This star is going to the moon

Chapter 104: Real Starship, Don’t Take the PPT Seriously
"The design concept of the Starship still adheres to the 'technical integration theory'. For example, its diameter is 10.6 meters. Two years ago, our market already had alloy forging rings of this diameter, which can be used directly."

“This is a photo from that time…”

(2016 online image)
Looking at Lu Yun who was showing photos and talking freely, Ma Yilong already knew that this was directed at him.

Thomas, who was standing next to him, was a tech geek. He whispered to Ma Yilong, "Yilong, I don't know if it's a coincidence that you both wanted to name your rockets 'Starship,' but Lu Yun's rocket is obviously more like a starship because his rocket has a diameter of 10.6 meters, while yours is only 9 meters."

Ma Yilong immediately glanced at him, raised his middle finger and whispered, "Damn it, Thomas, are you a spy sent by Lu Yun?"

Thomas shrugged. "You know me. If I were a spy, I definitely wouldn't let you research such a powerful engine."

"Besides, I'm not Chinese, and I wasn't the one taken away for investigation before. Obviously, I'm not a spy..."

They were talking below, and Lu Yun was talking above.

Lu Yun: "The starship's takeoff mass will reach 7000 tons, unprecedented in human history, and its thrust will exceed 10000 tons!"

"This allows its full carrying capacity to reach an unprecedented 500 tons..."

Thomas: "Wow, Yilong, Lu Yun's starship design is closer to your original 12-meter diameter 'Mars Colonial Ship'. Your current 9-meter diameter 'Mars Falcon' is too small. Your dream will be realized by someone else."

Ma Yilong: "Fuck, shut up!"

Lu Yun: "The starship will use cheap stainless steel to make the rocket body..."

This time Thomas didn't say anything, just glanced at Ma Yilong.

Ma Yilong himself was also shocked because they had just discussed whether to use stainless steel and had not yet decided. He did not expect that Lu Yun had already decided to use it.

Lu Yun: "But the disadvantage of stainless steel is that it is very heavy. Using the support leg landing mode will be even heavier. This extra weight will squeeze the carrying capacity..."

Ma Yilong nodded. He thought so too, which was why he did not immediately decide to use stainless steel.

Lu Yun: "So I thought of getting rid of the landing legs and adopting another recovery method. Our ancestors have already given us the answer to this problem: chopsticks!"

"Yes, we're going to build giant steel chopsticks to catch returning rockets!"

"This way, its full recycling capacity can reach an astonishing 300 tons!"

Ma Yilong: “!!!”

This is this...

Thomas also made a tactical retreat: "Hou Lixie, Yilong, the problem we were thinking about has been solved just like that!"

Now Ma Yilong had to admit: "Yes, Lu Yun is simply a genius."

"It's just that... it seems like a lot of our gimmicks are gone."

"Don't worry, Yilong," Thomas said, this time comfortingly. "Remember why you gave up on the 12-meter diameter 'Mars colony ship'? It was because the technology was too difficult to achieve."

"Lu Yun's current PPT is just like your original PPT. You can't trust it. You'll definitely have to revise it later."

"Their aerospace technology is definitely not as advanced as ours. After all, they didn't participate in the last space race. That's why they can only build a Wanhu rocket that's 60% the size of the Falcon ."

"Even if they can seek help from their northern neighbors, their northern neighbors were also the losers in the last space race, and we..."

Thomas patted his chest and said, "We are the winners!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard Lu Yun say, "Of course, because the technical difficulty of the starship is too high, the current market technology alone cannot meet all the requirements. We need to independently research a large number of cutting-edge core technologies..."

Thomas pointed, his meaning clear.

"Look what I said."

This made Ma Yilong breathe a sigh of relief. That's right, anyone can make a PPT. The first version of a PPT is just for bragging; it's impossible to make one.

Apart from the weird client, who would really follow the first version of the PPT?

If Lu Yun knew what they were thinking, he would probably laugh out loud.

Because in the last few years of the previous life, Lao Zhong had a nickname: "You write the PPT, and I'll be responsible for its implementation."

(Net map)
When Lu Yun’s “Starship” technology launch conference ended, it immediately caused heated discussion.

According to Lu Yun, the overall height of the "Starship" is 120 meters, which is 118 meters higher than the 2 meters of the "Mars Big Falcon" whose data was revised again a few months ago.

The Starship has a diameter of 10.6 meters, which is 9 meters larger than the 1.6 meters of the Mars Falcon.

The takeoff mass of the "Starship" is 7000 tons, which is 5000 tons higher than the 2000 tons of the "Mars Big Falcon".

The full recovery capacity of Starship is 300 tons, while that of Mars Big Falcon is only 100 tons.

Of course, according to Ma Yilong, the "Mars Falcon" is still the initial version. If it can fly in the initial stage, it will be considered a winner. In the later stage, the carrying capacity will be gradually improved to a fully recoverable 200 tons.

But most people actually have similar ideas to Ma Yilong and Thomas.

"Is it true that someone is building a rocket based on the incredibly exaggerated first version of the PowerPoint?"

Ma Yilong's original PPT was even more exaggerated, with a diameter of 12 meters, but in the end it was honestly reduced to 9 meters.

The same is probably true for Lu Yun's "starship" with a diameter of 10.6 meters. Even if there are metal forging rings of corresponding sizes on the market, what does that have to do with the finished rocket?
Can you unlock the "Crown Jewel of Mathematics" just after learning the "Nine-Nine Arithmetic Table"?

Obviously impossible.

But even if Lu Yun's was weakened to a diameter of seven or eight meters, it would still be a behemoth.

Although it cannot be compared with the 9-meter diameter of the Big Falcon, it should be larger than the 7-meter diameter of the New Glenn.

And considering that Lu Yun developed the Wanhu rocket in just over a year, maybe this "starship" can also be developed quickly.

After all, no matter how impressive your rocket data is, it will be useless if you can't build it.

The director of the space agency was very excited. After the press conference, he approached Lu Yun and said, "Your rocket is amazing! Even if the data is reduced later, it is still enough to carry people to the moon."

Lu Yun scratched his head helplessly when he heard that. Why did he feel that my transformation from PPT to a real rocket would shrink?
The finished product of Wanhu Rocket is exactly the same as the PPT, without any shrinkage.

But...manned moon landing?
The director of the Space Administration’s surname is Zhang. In order to distinguish him from the “Director”, Lu Yun usually calls him “Director Zhang”.

So Lu Yun asked excitedly, "Director Zhang, has the higher-ups decided to launch a manned lunar landing program?"

Director Zhang smiled slightly. "Although it's still under discussion, it's probably almost done. It might be announced after the Chang'e 4 mission is successful."

"By then, we should have each company bid on the design of a lunar landing rocket. I think the 'Starship' you announced today is a good fit. What do you think? Do you have confidence that you can maintain the scale of the Saturn V and build one within ten years to carry out a manned lunar landing?"

I have to say that Director Zhang’s ideas are still too conservative.

It is obvious that they think that "Starship" must be reduced in size, but it is best not to be reduced to the level of Saturn V in the last century.

In other words, it is best to maintain a takeoff mass of three to four thousand tons, and use a one-time full-throw mode to achieve a carrying capacity of more than 100 tons in low-Earth orbit and more than 40 tons in lunar orbit, so that manned lunar missions can be carried out.

But isn’t this the original design specification of the Long March 9?
However, the previous manned lunar landing plan did not use the Long March 5, but instead used a "small rocket" with a diameter of meters.

This life...

"Director Zhang, don't worry, just watch!"

(End of this chapter)