This star is going to the moon

Chapter 232 No one dares to say they understand rockets better than Lu Yun!

China has repeatedly stated that it will not participate in the space race.

But many things can't be avoided just because you say you won't participate.

When an object's gravity is too strong, even if it doesn't move towards other things, other things will move towards it.

Just like when someone says "I won't express my opinion," that's actually a way of expressing an opinion.

That's what was said in China in the previous life, especially when the US repeatedly stated that it would return to the moon in 2024.

Since China knows it cannot achieve a manned lunar landing in 2024, and is bound to lose the race, what is the point of participating?
But I didn't expect it.

China didn't participate in the moon race, but the US brought the race with them!
They said they'd return to the moon in two or four years, but the SLS rocket had too many problems, causing delays time and time again.

The Orion spacecraft conducted a test flight and discovered that the actual burning degree of the heat-insulating tiles did not meet the design requirements.

The lunar orbiter module was so difficult to build that it was rejected from the first return-to-the-moon mission.

In other words, the US's first return-to-the-moon mission will skip the docking procedure with the lunar orbital space station and instead launch directly from Earth and land on the moon in a lunar lander.

The lunar lander's progress also fell short of requirements and had to be postponed.

So when China declared that it would achieve a manned lunar landing before 2030, the US postponed its return to the moon from 2024 to 2026, and then to 2028.

Even 2018... isn't a sure thing; it might have to be postponed.

1930!
Old Chinese, and you still say you're not involved in the space race!

Old Chinese: "?"

The situation is different in this life. With Lu Yun's participation, the progress of China's manned lunar landing project is very fast. The review department has calculated the time for manned lunar landing many times and it is estimated that it will be achieved in about 25 years, or at the latest 26 years.

This timeframe isn't late, but it's definitely later than the two or four years the US has mentioned for returning to the moon. That's why China resolutely avoids discussing the space race.

Just like in my previous life: a competition I'm destined to lose, so why participate?
But Lu Yun understands the level of conservatism in China. Even though the calculation was "about two to five years," they only said "right" and not "left," right?
"Left" refers to 2024, which is roughly the same as the timeframe the US claims for returning to the moon.

However, January and December of 2024 are both 2024. Domestically, it cannot be guaranteed that it is January, while in the United States it is December, so the competition will not be mentioned.

Unless it takes two or three years in China...

Well, not necessarily.

After all, the prevailing attitude in China is "less talk, more action".

Just like the "free trade" of the previous life, when the United States had a strong manufacturing capacity, they talked about "free trade" every day, while the Chinese remained silent and just silently caught up.

When the US abandons its powerful manufacturing capabilities while China possesses them, then it will be China's turn to call for "free trade."

The Chinese now are no longer in the days when they were poor and struggling. Instead, they have been accumulating strength and will only start a war once they have enough power.

Everyone in the conference room knew this, so they were all working hard to push forward the project and get the higher-ups to officially approve the manned lunar landing mission as soon as possible.

I didn't expect Lu Yun to give such a specific timeframe at the meeting today.

Lu Yun, however, didn't care. He was the youngest chief engineer on site, so he had a tacitly agreed-upon "authority".

“I’m still a child!”

It is essentially equivalent to "I am a barbarian".

Sometimes it's okay to say something outrageous or exaggerated.

Who would hold a grudge against a child?
Of course, mischievous kids are an exception.

So Lu Yun said directly, "Why are you all looking at me like that? When I visited you before, you all said that the research and development and production tasks could be completed in two or four years."

Project leaders: "..." How can saying it in private be the same as saying it in a formal report?

When you're going to say it formally, you definitely need to leave some room for maneuver!

Especially when your boss assigns you a task, even if you can complete it in five minutes, you can't actually complete it in just five minutes.

Not to mention that they were working on a super mission related to a manned lunar landing.

Director Zhang and the high-level representatives became interested. Director Zhang asked, "Lu Yun, are you sure it's impossible for the Americans to complete their return-to-the-moon plan in 2024?"

Lu Yun nodded with great certainty: "Of course, even putting aside other aspects, there are many problems with the SLS rocket alone. The primary problem is that it is impossible for it to make its maiden flight this fall, and it will have to be postponed again!"

"If the most crucial rocket is delayed, everything else will have to be delayed as well."

"Not to mention that other things are not ready either, just waiting for the rocket, and each of them has its own big problems."

Although Lu Yun did not provide any evidence, those present did not believe he was making things up.

After all, when it comes to the Rockets, no one present dared to say they knew more about the Rockets than Lu Yun.

Many people might not believe that Lu Yun's rocket design capabilities far surpass those of his predecessors, but it's certainly not accurate to say that those predecessors were better than Lu Yun.

We should at least come up with a title like "each has its own strengths".

After all, only Lu Yun in China has developed a reusable rocket.

In fact, the fact that the country put him in charge of the Long March 10 rocket project shows that Lu Yun is the future leader in the field of rocketry handpicked by the state.

Once the Long March 10 rocket is successfully launched, everyone will have to admit that Lu Yun's expertise in the field of rocketry surpasses that of all of them.

After asking the Americans, Director Zhang rubbed his hands together expectantly and then asked the domestic authorities, "So you really can be ready in 2024?"

The people in charge looked at each other and then nodded, saying, "They're pretty much the same."

"Yes, we have calculated the timeline, and it should be completed in 2024 or 2025."

"It was mainly thanks to Comrade Lu Yun's contribution. The manned lunar landing mission required 'stability,' so we didn't adopt an aggressive approach. Instead, the conservative approach fell within the scope of Comrade Lu Yun's 'grand technology integration theory,' which greatly accelerated the project's progress..."

The primary task of China's aerospace engineering is indeed to ensure stability. Take the Chang'e 5 sample return mission as an example. It didn't have any international cooperation equipment; everything was based on domestic aerospace technology. The goal is to ensure smooth operation throughout the entire process.

Once Chang'e 5 succeeds, Chang'e 6, as a backup, can be more daring. Not only will some mature equipment be removed and replaced with international collaborative experimental equipment, but the sampling site will also be changed to the more challenging far side of the moon.

As a result, Chang'e 6, which could have been launched again in the first half of the year, will have to wait several years to carry out its mission.

And so, the group discussed some more details, and Director Zhang happily wrote down the time point that everyone agreed on, which he would organize and submit to his superiors.

Because this is a powerful tool for securing funding!
That concludes the morning meeting; we'll continue in the afternoon.

The afternoon session will focus on future projects. We'll also be preparing reports before the funding comes in, hoping to secure more funding.

During lunch, many people chatted with Lu Yun, and what the person in charge of the Eighth Hospital of Shanghai said made him the happiest.

"Comrade Lu Yun, the design of the 'Space Dock' has been approved by the higher authorities, and we are about to start construction. According to the plan, it should be completed in about five months."

Lu Yun was delighted upon hearing this: "So fast?"

The person in charge also said happily, "Haha, isn't this exactly what you planned? I remember how your eyes lit up when you looked at the prototype of the Mengtian experimental module."

Lu Yun: “…”

As expected, it left behind a dark history.

(End of this chapter)