Development of productivity started in 1981

Chapter 263 Canglong I takes off with the Sentinel Laser Satellite
September 1986, 9, a special day.

The first large-scale carrier rocket, Canglong I, was shipped from the rocket manufacturing plant in Yangon.

This cyan-painted rocket has undergone half a month of static testing, and all performance indicators are in line with design expectations.

Because the launch date is set for September 9th.

So once static testing is complete, the rocket is disassembled at the manufacturing plant.

It is divided into 1 sections in total, including levels 3 to 4 and the fairing.

The first stage is 28 meters high, the second stage is 20 meters high, the third stage is 6 meters high, and the fairing is 4.8 meters high. The total assembled height reaches 58.8 meters, which is 0.6 meters higher than the Soviet Proton-K standard rocket.

The four parts are packed separately into specially made oversized containers.

At 9:3 a.m. that day, three ultra-large container transport trucks had arrived.

They are 64-wheel transport vehicles manufactured by the Heavy Engineering Equipment Manufacturing Factory in northern Myanmar.

Each wheel has an individual electric motor and can turn 210 degrees.

The entire vehicle is controlled by a specially designed computer program. There are two drivers who act as the eyes of the car, input the route into the on-board computer, and then select different speeds so that the car can drive automatically.

A simple farewell ceremony was being held inside the rocket manufacturing plant.

Director Song Yumin, as one of the persons in charge of aerospace engineering, spoke on behalf of the institute.

He was very excited at the moment.

Originally he was just a researcher at a military factory. In his spare time, he developed a small solid rocket engine, hoping to make some contributions to the country's military industry.

However, due to various reasons, he was never reused, and the designed products could not be released due to lack of support from the leadership.

Therefore, until I was about to retire, I remained an ordinary researcher.

However, after being invited to northern Myanmar by the Quanjiezhen, he was not only supported in manufacturing the rocket that he had spent all his energy to design, but also appointed as the director of the Aerospace Research Institute.

Although the director had very little power and the institute was very small at the beginning, the treatment was excellent.

Compared to previous experiences, this is a world of difference.

Originally, he thought that he could just optimize the rocket he designed in this small area of ​​northern Myanmar.

But what happened next completely overturned his cognition.

First, the organization conducted a series of tests on him, and then took him to a medical center for a minimally invasive brain surgery, in which a brain-computer chip was implanted.

From then on, he felt that he could do even better in the second half of his life.

as predicted.

After he completed the integration with the brain-computer chip, he spent a lot of time every day learning new knowledge about rocket engine design, manufacturing, testing, and the overall control of the rocket.

After he completed about one year of intensive study, the task of developing new large solid rocket engines and rockets was assigned to the institute.

A solid rocket research team of more than 3 people was also brought under his management.

For a period of time thereafter, he worked at the solid rocket research base for about 14 hours every day, and spent the rest of his time learning the new technologies, new processes, and new equipment updated in the central computer database.

While he was devoting himself to the development of solid rockets, he was pulled into another larger liquid rocket research project (Soryu).

Although he played a small role in this project, it was mainly Wang Jiankun who was directly involved in the development of various subsystems.

But he was already very familiar with the entire aerospace system, and each sub-project and manufacturing plant required him to do some coordination work.

He was also proud of it and tried his best to shorten his rest time so that he could devote more energy to this great project.

At this time, as the leader of the Space Research Institute, he delivered a deeply moving speech.

Some of the Chinese researchers who were hired back from home and abroad also had tears in their eyes.

Although they were in northern Myanmar at this time, not in their motherland.

But their dream of the stars and the sea is about to set sail here.

After the ceremony, the lifting and transportation work began immediately.

The 64-wheeled large container transport truck slowly drove into the rocket assembly plant under the control of the driver.

The large crane in the factory lifts the rockets that have been loaded into large containers into sections and moves them onto transport vehicles.

After completing the lifting work, the staff of the rocket manufacturing plant carefully inspected the rocket in the container to ensure that no damage occurred during the lifting process.

The special container that uses electromagnetic shock absorption technology effectively unloaded the longitudinal impact force, and the inspection results showed that it was intact.

"Attention, lead personnel, the convoy will set off soon." The person in charge of the transportation work used the walkie-talkie to notify the lead team in front to clear the way and provide security.

"Pioneer received, you can set off."

The distance from the rocket manufacturing plant to the dedicated transport terminal is about 8 kilometers. This section of road was also specially built for transporting rockets. The roadbed is very thick, with a one-way width of 80 meters. It is as straight as possible without small bends.

A 64-wheel large container truck was traveling on the wide road at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

There are a number of armored vehicles protecting the front and back, and there are two armed helicopters patrolling in the sky.

Some intersections are staffed by armed security personnel working with traffic controllers, and only after the rockets have been transported past will the road be open to allow private vehicles to pass.

Half an hour later, the convoy arrived at the dock smoothly.

At this time, a 2-ton professional transport ship that had been launched two months ago was already anchored at the dock.

The top panel of his cargo hold can slide open to both sides.

The cargo hold is 30 meters long, 18 meters wide and 12 meters deep.

At this time, the transport container of the Canglong rocket segments is 5.2 meters wide and 29 meters long, so three containers can be placed side by side and transported away at one time.

The crane on the dock was also brand new and had only lifted some counterweight containers on a trial basis.

At this time, the staff carefully lifted the container containing the first-stage rocket segments from the 64-wheel transport vehicle, then transferred it to the top of the cargo hold of the transport ship, and then slowly lowered the container.

The first level is the heaviest, weighing nearly 96 tons including the container, and it is placed in the center of the cargo hold.

Then comes the second stage, third stage and fairing segment.

After the three containers were lifted in, the technicians checked the position of the cargo on the opposite side again and then secured the containers firmly.

10 o'clock in the morning.

The 5-ton special transport ship carrying the Soryu rocket segment sounded the whistle, indicating that it was about to set sail.

After the transport ship set sail, Wang Jiankun and Song Yumin took an off-road vehicle, set off from the dock, and rushed to Katong Gani by land.

After departing from the dock, the transport ship first goes downstream to the sea, and then sails to the port of Katongani along the waterway close to the coastline.

In order to ensure the safety of the rocket, the speed is not fast, about 11 knots, which is a little slower than conventional cargo ships. So even if the distance is short, it takes about 20 hours to sail, and it arrives in Katongani at about 6 o'clock the next morning.

It would be much faster for Wang Jiankun and his team to travel by land, and they would arrive in just 5 hours.

At 4 pm, Wang Jiankun and his team arrived at the rocket assembly tower in Katongani.

Hundreds of scientific researchers are already here preparing for rocket assembly.

Instead of disturbing their work, he and Song Yumin went to the warehouse behind the assembly tower to check the payload that Canglong I was about to send into space.

"Jiankun, do we really want to send this kind of satellite into space? What if the launch fails and this satellite is found by other countries and the secrets inside are discovered, we will be exposed!" Director Song's wrinkled face was filled with worry.

"Old Song, don't worry. Our Canglong was launched towards the southeast, where there is the vast Burmese Ocean and no land. Even if the situation you described happens, the satellite will only fall into the Burmese Ocean." Wang Jiankun patted Song Yumin on the shoulder and comforted him.

"Isn't this just in case? After all, there are shallow waters. Once we inform the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries of our satellite launch plan, they will definitely attach great importance to it. They may even use some means we don't know about." Song Yumin was still somewhat immersed in the influence of the invincibility of the United States and the Soviet Union in the previous decades.

"Old Song, I'm not afraid to tell you that we are not afraid of the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries playing tricks. We have the ability to retaliate in kind. You should know that the solid rocket with a range of 8 kilometers that I asked you to study is not for decoration." Wang Jiankun said in a calm tone.

He is indeed confident that he can ensure that the construction achievements in Myanmar can be preserved after the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries take military action.

After the successful test explosion of a plutonium bomb with an equivalent of 1200 tons off the coast of South Africa last year, he asked the Ministry of Nuclear Industry to work overtime to extract plutonium and produce 10 plutonium bombs with the same equivalent.

They can all be installed on the D-300 ballistic missile.

In addition, six plutonium bombs with an equivalent of 6 tons were manufactured, which could be carried into the air by a modified version of the F-1.2 fighter.

Just in case, he could also let the new human pilot fly the "Thunderbird" hypersonic aircraft he made to break through the enemy's air defense network and drop the plutonium bomb.

The above are all some preparatory measures, which are basically impossible to use. The struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union has reached a critical period.

The United States has already seen the dawn of victory, while the Soviet Union is trying every means to save itself and has no time to suppress Burma, which is controlled by the Quan Liberation Front.

At most, some soft measures can be used internationally to restrict Myanmar's development.

However, Wang Jiankun and Quanjie Zhen are not afraid of these methods.

Myanmar's economy is actually mainly based on internal circulation, and it relies very little on external resources. With Iran, a relatively staunch ally, its oil resources will basically not be cut off from supply.

The business of several major groups under its umbrella is mainly in third world countries and the Middle East. Although the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe and other countries can exert influence, they cannot change the root cause. The Quanjie formation has plenty of means to crack it.

In the past two years, in addition to consolidating its rule in Myanmar, the ZALF has also continued to carry out secret activities in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa, and has developed a large number of local members.

And several medical teams have been sent to these areas, secret hospitals have been set up, and brain-computer chips have been implanted in some tested new members.

I believe that as time goes by, these third world countries will gradually come under the rule of the NLF.

Standing in front of the armed satellite emitting cold light, Wang Jiankun followed Song Yumin's words and recalled the previous deployment.

"Old Song, come on, relax, let's boldly display our abilities in space, without worrying about retaliation from other countries. Our future lies in interstellar travel."

"Hmm!" Song Yumin recalled the space development plan for the next 30 years that he had checked from the central computer, and couldn't help but straighten his slightly bent spine.

When Wang Jiankun saw that Song Yumin had recovered, he took him with him to use instruments to test the satellite that had been transported here not long ago.

Its internal code name is "Sentinel 1", and it is announced to the outside world as a communications satellite.

It is 4.2 meters long and weighs 19.8 tons. Its diameter is 3.2 meters before the solar panels are deployed. It will be installed inside the fairing, approaching the near-Earth carrying limit of the Canglong I.

Its core is a 20-megawatt laser cannon. When operating in space, the laser cannon's lens is aimed at the earth. When necessary, it can also quickly change its direction to face space with the help of an attitude adjustment rocket.

In order to power this 20-megawatt laser cannon, Wang Jiankun stuffed two sets of super graphene batteries with an energy storage capacity of 2 kWh into it.

Of course, in order to confuse the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries, a set of satellite communication equipment is also integrated inside, which is usually used to forward satellite signals. The power of the solar panels is mainly used for communication equipment and other auxiliary equipment, and the laser cannon is mainly powered by the internal super graphene battery.

The two sets of batteries stored a total of 20 kilowatt-hours of electricity before the satellite was launched.

This energy is enough for the laser cannon to fire continuously for more than 9 hours.

Of course, in actual combat situations, each target can be almost destroyed by irradiating it for about 30 seconds.

In space, the laser suffers very little loss as it travels, and the target will withstand attacks with power equal to the muzzle power.

This satellite, internally code-named "Sentinel", is mainly used for testing to see how well it can intercept ballistic missiles in space and destroy enemy satellites.

After all, there are no conditions on the ground to complete such a long-distance vacuum experiment.

After the inspection was completed, the two men left the warehouse and told the security personnel at the door to strengthen protection. No one was allowed to approach without their direct order.

The next day at 6 a.m., the rocket transport ship arrived at the port of Katongani.

The port's crane safely lifted the three containers to the three 3-wheel special container transporters here.

More than 10 minutes later, the car transported the rocket to the assembly plant.

At this time, all the engineers in the assembly plant were in place.

The crane inside the factory lifted the three containers into place one after another.

After the transport vehicle drove away, the engineers first conducted a detailed inspection of the rocket. If any serious problems were found at this time, it would be immediately towed back to the manufacturing plant in Yangon for repairs.

Fortunately, no major abnormalities were found and the rocket is in overall good condition.

The engineers began the intensive assembly work according to the plan.

……

1986年9月23号上午11点，组装完成的苍龙1号火箭，竖立在了组装厂内的封闭厂房内。

At this time, the Sentinel satellite has also been placed into the fairing.

Next, it will travel 4.3 kilometers along a heavy-duty railway directly to the launch tower, where it will be ready for launch.

After the final factory inspection, the Canglong I was loaded onto the Sentinel-1 satellite and slowly drove along a railway with four parallel tracks on a steel base towards the white launch tower in the distance at a speed of 4 meters per hour.

Although the destination was in sight, the entire transportation time was as long as 5 and a half hours.

Along the way, all those involved in the transportation kept silent. Even when making various reports, they spoke in a low voice and did not dare to speak loudly for fear of affecting the rocket that embodied the hard work of all the engineers.

Fortunately, the maximum wind speed was only level 1 and the humidity was not high, so the entire transportation process went very smoothly.

At 5: in the afternoon, the blue Soryu I rocket was finally wrapped by the white launch tower.

The upper fairing and third-stage rocket were firmly held in place by extended fences and grappling hooks.

At this time, the staff went to the top of the launch tower, where they connected a series of equipment to the rocket and began continuous monitoring of the rocket before launch.

At this time, the Space Command Center in Mandalay was observing the Katonghani Space Launch Site and the Soryu I rocket through different monitoring systems.

At 9 p.m. on September 24, the All-China Federation of Liberation Front informed major countries and regions around the world of the launch of the Canglong rocket through Myanmar's diplomatic system.

At this time, international law does not mandate pre-launch notification, but it is necessary to comply with the Outer Space Treaty’s “avoid harmful interference” principle and register the spacecraft after launch.

Moreover, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a nuclear standoff at that time. It would be best to notify the launch of such a large rocket, otherwise it might cause misjudgment.

For future considerations, Wang Jiankun and the top leaders of Quanjiezhen decided to inform the launch time, path and satellite orbit.

Of course, there is a confusing statement to the outside world.

For example, why does a communications satellite weigh nearly 20 tons? That’s because the manufacturing level is not good, so it has to be made larger. Although there are flaws, that’s how it is.

At this time, although the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and other countries were very surprised by Myanmar’s report, they did not take it too seriously.

They thought that the Quanjiezhen side might be preparing to set off a big firework to celebrate the two-year anniversary for the sake of face, and they did not believe that they could really launch successfully.

Advanced technologies in many fields have been opened up to the country, and some high-tech equipment has gradually entered Yunnan from northern Myanmar, and then flowed into various research institutes and confidential factories.

Last year, the country already knew about Quanjiezhen’s plan to develop a large-scale launch vehicle.

However, they do not think that the full solution array can be successfully developed so quickly. It will take at least three years, and that's after they take the unknown technical force inside the full solution array into consideration.

Now, Quanjiezhen suddenly announced that in 24 hours, it would choose an opportunity to launch a large carrier rocket with a payload mass of nearly 20 tons. All relevant experts in the entire domestic aerospace field were alarmed.

They all stopped what they were doing and asked their superiors for more information and data.

The higher authorities were also caught off guard and had to strive to obtain more information.

After emergency coordination, the Quan Jie Fang agreed to send three experts to the space command center in Mandalay to observe the launch.

Time passed by minute by minute, and at 1986 p.m. on September 9, 25, the Soryu I rocket completed the refueling.

At this time, white smoke was coming out of the filling port. It was the evaporation of residual liquid oxygen and the condensation of water vapor in the surrounding air into small water droplets.

In order to ensure that the rocket was in good condition before launch, Wang Jiankun risked his life to stay inside the rocket launch tower and used his superpowers to observe the rocket at all times.

It was not until the 30-minute countdown began and the launch site began to be cleared that we evacuated together with the last batch of engineers and technicians.

The one-minute countdown began at 3:09 pm Myanmar time.

In the Mandalay Command Center, Song Yumin stood in the chief commander's seat and began to count down nervously.

Three experts from the country who flew in urgently from afar looked at the modern command center with envy and silently recorded everything they saw here.

"10, 9, 8,..., 3, 2, 1, ignition." Song Yumin shouted the word "ignition" with a trembling voice.

The moment the signal is sent, it travels hundreds of kilometers and reaches the launch control room in Katonga.

The red launch button was pressed by a firm and powerful hand.

The rocket engine first emitted a puff of black-gray smoke, and an instant later, flames illuminated a monitoring window aimed at the bottom of the rocket.

The four engines ignited successfully one after another with an interval of a few microseconds, and the total thrust of 4 tons slowly pushed the 1120-ton Canglong I into the sky.

At this time, the sunlight shone from the west on the blue rocket. The Canglong I with yellow-red tail flames at the tail was like a blue dragon riding on the clouds, rising into the sky at the mouth of the Irrawaddy River.

Wang Jiankun stood at the window, watching the rocket a few kilometers away gradually accelerate. Slowly, the rocket flew out to a height that could be seen by the naked eye.

Observation stations in various places successively transmitted words such as "observation normal" and "telemetry normal" to the command rooms in the two locations through confidential channels.

The Yaowang 1 survey ship, located in the sea off Myanmar, has its huge antenna facing the Canglong I in the sky, continuously measuring its flight data.

The Soviet naval base as far away as Cam Ranh Bay and the US military bases in the Philippines and the Middle East have all observed the electromagnetic signals of Canglong 1.

At this time, the aerospace and intelligence departments of the two countries finally realized that the Quanjie formation had successfully launched a large rocket.

Although it is not known whether it can accurately deliver the payload to the predetermined orbit, this large rocket has indeed crossed the Karman line and flown towards a higher space orbit.

The onboard computer of Canglong I continuously corrects the flight parameters based on the data fed back by the Yaowang 1 survey ship and the data from the internal laser gyroscope.

Near the equator, the fuel of the first-stage rocket burned out, and the explosive bolts activated in time to separate the first stage.

The second-stage rocket engine started successfully, then slowly turned and flew towards the east.

After the second-stage rocket separated, the third-stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine was also successfully started.

At this time, the fairing was also opened, and the Sentinel-1 laser anti-missile satellite was exposed in space.

The orbital altitude slowly reached 1200 kilometers, and the third-stage rocket engine separated.

The Sentinel satellite successfully entered orbit.

The solar panels were successfully deployed according to the planned procedure, and then the first set of signals were sent back to the tracking and control station on the ground in Africa, and then transmitted back to the command center in Myanmar.

"Oh~, success~, success~." Inside the command center, everyone hugged each other and high-fived to celebrate.

"Congratulations, your rocket is amazing. Director Song, can you tell us something that is not confidential?" Three experts in the aerospace field from China also came to Song Yumin, first congratulated him, and then invited him to communicate.

"Comrade *, *, *, hello! It may not be convenient now. If you can wait, I can spare some time to communicate with you around 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

As soon as the three experts heard this, they knew there was hope.

So they all said they could wait and there was no need to rush.

They had too many questions to ask, not just about what they saw in the command center, but also about the Soryu rocket that they had not seen in person.

The technology of this rocket is so much ahead of that of the domestic rocket, and its payload capacity is several times that of the Long March rocket!

You have to know that they have been developing large rockets for more than 30 years, but they were defeated by an organization that had only been in power in the country for less than 2 years.

At this time, Myanmar's propaganda department also broadcast the prepared promotional video to the whole of Myanmar and even Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. The whole of Myanmar was shocked by this huge surprise.

Although the new government has made their lives much better, in terms of international status, Myanmar is still the same Myanmar.

Now we have successfully launched a rocket that big into space, making China a major space power.

This honor came so suddenly that many people watched the promotional video over and over again.

On the screen of the color TV, the blue Canglong I was erected on the launch tower, and then rose from the ground with a loud bang, which seemed to indicate that this complete solution formation would lead Myanmar to take off together.

Some people who were originally a little resistant to the strict and meticulous management of the Quanjie Array gradually changed their prejudices and began to accept them.

After the rocket successfully took off, Wang Jiankun set off for the base in northern Myanmar.

There were rocket engines and many large parts waiting for him to inspect.

To ensure that the design of this large rocket can be finalized quickly, launches will continue in the next few months.

We will strive to complete the design by the end of 86.

In addition, the solid-fuel rocket with a range of 8 kilometers developed under the leadership of Song Yumin has also reached the manufacturing stage.

That is a test model of a military rocket. In the future, thermonuclear weapons, rapid-launch low-altitude blind spot satellites, etc. will all be launched into space using that rocket.

Therefore, time is very tight. Myanmar must obtain the status of a space power before the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries complete their deployment and ensure that Myanmar has the right to engage in equal dialogue.

(End of this chapter)