This star is going to the moon

Chapter 342 Elon Musk's "Super Falcon" prototype undergoes test flight; the US announces sixth-generation fighter jet test flight, a victory!
The fact that Lu Yun and An Fangfei are considering marriage was not revealed by the veteran actors present, otherwise Weibo would have exploded.

After all, they still have to focus on filming.

They're not like those popular celebrities; those people can't possibly act properly, they're serious about generating buzz.

Many film crews film in seclusion to ensure better production, but popular celebrities can't stand being in seclusion. They need to constantly be on the trending topics list so that fans and the general public can see them.

So, trending topics like "So-and-so was dedicated to filming in the summer wearing five layers of clothing," "So-and-so was injured and sent to the hospital while filming," and "So-and-so was praised for acting with veteran actors" appeared.

But those in the know understand that the reason why popular celebrities can wear five layers of clothing when filming in the summer is because there are air-conditioned vehicles with a dedicated air duct to blow air onto them.

As for the supporting actors, especially the extras, they could only tough it out; they were lucky to get a bowl of chilled mung bean soup.

Then there's the matter of being injured and sent to the hospital while filming.

Thankfully, I was taken to the hospital in time, otherwise even the tiny cut on my hand would have healed by now.

As for being praised by veteran actors during filming, that was a pre-planned publicity strategy. The veteran actors had to cooperate with the production team for publicity after signing their contracts.

Veteran actors are respected by the audience, but in the eyes of entertainment companies and production crews, they are just tools.

Just after Rowoon joined the film crew, the Americans began their own operations.

First, on September 3, Elon Musk said that his 9-meter diameter "Super Falcon" prototype would be test-flown, and it actually did.

In fact, Lao Ma's "Super Falcon" had already started testing long ago, as early as last April.

There were four tests conducted between April and August of last year, but they were not test flights; they were "jumps."

Because that thing jumped 0.3 meters high from its initial tethered position, it could be said that it only "pupaed" briefly.

The next three jumps were 1 meter, 20 meters, and 150 meters respectively.

Finally, that 150-meter "jump" gave it the feel of a test flight.

However, many space enthusiasts do not believe that it was a test of the "Super Falcon" because that thing has nothing to do with rockets at all, but looks like a metal water tank on the roof.

(Net map)
SpaceFork calls it a "jumping bug," but space enthusiasts don't like it.

The "Super Falcon" is an eagle, so the eagle's initial state must be an egg.

Therefore, enthusiasts call it a "vibrating egg".

Even though it's a huge thing that's 14 meters tall overall.

Later, Lao Ma started building the prototype of the "metal water tower" second-stage rocket, which is how he started to get involved with rockets. This is the 35-meter-tall behemoth that is now about to be test-flown.

(Net map)
The prototype of the second stage rocket for the "Super Falcon" was completed at the beginning of the year. After multiple static fire tests, the engine was confirmed to be working properly.

Then, on September 3rd, the first test flight at a height of 150 meters was carried out.

It must be said that SpaceFork, the company that developed the first reusable rocket, has some impressive flight control technology.

This behemoth, 35 meters tall and 9 meters in diameter, successfully landed on its first 150-meter test flight.

(Time-lapse footage)
However, Elon Musk very "humbly" stated: "This is just the most basic prototype; it's not the final version of the Super Falcon, because the Super Falcon is a very beautiful and large machine."

[We'll let it test a few more times later, then we'll dismantle it. We'll build several more advanced prototypes with three engines each; that's what we'll call a Super Falcon second-stage rocket.]

We will test-fly the advanced prototype in November. It will fly to an altitude of 12 kilometers and then land smoothly, providing data for the actual second-stage rocket.

[We will soon complete the second stage of the Super Falcon rocket, and then even faster, the first stage booster. We will soon launch it to Mars, and humanity will soon become an interplanetary species!] (Image from the internet)
Thanks to the fact that human spaceflight had not seen a 9-meter diameter rocket fly for a long time, the last time being the Saturn V rocket with a 10-meter diameter in its last launch in 1973.

The SLS, which also has a diameter of 10 meters, although its first flight was in 2016, has never left the assembly stand, let alone stood on the launch pad.

So now another 9-meter diameter behemoth has finally flown into space, and space enthusiasts are very excited.

Although Lao Ma lost to Lu Yun in the field of manned spacecraft, his authority in launch vehicles remains.

To be fair, that's true.

[I really want to see what a spectacular sight it will be to recover a two-stage rocket that is 9 meters in diameter and 50 meters tall.]

The first-stage booster is truly impressive; at 70 meters tall, it's a veritable pillar of heaven, and its recovery is even more awe-inspiring.

No, no, no, the second stage rocket returns from outside the atmosphere, while the first stage booster doesn't. The spectacular sights are quite different.

[It's a bit early to speculate on these things now. The Super Falcon is only a basic prototype test flight, and Musk's timelines are all optimistic. I feel the Super Falcon rocket will definitely be delayed, and it's highly unlikely to be completed within two years.]

[I share this concern, but unfortunately Lu Yun is busy with the Long March 10 rocket for the manned lunar landing and doesn't have much time to work on his 10.6-meter diameter "Starship" rocket. Blue Star Aerospace is currently only focusing on the infrastructure construction of the manufacturing and launch sites.]

If Lu Yun starts developing the "Starship" rocket, will the national team abandon the Long March 9 rocket project? After all, the Long March 9's specifications are far inferior to the Starship.

[They're definitely not going to do it. The national team wouldn't do something useless. If you ask me, the Americans should cancel the SLS rocket project. It's been delayed for four years and it's still being delayed. It's useless!]

Indeed, resources should have been concentrated on helping President Trump develop the Super Falcon, but unfortunately, the US abandoned its "national mobilization system" after the Apollo moon landing program.

The American business model has many advantages, but its "national system" also has many drawbacks and is not perfect.

[That's right, I just saw the news. The US Air Force's procurement chief said they're already test-flying a sixth-generation fighter jet. That's the advantage of their business model, while we haven't even mastered a fifth-generation fighter yet.]

Holy crap, is this for real? I'm going to check...

Weibo is becoming increasingly international, resembling a "domestic Twitter." Many foreign government accounts have also joined the platform, which is why many foreign news stories trend on Weibo.

The hashtag #USSixthGenerationJetTestFlight# is now trending on social media.

However, after clicking in and taking a closer look, netizens discovered that it was a "moment of charm in journalism".

The Americans are saying that the NGAD project's "full-scale demonstrator" has begun test flights.

NGAD stands for "Next Generation Air Dominance" fighter jet, and it does not explicitly state that it is a sixth-generation fighter jet.

But we are now in the era of fifth-generation fighter jets, so it's not wrong to say that the next generation will be the sixth-generation fighter jet.

However, the test flight of that "full-size demonstrator" is debatable.

Given the boastful nature of Americans, if they actually test-fly it, wouldn't they release a video of it?
Even just one picture would be helpful.

Of course, many netizens tried to defend the Americans.

The US has incredibly advanced aviation technology. They developed the fifth-generation F-22 in the last century, and later the F-35. They must have started researching sixth-generation fighters long ago, so it's normal that they've developed one now. As for why they don't show it to outsiders, it's probably because sixth-generation fighters involve significant changes compared to fifth-generation fighters, and even just seeing their appearance could risk leaking secrets.

[Very likely, especially since a certain country is so adept at copying; the Americans have to be careful.]

[What the heck? What does that mean? That a certain country is such a copycat? They can even copy fighter jets?]

[Heh, whoever gets angry gets criticized. Everyone abroad knows your country plagiarizes...]

(End of this chapter)