This star is going to the moon

Chapter 309: The golf clubs in The Last of Us Part II are just the beginning; the "Space Dock" launches.

Although space is often said to be a vacuum, it is not a "vacuum" and spacecraft face a considerable risk of impact in space.

Leaving aside the large pieces of space debris that are tracked by space agencies, the vast amounts of small debris and particles that cannot be tracked are the most dangerous.

To counter these threats, space stations are equipped with debris protection devices in key locations.

(Image of a protective plate with a number being installed during an extravehicular activity (EVA) at Tiangong Space Station)
These protective panels are very thick and heavy. In order to reduce the load weight, they will not be launched with the cabin at the beginning. Instead, they will be transported up in batches by cargo spacecraft and then installed by the astronauts after they exit the cabin.

In order to launch the 15.5-ton "Space Dock" into the Wanhu rocket, which has a maximum payload of 14 tons, Lu Yun will also adopt this method.

After removing the assembly equipment that is not currently needed and some of the external armor, the weight of the "Space Dock" was reduced to 13.5 tons, which is sufficient for the old "Wanhu" rocket to launch using a fully expended mode with a dozen or so launches per launch.

At that moment, Lu Yun was watching the hoisting of the "space dock" in the factory of the "Wanhu" rocket in the Binhai Aerospace City.

"Mr. Liu, is the hoisting operation okay?"

"No problem, Mr. Lu!"

Lu Yun checked the tablet and, after confirming that all the data was correct, signed his name.

It doesn't matter if Blue Star Aerospace's mass-produced projects are involved; all important projects have to go through him, and the "Space Dock" is no exception.

Similarly, the manager in charge of the "Space Terminal" project at the Eighth Academy was also present. This was the last hurdle, and they couldn't afford any accidents.

However, they were confident in their work, so they focused their main efforts on the reusable "Wanhu" rocket, which had been used more than a dozen times.

"Our institute did envision a reusable rocket a long time ago, but we abandoned it because of the great technical difficulty."

"Later, we wanted to develop a new rocket with a diameter of 3.8 meters, and later we wanted to make it reusable. But before we even started the formal design, your company's Wanhu rocket appeared. I never expected that there would be a rocket that has been used more than ten times in front of me now."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yun also looked at the rocket, thinking that in the previous life, the Eighth Academy had indeed developed a new rocket with a diameter of 3.8 meters, namely the Long March 12.

However, it was already very late by then. The maiden flight didn't take place until the end of 2004, and the second launch didn't take place until the middle of 2005. The reuse plan was still a long way off.

In this life, Lu Yun developed the "Wan Hu" rocket very early on, so the national team shouldn't be thinking about any new rockets. It's most appropriate to use their precious manpower and resources on the manned lunar landing project.

Of course, Lu Yun wouldn't say that here. Instead, he smiled and said, "My Wanhu rocket is too small. The Long March 10 rocket used for manned lunar landings is big enough."

"Your Eighth Academy has provided a lot of ideas for the recovery of large-sized rockets, which means your previous research was definitely worthwhile."

"With your help, the Long March 10 rocket is progressing very quickly..."

The representative from the Eighth Academy said, "Oh, Mr. Lu, you really know how to talk. We know very well what level our designs are at. We still need your help with the key technologies."

Lu Yun: "Not at all, it wouldn't have been possible without the help from all the various organizations..."

The second day after the Muyuan spacecraft's second flight, the second episode of "Tomorrow's Astronauts" aired. This episode marked the official start of the selection process, showcasing the abilities of each trainee. There were many highlights, and the competition was fierce.

Some people desperately held back their vomiting in order to get a high score, only to vomit after the results were given.

There are also those who simply fall down while running because they can't keep up.

Although Lu Yun's previous research with the Astronaut Center showed that the rules for commercial astronauts were not very strict, those rules were relative to those for professional astronauts. For ordinary people, they are still much stricter.

Because Lu Yun's expectations for this group of commercial astronauts go beyond just being "space crew members"; they have many more missions to fulfill in the future.

Especially for relatively young people, they have more opportunities in the future.

Commercial missions to the moon, as some netizens have suggested, are not impossible.

Let's see how they perform.

Of course, the initial task was indeed just to be a "space crew member".

After all, the national team's manned lunar landing mission planning time is another four years, let alone commercial manned lunar landing planning.

Another day passed, and after confirming that the second test flight of the Wooden Kite had returned to the airport without any problems, Lu Yun focused his recent work on the "space dock".

These past two days, filming has begun for the final two episodes of the fourth season of "Back to Field". The guests invited to the eleventh episode are two old friends of Teacher Huang, one of whom is Lao Lang, who has been here many times, and the other is Zheng Jun, who is visiting for the first time.

The twelfth episode features the return of old friends, including Dan Dan, Ba Tu, and Chen Chichi, who are considered "regular guests" on the show.

During this period, a truly amazing game was released – The Last of Us Part II.

Peng Yuchang played the game a bit during the filming of "Back to Field", but because he was quite busy, he only played it briefly and mainly watched game videos recorded by Bilibili UP masters.

He was deeply shocked when he saw the "strong woman" kill the male protagonist with a golf club.

"I really don't understand how the plot is arranged?"

Peng Yuchang asked Lu Yun in a voice message, puzzled, "And that's a woman, right? How come she's so strong and ugly?"

Lu Yun laughed after hearing this: "This is nothing! Aren't you paying attention to those movements that are going on in the Western world right now? There are even more bizarre ones to come!"

Peng Yuchang: "I know a little about this, but how did this thing infiltrate the gaming industry? Games are virtual worlds, this thing..."

Peng Yuchang didn't understand, and neither did Lu Yun, but he had already gone through it once, so he could only adapt.

Right now, the Golden-haired businessman is in power, and this thing hasn't reached its peak yet. It'll be a chaotic mess when the old man takes over.

Fortunately, this kind of thing is relatively far from China, and it's something the West is messing with itself, so Lu Yun can still focus his work on aerospace, and his gaming and film career will not be affected.

On the 20th, the weather was excellent, perfect for a rocket launch.

With a fairing that is 5.2 meters in diameter and 18.5 meters high, the 3.35-meter diameter "Wanhu" rocket is a "big-headed" rocket that looks seriously "top-heavy".

(The US Atlas V rocket)
Fortunately, as a mature rocket, the "Wanhu" rocket still carried the "space dock" steadily into the air.

"Rumble--"

The audience cheered again as the rocket took off, because the "Wanhu" rocket's nearly 500 tons of thrust was far more powerful than the elegant "Muyuan" rocket.

This kind of violent scene is perfect for onlookers.

And this "Wanhu" rocket, which had been used more than a dozen times, lived up to its mission, completing its life in an extremely magnificent single-use manner.

At 11 p.m., the "space dock" approached the space station and began the docking procedure.

It is going to dock with the "backward" docking port of the Tianhe core module. Originally, that was the docking port of the "Tianzhou" cargo spacecraft. Now, the cargo spacecraft will detach from its companion first, and after the "space dock" docks with the space station, the cargo spacecraft will dock with the "space dock".

After all, it is perfectly reasonable for cargo ships to dock at the pier.

"19-meter parking spot!"

"Dock report: Dock is now making its final approach!"

"The capital understands!"

"Dock report: Final docking proceeded normally!"

"The capital understands!"

"Attention all units, docking mechanism detected!"

"Attention all units..."

"Attention all units, the spaceport has successfully docked with the rear docking port of the Tianhe core module!"

Become!

The representative from the Eighth Academy stood up happily, shook hands with Lu Yun, and shook his hand!

(End of this chapter)