This star is going to the moon

Chapter 298 Lu Yun's Alma Mater, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics: "What makes an outstanding graduate? (Leans back)!"

Although the maiden flight of the "Wooden Kite" was not manned, there were quite a few things in its cabin.

The first test dummy was a man sitting in a seat, wearing the "Blue Star" intravehicular activity suit throughout the test.

Of course, it was the only seat in the cabin; the other five seats were empty.

After all, it's the first unmanned flight. No matter how confident Lu Yun is, the probability of failure is not zero. If something goes wrong, it could lead to the failure of the first flight.

Therefore, in order to minimize costs and reduce weight, the cabin is very simple.

Besides the test dummy, there were several ultra-high-definition cameras in the cabin, including those from the "The Wandering Earth 2" crew.

The crew of "The Wandering Earth 2" wanted a first-person perspective of takeoff and landing, so the camera was fixed behind the windshield.

The rest were just some odds and ends, such as a photo of Lu Yun and An Fangfei, a group photo of the engineers of the "Wooden Kite" project, a little green man doll from the famous space game "Kerbal Space Program", and a flag with the emblem of Lu Yun's alma mater "Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics".

As the students and faculty of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics watched the live broadcast on the large screen in the auditorium, with the little green dolls floating on ropes and the school emblem flags constantly waving, they erupted in thunderous cheers!
"Enjoyed! So enjoyable!"

"Senior Lu is awesome!!"

"Haha, the value of our school's graduation certificates is getting higher and higher!"

"Let's see what the people from Beihang University have to say now!"

“My buddy is at Beihang University, and he already said ‘You’re amazing’ on WeChat.”

“My high school roommate is also at Beihang University. He said Lu Yun is the MVP, while I am just a passive winner.”

"Haha, bro, he's just jealous of you..."

Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) started this campus-wide event to watch Lu Yun's first lunar rover launch a long time ago. After all, his first "Golden Toad" mini lunar rover was made by a classmate, so NUAA definitely had to broadcast it live.

However, the first time is inevitably a bit rudimentary.

When the "Wan Hu" rocket made its maiden flight, the school made a huge fuss about it.

Firstly, Lu Yun's fame has increased, and secondly, the mini lunar rover and reusable rocket are indeed not in the same league.

Another option is to let Beihang University take a look...

"What does it mean to be an outstanding graduate? (Leans back)!"

Beihang University was furious, but there was nothing they could do.

If we're talking about overall strength and the number of top talents, then Beihang University is indeed impressive, but Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is all about its young graduates.

Moreover, Lu Yun's achievements and resume are quite impressive; he was the chief designer of the manned lunar landing rocket!
Although the country does not yet acknowledge that the Long March 10 is a lunar landing rocket.

But what ordinary people know, those of them in the aerospace industry know even more about.

It's just that the time hasn't come yet for national recognition.

And after this, it goes without saying.

The "Wooden Kite" space shuttle is a groundbreaking manned spacecraft that was entirely defined and developed by Lu Yun himself and his team!

This level of gold is not only the best in China, but it's also the best in the world!

Not convinced?

Hold it in!

At the same time, in the live stream of the world-renowned space blogger "Big Rocket," space enthusiasts from other countries were also present...

Well, there's not much to say. The only country with a more advanced space program than China is the United States, so other countries have been holding back from the start.

American space enthusiasts are speechless now. [Let's wait and see; it hasn't landed yet. Adding "Saint" to Lu Yun's name is premature.]

That's true, but the "Wooden Kite's" takeoff and runway were truly beautiful! So elegant!

With such comments starting, other praising comments also appeared.

You're right. Even though we can't see the test dummy's data, I feel its G-forces are much gentler, perhaps really similar to the experience of flying on a commercial airliner.

Indeed, it didn't start with full thrust during the initial run-up phase, demonstrating how confident Lu Yun was in his design.

I feel like there's no need to bet on its landing anymore. I can see its special aura even through the live stream; it definitely can do it.

In a couple of days, Elon Musk's Crew Dragon spacecraft will make its maiden manned flight. I'm suddenly not so excited anymore because it seems a bit outdated...

At Space Fork Company, it was very late, and Elon Musk was still watching a live stream with a group of senior executives, specifically the "Big Rocket" live stream.

So when that comment appeared on the screen, many people frowned.

But there's nothing we can do about it. Compared to the groundbreaking "Wooden Kite" space shuttle, the reusable "Crew Dragon" spacecraft, which is only one generation ahead of disposable manned spacecraft, is indeed lagging behind.

Although the Crew Dragon spacecraft will be making its maiden manned flight in a couple of days, they can't really say how much faster it is than the Wooden Kite in terms of manned flight time. If its test flight goes very smoothly, it may be able to carry people in two or three months.

After all, the nominal development cycle of the "Wooden Kite" is less than two years.

We can't just test it for one or two years without anyone testing it, can we?
The Falcon 9 rocket was maliciously attacked by the Wanhu rocket with low prices. It only retained some of the low-Earth orbit payload market because of the US's hegemonic protection, and it retained most of the high-Earth orbit market because the Wanhu rocket could not carry large-mass high-Earth orbit payloads.

If the "Wooden Kite" also starts carrying people, the crewed missions of the "Crew Dragon" spacecraft to the International Space Station will certainly not be taken away. After all, NASA's "Commercial Crew Program" is aimed at restoring the United States' own crewed spaceflight capabilities.

Commercial space tourism, however, is dangerous.

After all, space tourism is not a high-orbit payload; the "Muyuan" spacecraft can carry six people, and the "Cyber ​​Dragon" can carry up to seven people.

And it's conceivable that the ticket price for the "Wooden Kite" will be much cheaper than that for the "Manned Dragon".

Fortunately, the Space Fork is not without its countermeasures.

Everything will be alright once the 9-meter diameter "Super Falcon" rocket is successfully developed!
This is also an important reason why Old Ma hasn't gone crazy yet.

The cost per kilogram for the Falcon 9 rocket is over $2000, for the Falcon Heavy rocket it is $1500, while the cost for the Vanguard rocket is a hefty $1000.

This forced Elon Musk to squeeze out a lot of profits, and he only managed to retain some market share by paying $1100 and relying on the protection of American hegemony.

But once the "Super Falcon" is successfully developed, the cost of transporting goods per kilogram will drop to $100, and the cost of passenger transport per person will only be $10!
As a conventional reusable small rocket, the cost of the "Wanhu" rocket will not be reduced to $100 per kilogram, no matter how much it is reduced.

Even though the "Wooden Kite" is a space shuttle, its size limitations prevent it from reducing passenger costs to $10 per person.

Not to mention that this is not Elon Musk's final price. His ultimate goal is to reduce the cost of transporting the "Super Falcon" to $10 per kilogram and the cost of transporting passengers to $1 per person!
That was the ultimate kill!

Ma Yilong knew that Lu Yun had a Starship rocket project with a diameter of 10.6 meters, which was even larger than the Super Falcon, and he also knew that Lu Yun's research and development speed was famously fast.

But since Lu Yun is a citizen of the Chinese, he cannot escape the mission given to him by the Chinese, just like the manned lunar rocket.

Elon Musk is well aware of how slow the various official agencies are, just as he has always wanted to disband NASA, which manages him, and audit the FAA, which manages him.

Their presence has severely slowed down his research on the "Super Falcon".

However, the "Super Falcon" is already under rapid development, while Lu Yun's "Starship" is still in the PPT stage, because Lu Yun is completely tied to China's manned lunar landing program.

Even Rowoon has to waste time filming!
They're young after all; they can't escape the glitz and glamour of the world.

Unlike him, who has already resolved to die on Mars.

So no matter what, Ma Yilong feels... the advantage is in my hands!
(End of this chapter)