: "It mainly depends on your launch experience, Mr. Wang, but it has not yet entered orbit, so we have to wait and see."

Wang Jianmeng consoled them, "Nothing should go wrong. I trust you all."

Everyone stared nervously at the data jumping on the screen.

When the rocket broke through Mach 10, the temperature sensor on the fairing sent back a reading of 1372 degrees Celsius, 16% lower than the data released by SpaceX last year.

The second-stage ignition command was triggered at an altitude of 80 kilometers, and the vector nozzle drew a perfect sine curve.

"Telemetry signal is normal!"

"Flight overload 4.2G!"

"Pneumatic heating peak is 1870℃!"

During the anxious wait, someone took a breath, and then everyone relaxed.

Ground radar showed that the rocket had reached the apex of its suborbital trajectory, and in the images sent back by the onboard camera, the arc of the earth was slowly stretching out outside the porthole.

"The payload successfully entered orbit!"

As the voice came out, the control hall erupted with thunder like a tsunami.

Chen Pingjiang breathed a sigh of relief, but still asked curiously: "I don't know much about aerospace, but I saw that there was a black barrier area when the Shenzhou spacecraft returned. It seems that we didn't encounter it this time?"

Peng Xiaobo smiled and explained: "It's normal that Mr. Chen doesn't know. Black barrier is a very professional term. The speed of a rocket is relatively slow during its ascent, and it cannot reach the high speed required to pass through the atmosphere. Therefore, it will not produce severe friction and high temperature, and will not form a black barrier. Only spacecraft returning from outside the atmosphere will encounter it."

Xu Rui said with emotion: "Finally all my efforts have not been in vain. It was not easy."

Wang Jianmeng nodded: "But this is only a small step of success. There are still countless big projects to come. Rocket body recovery, manned spacecraft, and lunar exploration, we still have to work hard."

Chen Pingjiang laughed and said, "Those are things for the future. Now, as the winners, I will celebrate your success tonight."

……

……

This is a small step for Galaxy Aerospace, but a big step for domestic commercial rockets.

2017 is destined to be the first year for China's commercial rockets to take off.

Almost at the same time, Deep Blue No. 1 firmly occupied the top ten hot searches on Weibo.

"The world's first liquid oxygen-methane rocket!" "Xu Rui, CEO of Galaxy Aerospace, announced that the Deep Blue 1 test launch was successful and all payloads entered orbit successfully."

"Peng Xiaobo, chief designer of Deep Blue No. 1: The next focus of our work will be to research reusable rockets."

"The National Space Administration sent a congratulatory message."

“Is the Chinese version of Starlink still far away?”

"Exclusive revelation of the secrets of Galaxy Aerospace and the mysterious Deep Blue One."

"Chen Pingjiang won again!"

"..."

Throughout the entire day, news of the successful test launch of Deep Blue No. 1 continued to ferment.

On TikTok, an intern born in the 00s with the ID “Rocket Porter” live-streamed the disassembly of a launch video. The roar of the liquid oxygen pump in the background made the mobile phone microphone scream.

"Did you see the circle of ice crystals during the secondary separation?" A professor from Harbin Institute of Technology with a receding hairline pushed up his glasses during a live broadcast on Bilibili. "There are no more than three laboratories in the world that can form this kind of regular dodecahedron crystals at the moment of liquid oxygen and methane mixing at minus 182 degrees."

On Zhihu's hot list, a user posted a fuel consumption comparison chart: the tail of a traditional kerosene rocket looks like a wolf hair brush dipped in ink, while the plume of Deep Blue One is a cicada wing pattern carefully outlined.

More than a dozen 985 PhDs instantly popped up in the comment section, arguing over the specific impulse parameters of methane for hundreds of floors.

The same situation also occurs on overseas social media platforms.

Twitter.

When the title "the world's first liquid oxygen-methane rocket into orbit" dominated the hot searches, public opinion was torn.

A post by a professional troll titled "Did Galaxy Aerospace plagiarize NASA technology?" received tens of thousands of likes.

But there are more people who mock.

such as……

“So, the Chinese stole technology that NASA and SpaceX haven’t mastered yet?”

"The Yankee arrogance is on full display."

"..."

On the overseas forum Reddit, an anonymous post caused panic: "China will monopolize low-Earth orbit, and the Starlink project is in danger!"

This day was also not peaceful for Chen Pingjiang.

My phone ran out of battery when I received a call, and my fingers went numb when I received a text message.

Even the eldest daughter Chen Yu asked excitedly, "Dad, I also want to watch the rocket launch live. When will you take me to see it?"

Countless blessings came, almost drowning Chen Pingjiang.

Lei Jun, Dong Zi, Lao Ma and Xiao Ma Ge also sent congratulatory messages.

Some people sincerely congratulate, while others feel jealous.

Look at them, even the earth can’t hold them back. Now, isn’t it too boring to find that companies like ours are calculating people’s food baskets every day?
People of this era have a natural affinity and admiration for the godfather of technology.

Otherwise, how do you explain that in people's eyes, Xiaomi's Lei Jun is more high-end and classy than Lao Wang who works in real estate? Is he more talked about?
The leader of the Aerospace Corporation also called to congratulate.

"Xiao Chen, I was right about you. I told people at the time that if anyone in China could succeed, it would be you. So how do you feel? How do you feel now?"

Chen Pingjiang thought for a moment and replied with a smile: "First of all, I must thank the old leader for his support. Without your help, Xinghe Aerospace would not have been successfully established, and we would not have been able to recruit so many talents. Secondly, I feel very terrified. If the response from all sides is strong, it will become a burden on our shoulders. If the subsequent research is not done well, it will be embarrassing."

The leader laughed. "I just happened to be in this position. In fact, no matter who becomes the director, I will support it. Commercial aerospace is very important. As for pressure, I think it is a good thing. At least it can make you avoid arrogance and create more brilliance."

"Don't worry, leader. We will definitely work hard."

"Well, I have something to tell you. A European Space Agency project contractor called Ariane has sent a request for cooperation, hoping to work with your company on methane engines."

Upon hearing the news, Chen Pingjiang had a strange expression on his face.

These guys at ESA always want to make their own company take off through cooperation. They are very stingy with the money they give and always want to take advantage.

"Boss, please help me reply! After all, we are a private company. We are here to make a living, and we are not short of money."

The leader on the other end of the phone didn't say a word.

After all, Galaxy Aerospace is a private company and they have the right to refuse, without having to consider many geopolitical factors like the National Space Administration.

If I refuse, I refuse.

Various news kept coming in.

Even people from the Middle East called to inquire about the price of launching a satellite.

He is also an acquaintance of Chen Pingjiang.

"Rashid? You..."

Chen Pingjiang really thought that this guy had died of a heart attack in 15, but he didn't expect that he is still alive. It has been 17 years now.

"Haha, Chen, you're my savior. I want to go to China to see you in a few days."

Chen Pingjiang was confused, "How did I become your savior?"

Rashid: "That's right. If you hadn't suggested that I always have a medical team with me during that meeting, I would have died. During the heart attack, it was the doctor who saved me with an AED. Thank God, so you are my benefactor."

Chen Pingjiang was sweating profusely. He didn't expect that the fearful Rashid took his casual words seriously, which even indirectly led to his survival until now.

"Chen, it's a pity that I don't drink alcohol or smoke tobacco now, and I can't play with women anymore. My life has lost a lot of flavor."

Chen Pingjiang twitched his lips, and after a long while he managed to say, "My brother, being alive is better than anything else."

……

……

After staying in Gansu for two days, Chen Pingjiang returned to Zhongshan Villa in Dongjiang and went to visit Ge Mengshi first.

After not seeing each other for such a short time, Ge Mengshi's eyes almost melted when she looked at Chen Pingjiang, filled with both deep affection and admiration.

A woman's admiration for a man is the best aphrodisiac.

If it wasn't in broad daylight with the elderly and children around, Chen Pingjiang would have been convinced that Ge Mengshi would eat him. Looking at her constantly moving lips, he knew she was aroused.

The two kids, Chen Yu and Ge Zichen, held Chen Pingjiang's hands and asked him questions, and handed him a painting as if he was presenting a treasure.

"This is a painting made by our class led by our kindergarten teacher Liu."

Chen Pingjiang took a quick look and asked with a smile, "Did you draw this?"

"OK!"

"Not bad!"

In the painting, two panda astronauts arrived on Mars on the Deep Blue 1 and planted bamboo seedlings on it.

If we really talk about the level, it can only be considered average.

But Chen Pingjiang was happy because this was a painting his daughter drew for him.

Ge Zichen also asked in a soft voice: "Dad, can we take a rocket to the moon in the future?"

Chen Pingjiang asked curiously, "Why go to the moon?"

"Grandpa said that there are Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit on the moon, and Wu Gang chopping trees."

Chen Pingjiang smiled, patted his son's head, held the little guy on his lap and sat down, saying with a smile: "If we are going, let's go to the farther Mars and live on Mars in the future."

These words sounded like they were spoken to his son, but also like Chen Pingjiang's expectation.

Musk can keep bragging about colonizing Mars, but Chen Pingjiang is not allowed to imagine it? (End of this chapter)