This star is going to the moon

Chapter 256 The Americans: Our Next Advantage Project—The Sixth Generation Fighter Jet!

Launching the satellites of the "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Da Zhen" (a constellation of stars) is only the first step; they must all reach their designated positions.

Thanks to Lu Yun's rebirth and his use of his cheat ability to upgrade his [Aerospace Engineering] skill to level 5, the "Star Dou" satellite was significantly more advanced than the "Starlink" satellite from the start.

After all, Starlink satellites were developed by trial and error, while StarDou satellites were developed by trial and error based on the future Starlink satellites.

For example, the "Xingdou" satellite was the first to use laser communication equipment, while the "Starlink" satellite uses electromagnetic wave communication, which is much less efficient overall.

However, the "Starlink" satellite also has its shortcomings compared to the "Starlink" satellite, such as the Hall thruster.

A Hall thruster is an electric propulsion device that typically uses hydrogen, xenon, or argon as propellants.

However, these propellants do not generate power through combustion, but through the Hall effect.

The propellant is bombarded by electrons and becomes ionic. These ions are accelerated by an electric field and then neutralized by the ions in the plume, which can eventually accelerate the ejected gas to more than 10 kilometers per second, and even up to 80 kilometers per second.

In contrast, conventional rocket engines typically produce airflow speeds of only 2 to 4 kilometers per second.

Of course, Hall thrusters also have disadvantages, namely that their thrust is very small.

However, this disadvantage is not a big deal in space, especially for "small" satellites like those used for space internet, which only need to carry a small amount of propellant to operate for a long time.

If we don't need to perform any emergency maneuvers and just maintain the orbital altitude for a few years, that should be sufficient.

However, due to the limitations of China's aerospace technology development level, China's accumulation of Hall thruster technology is not as good as that of the United States. The "Star Dou" satellite developed by Lu Yun's "big technology integration theory" is somewhat inferior to the "Starlink" satellite in this respect.

The reason why Starlink satellites weigh only 200 kilograms while StarDou satellites weigh 300 kilograms is not only because they are upgraded versions with many new technologies, but also because the extra mass is due to the addition of more propellant.

However, after realizing the problem, Laos and China have increased their funding, and Lu Yun also has some leftover technologies that can be used. It is believed that China's electric propulsion technology will soon make a breakthrough.

The newly launched space-based internet satellite is very conspicuous in the night sky, and many astronomical observers can see a "star train" passing by.

(Image from the internet: A row of dozens of newly launched satellites passing overhead)

There's no way around it; the satellite's huge solar panels always reflect light. In the past, launching satellites one by one wasn't noticeable, but launching dozens of satellites together can create a "reflective array."

Thirty "Stardust" satellites are not an exaggeration; sixty "Starlink" satellites would be truly outrageous.

When Starlink was first launched, many astronomers claimed that so many satellites would "pollute" the sky and interfere with astronomical observations conducted on the ground.

However, there's nothing that can be done about it. Even if such a "star train" doesn't appear, the deployment of tens of thousands of space-based internet networks in space will still interfere with astronomical observations on the ground.

Now it's "better" that both the US and China are developing this kind of space-based internet with tens of thousands of satellites.

It's important to know that over the past few decades, humanity has launched more than 6,000 satellites, of which more than 2,000 are still operational.

As for the other four thousand or so, they are either space debris or have already burned up in the atmosphere.

The US and China, on the other hand, immediately launched over 20,000 missiles as a "trial run," and plan to complete the launches within a few years.

Most importantly, the US has decided that the first phase of Starlink will consist of more than 10,000 satellites, and the later phase will expand to more than 40,000 satellites!

The key is that if it's just a satellite, it's fine, but satellite launches always come with all sorts of "space debris," such as second-stage rockets, third-stage rockets, upper-stage rockets, separation devices, and so on.

Even these pieces of space debris are relatively harmless; many of them, which are in low orbits, will fall into the atmosphere and burn up within a few years or decades.

However, there have already been many satellite collisions or sudden explosions, and the massive amounts of debris they produced are what make them truly dangerous.

This is not just a simple matter of affecting astronomical observations on the ground. If it were to trigger a chain reaction, it could destroy all of humanity's satellites and space stations.

This event is also mentioned in the 2013 science fiction film "Gravity".

Moreover, compared to the safety of astronauts, a bigger problem is that space debris scattered throughout orbit could easily lock humans to Earth.

Fortunately, we haven't reached that point yet. Humanity is already preparing for the future, with major spacefaring nations developing space debris disposal systems.

Now, space personnel around the world are paying close attention to the launch of the "Star Dou" satellite.

Compared to space enthusiasts who get excited about space launches, the US high-ranking officials are not so happy.

Because they are thinking of militarizing Starlink, and now that Laos and China have the StarDou satellite system, which is comparable to Starlink, it is clear that Laos and China also want to militarize it!
This negates the advantage they had painstakingly come up with.

"damn it!"

"We must find another advantageous project!"

"What do you think of the next generation of air superiority fighters, the sixth-generation fighters?"

"That's great. The Chinese have only just figured out fifth-generation fighters, while we developed the F-22 decades ago, and we also have the F-35. These are our strengths!"

“That’s right, this is indeed our strength. Our NGAD project started researching in 2007 and officially launched in 2010. By now, we should have accumulated a considerable amount of technology, right?”

"No, no, gentlemen, I know the latest developments on this project. The first full-scale flight demonstrator for the NGAD project will be test-flying this fall!"

"Great! We've got this in the bag! Have you been there to see what the sixth-generation fighter looks like?"

"No, that's not true. Sixth-generation fighters are strictly classified. I've only seen them mentioned in reports..."

Lu Yun had no idea that the US high-ranking officials, spurred by the "Starship Troopers" incident, were going to compete with China again on advantageous projects, and even less did they know that they had chosen a sixth-generation fighter jet.

If I knew, I guarantee I would... burst out laughing.

He knew exactly what the Americans meant by "full-size flight demonstrator."

It's like you want to build a motorcycle, but you build a bicycle first to test it out.

After all, the frame structure is similar, consisting of a handlebar and two wheels. The two wheels are round and can rotate smoothly...

Okay, now you can build motorcycles.

Is it even possible to manufacture this?

It can't be made!
If the US were truly ahead, it wouldn't have been after China's sixth-generation fighter jets, or even after the maiden flights of two different sixth-generation fighter jets.

Then, a few months later, he hurriedly took out his sixth-generation fighter jet... and showed off photos of it, photoshopped ones, which he found ridiculous.

Lu Yun is currently more concerned about the "Xingdou" satellites. After they separate, they need to activate their thrusters to reach their designated locations; only then can they be considered to be "networked".

(Virtual image)

However, the "Starry Sky" satellite uses electric propulsion, which has very little thrust and is relatively slow, so Lu Yun went back to the "Three-Body Problem" film crew to film.

With the Spring Festival just around the corner, Lu Yun wanted to spend it with her family, so she had taken a lot of leave recently and needed to catch up.

Similarly, others are also rushing.

The program for the CCTV Spring Festival Gala was finalized after the fifth rehearsal, and the program list will be released tomorrow. As a result, the selected celebrities are frantically buying trending topics for marketing.

Since Lu Yun was not involved in this year's Spring Festival films, several young actors were eager to participate.

Their fans are also very excited.

Let the entertainment industry see what box office appeal really means!

(End of this chapter)