Development of productivity started in 1981

Chapter 205: Qihang, ground and low-altitude testing completed

After the design of the first rotating detonation engine named D-1 was finalized, Wang Jiankun asked Zhizi to design the first space shuttle of the entire system based on the parameters of this engine.

By the end of 1983, only two and a half countries in the world were developing space shuttles: the United States, the Soviet Union, and China (which only produced paper designs but had no funding for manufacturing).

The United States was the first to develop the space shuttle in 1972, when NASA began seeking a new, reusable space vehicle to carry out space missions more flexibly.

In 1977, the first space shuttle Enterprise was used for atmospheric gliding experiments.

In early 1981, Columbia was successfully built. It was the first space shuttle used to transport astronauts and equipment between space and the ground. It landed safely after flying in space for 54 hours and circling the earth for 36 weeks.

In 1982, Challenger became NASA's second space shuttle. As far as Wang Jiankun knows, it has made six flights, the first of which was in April 6.

The development of the Soviet space shuttle was only four years behind that of the United States. In 4, in order to meet the challenge of the US space shuttle, the Soviet government decided to develop a space shuttle with similar capabilities and invested a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to fully promote research and development.

Wang Jiankun learned from people who went deep into the Soviet Union to collect intelligence that the Soviet space department had completed the design of the space shuttle and was in the engineering and manufacturing stage of the prototype.

The news we have received in China is that some aerospace personnel have been working on the space shuttle project. They have made some theoretical designs with reference to some information that has been made public in the United States and combined it with the actual situation in China. It has not yet reached the stage of manufacturing engineering prototypes. According to information we have heard from other sources, China is likely to choose the method of combining rockets with spacecraft to send people into space. In this way, we can utilize the country's relatively mature rocket technology and there is no need to start from scratch to develop a space shuttle.

Wang Jiankun’s first space shuttle plans to adopt an unmanned working mode. Its main function is to transport artificial satellites to low-Earth orbit, so the difficulty will be much lower than that of a manned space shuttle.

Based on the mission requirements provided by Wang Jiankun and the parameters of the D-1 rotating detonation engine, which had already been designed and finalized, Tomoko spent about half a day to complete the drawings of the first space shuttle.

After receiving the news that Chieko's mission was completed, Wang Jiankun carefully checked the drawings in his mind.

Excluding the two booster rockets at the wing roots, the total weight of this space shuttle reaches 26 tons. It has three rotating detonation engines with a total thrust of 3 tons. Since there is no crew cabin, a large number of life support systems are eliminated, so the weight that can be used to carry satellites can reach 36 tons.

The shape of the entire space shuttle is very similar to the United States' Columbia orbiter. It has a delta-wing glider structure and the outer surface is also covered with a reusable heat-resistant insulation layer. The total length of the fuselage is 18 meters, the diameter is 3.8 meters, the height is 9.1 meters, and the wingspan is 16 meters.

However, the space occupied by the front part of the fuselage is very small, with only a very small autopilot cabin and no living cabin for personnel.

The cargo hold in the middle of the fuselage is 9.6 meters long and 3 meters in diameter. Behind the cargo hold is the built-in fuel tank, which can store liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Three rotating detonation engines are arranged in a T-shape at the tail of the aircraft.

After reading the drawings, Wang Jiankun watched the demonstration footage provided by Zhizi. Some of the spacecraft took off from the ground with their own power, some were released after being carried to an altitude of 4 meters by a high-altitude airship, and some were carried to an altitude of 10 meters by the Y-1.2 and then separated.

After watching the demonstration animation, Wang Jiankun began to contact his uncle and asked him to start arranging materials to the Space Shuttle Research Institute.

"Uncle, the first model of the rotating detonation engine has been designed and finalized, and the drawings of the test model of the space shuttle have also been released. I plan to build one first for testing. Please take a look at the materials required in this material demand list to see if they are sufficient. If not, you need to arrange for them to be delivered to the base as soon as possible."

"Okay, let me take a look first."

My uncle received the material demand list sent by Wang Jiankun and contacted the material management personnel at the base using a brain wave helmet, asking him to check it urgently after receiving the message.

The material manager had already been implanted with a brain-computer chip, so after receiving the message, it only took him 2 minutes to complete the inventory retrieval work, and then reported to his uncle Cen Yong via radio waves.

"Reporting to the leader, all the elements on this list are available in the base."

"Very good, then prepare them according to the types and quantities on the list and transport them to the Space Shuttle Research Institute."

"Got it, I'll arrange it right away."

After the material manager cut off the communication, he quickly issued a series of tasks through the brain-computer chip. After receiving the information, the warehouse keeper under him began to prepare materials in an orderly manner with the assistance of the brain-computer chip. Then the transportation team also came to the warehouse in time, loaded the prepared elements, and transported them to the warehouse of the space shuttle research.

From the time Wang Jiankun sent the request to his uncle to the time all the necessary elements were prepared, it took less than two hours to complete. This efficiency is super high.

Now that all the elements were ready, Wang Jiankun reviewed the drawings again and began to mobilize the elements to manufacture the first space shuttle.

At the beginning, the hangar was empty and there was nothing in it. The LED lights above made the hangar very bright. As Wang Jiankun's thoughts continued to surge, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, iron, copper and other elements in the warehouse next to it began to travel through space and come to the hangar, forming three pairs of wheels and three landing gears, in a layout of 3 in front and 3 in the back.

After the landing gear was manufactured, Wang Jiankun began to mobilize large amounts of titanium, aluminum, carbon and other elements to manufacture the space shuttle's skeleton.

The entire aircraft beam is made of titanium alloy, which is both light and strong enough to meet the standards. Other internal load-bearing structures use a large amount of aluminum and carbon fiber, which have strength that meets the design requirements and are also very light.

After the entire skeleton and internal non-stress-bearing parts were manufactured, Wang Jiankun carefully checked the drawings to avoid mistakes.

After confirming that the dimensions of the entire skeleton met the requirements, he then began to manufacture the internal pipelines and some equipment.

After completing the manufacture of pipelines and equipment, the flesh and bones of the space shuttle were completed, and only two layers of outer skin were missing.

These two layers of skin are very important because they have to withstand the high temperatures, high pressures and extremely low temperatures in space.

The internal structural skin is made of titanium alloy as the main material, and then covered with multiple layers of carbon fiber composite materials.

With titanium alloy as the base layer, the structural strength will be more reliable.

Carbon fiber composite materials are composed of carbon fiber and resin matrix. They have excellent strength and stiffness and are lighter than metal materials. They also have excellent corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance and impact resistance, and can provide better aircraft structural strength.

The outermost insulation material is heat-proof ceramic tile, which has a structure similar to that of hollow bricks. 95% of the volume is empty, and the remaining 5% is made of quartz fiber. This porous heat-proof tile is made of quartz fiber sintered at high temperature, and the surface has excellent corrosion resistance.

The thermal protection tiles are fixed to the surface of the metal shell of the space shuttle, bonded with specially developed organic silicone and coated with a black and white coating. The black coating can ensure that the thermal protection layer has sufficient stability in the ion flow and quickly radiate heat energy to the surrounding space. The white coating is to reduce the natural heating of the space shuttle by sunlight.

In addition, new material thermal fillers are used in the space shuttle doors, wing movable parts, and cargo hold door sealing parts, including linear thermal fillers resistant to 1250-1850 degrees Celsius, brush-type thermal fillers, and special elastic sealing strips.

After the outermost insulation layer was completed, the space shuttle was basically completed, and the only thing left was to load the autopilot system.

Because no test flights have been conducted yet, this autopilot program was derived by Sophon based on the flight conditions of the Thunderbird. It is definitely not safe enough, because the Thunderbird has only flown to a maximum of 4 meters and a speed of only Mach 9.

This first space shuttle will fly out of the atmosphere, and its maximum speed in the atmosphere will reach Mach 23 (the first cosmic speed), so that it can escape the earth's gravity and fly into space to release satellites.

Wang Jiankun plans to carry out the next testing work step by step, referring to the US "Enterprise" space shuttle and conducting flight tests within the atmosphere first.

To ensure that enough data is collected, Wang Jiankun built more than 40 high-altitude airships, which will be deployed over the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and Africa to strengthen observation capabilities in these places. Subsequent atmospheric tests will be mainly conducted over the Indian Ocean and the African continent.

It will take a long time for the airship to fly to these places, so Wang Jiankun began to make a series of preparations for the upcoming tests.

First, he went to the medical center and used the underground laboratory to create a new human experimental team of more than 500 people. Their memory packs contained a large amount of aerospace information and operating information of various optical and radar equipment.

Secondly, he began to manufacture large-scale space signal transceivers and sent them to bases in Africa and Argentina. When the flight test in the atmosphere was completed and the real space flight was carried out, they would be needed to take on part of the signal reception and transmission work. These two bases happened to be in different hemispheres, and together with the sea take-off and landing platform in the Indian Ocean, they each took on one-third of the air communication time.

The last part is the ground and low-altitude flight test, which will be carried out at the base in northern Myanmar. It is mainly to test whether the space shuttle can take off and land normally in the low-altitude area of ​​the atmosphere.

Before the space shuttle left the hangar, Wang Jiankun painted a name on it - Qihang. This name means that the space shuttle is about to start a new journey and embark on a journey of exploring space, implying a new beginning and unlimited possibilities.

After choosing the name, Wang Jiankun and more than 20 new human researchers came to the control room next to the runway, ready to control the space shuttle to conduct a ground run test.

"Everyone, get ready. The Qihang will begin its first rowing test." Wang Jiankun issued silent commands using a brain wave helmet.

"Received." A series of replies came into my mind.

"All aircraft systems have self-checked normally, and the engine can be started." "Engine start."

"Started, power 10%."

At this time, the two engines at the bottom of the three engines started at the same time first, and then the one at the top. The roar echoed on the runway. Driven by the three rotating detonation engines, the Qihang continued to accelerate forward.

Wang Jiankun left the control room at this time and drove his motorcycle following the "Qihang" to the front of the runway. He followed it to collect its aerodynamic data on the ground, which would be used to improve the flight control system.

After passing the middle of the runway, the engines were shut down one by one, and the Qihang began to slow down slowly, stopping more than 5 meters from the end of the runway.

"Report on the status of each system." The voice of the chief commander of this ground test began to echo in his mind.

"The engine is fine."

"Fuel supply and storage systems are operating normally."

……

The series of sounds were all normal, indicating that there was no problem for the "Qihang" to taxi on the ground.

However, to be on the safe side, there were still three rowing tests to be completed, so for the next hour or so, Wang Jiankun followed the "Qihang" back and forth on the runway, collecting a large amount of data for Zhizi to analyze.

……

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the ground taxi test of the Qihang has been completed. All systems are working normally and meet the design requirements. Please give instructions."

"Is there enough fuel for the next test?"

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the next test is to test takeoff, low-altitude hovering and landing. The remaining fuel is enough to complete two experiments."

"Then let's get started right away."

"Yes."

"Attention all units, the subject two test has begun, please be prepared."

As a result, various departments within the Aerospace Research Institute began to prepare for takeoff and landing, and also implemented air control in the area, allowing only Wang Jiankun's "Thunderbird" to fly following the "Qihang" space shuttle.

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the Sailing Departure is ready, please give instructions."

"take off."

After replying, Wang Jiankun also started the "Thunderbird", which was only 200 meters behind the "Hang Sail" in front.

While controlling the "Thunderbird", he used his superpowers to record the status of the main components of the "Hang Sail" in front of him and the surrounding airflow.

After taxiing on the ground for about 3 kilometers and reaching a speed of 400 kilometers per hour, the "Qihang" successfully raised its nose, left the airport runway, and flew into the sky.

Seeing this scene, Wang Jiankun and the staff in charge of the testing in each unit were very happy and cheered together in their minds.

Generally, being able to take off smoothly means that the aerodynamic shape of the space shuttle is suitable for flight in the atmosphere, otherwise problems will occur during the takeoff phase.

After leaving the ground, the "Qihang" was controlled by ground personnel and changed to level flight when it was 200 meters above the ground. It then maintained a speed of about 500 kilometers per hour, flew in circles around the runway twice, then gradually increased its altitude and speed, and finally arrived at about 2 kilometer in the air. It maintained a speed of 1 kilometers per hour and flew two more circles around the base.

During this period, the engine of "Qihang" was able to increase and reduce power freely, and the wings were able to move smoothly, allowing it to perform some common maneuvers in the air.

After completing the low-altitude test at an altitude of 1 km, the next step will be the more dangerous landing test.

The chief commander on the ground also began to ask people to report various data of the "Qihang" and compare them with the stored simulation data.

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the low-altitude flight test is complete, and the next step is to conduct a landing test. Please give instructions."

"Follow the planned plan. I will maintain observation in the air and immediately enter the bunker if any danger occurs."

"receive."

After receiving the order, the chief commander began to arrange the landing mission.

The brain-computer chips of the two operators responsible for engine power control and rudder control began to run frantically, analyzing the returned data in real time and then giving instructions for the next operation.

With the close cooperation of multiple operators, the "Qihang" completed the landing relatively smoothly. When it finally stopped, it was already 4 kilometers away from the landing point. Fortunately, this special runway was long enough, a full 7 kilometers, otherwise the general airport runway would not be enough for it.

Wang Jiankun has been driving the "Thunderbird" following the "Hanging Ship" and collected a large amount of data, which was absorbed by Zhizi and used to improve the autonomous driving system.

After seeing the "Departure" stop safely, he also ordered the "Thunderbird" to land vertically on the runway, and then went to the control room to listen to the report from the chief commander.

"Commander-in-Chief, this takeoff and landing and low-altitude flight test took a total of 20 minutes, fuel consumption was 40%, and the engine is expected to have 20 minutes of life left. Please give instructions."

"Very good. You will collect the background data of each operator and upload it to the central computer. I will review this part of the control data."

"receive."

Considering that the engine's life was already short and it was about to rain, Wang Jiankun asked the commander to announce the end of today's test mission.

After receiving the completion of the mission for the day, the ground crew began to process the "Hangzhou Ship". They used a trailer to tow the "Hangzhou Ship" into the hangar, took out the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen inside, and then carefully inspected the other components.

Wang Jiankun was also not idle. After the ground crew completed the routine maintenance tasks, he mobilized his super powers to repair the three engines of the "Qihang".

After finishing all this, he drove the military off-road vehicle towards the dormitory area.

"Uncle, good news. Today our first space shuttle has completed the first phase of its test flight. I named it 'Qihang'. It won't be long before we can set sail into space."

"Really? Congratulations, Jiankun, we should have a nice drink."

"Okay, I'm very happy today. Let's have a nice drink and keep the dishes simple. Let's have another beef hotpot."

"Haha~, Jiankun, you are addicted to eating. Fortunately, there are more and more cattle being raised in this base in Argentina."

My uncle was also very happy, because once the space shuttle test is successful, the global communication of the whole system will be basically solved, and a large number of new humans will be able to be stationed there. In addition, if the unmanned space shuttle is successful, then the manned space shuttle will not be too far away. At that time, the space base will no longer be a fantasy, because with Wang Jiankun here, the construction of the space base will be 100 times simpler than conventional means.

That night, Wang Jiankun and his uncle drank and chatted, imagining that in the future they would completely liberate all mankind, take a space elevator to reach the geosynchronous orbit, and then change to a spacecraft to travel to the moon, near-Earth planets, or even planets light years away.

In the following three days, Wang Jiankun waited for the high-altitude airship to arrive while tracking the low-altitude testing of the "Qihang". Once all the high-altitude airships reached their destination, the near-Earth space and space flight tests would begin immediately.

(End of this chapter)