This star is going to the moon

Chapter 362 Guo Fan: "Let astronauts play astronauts in science fiction movies." Lu Yun: That's too technically demanding.
"boom!"

The full-scale advanced prototype engine of the 9-meter diameter Super Falcon second-stage rocket was activated, and the nozzles of the three liquid oxygen methane engines instantly spewed out blazing flames and kicked up a huge amount of dust.

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However, the fire, which was soon shrouded in smoke and dust, flashed brightly and then immediately went out.

A surveillance camera that doubled as a live stream camera peered through the dust and captured the bottom of the prototype. It showed a lot of bright red molten metal dripping down from the extinguished engine.

The live stream chat instantly perked up.

Good heavens, it almost exploded!

【what happened? 】

Did something melt?

[It's possible that some of the engine's pipes melted.]

Such a large rocket is indeed difficult to develop, especially since it uses liquid oxygen and methane fuel.

[It seems DeepBlue Arrow's "Red Sparrow II" liquid oxygen-methane rocket is quite impressive; it successfully entered orbit on its maiden flight.]

[It's definitely something special; despite its small size, it earned the title of "world's first" on its maiden flight.]

[Actually, it's not small. Its near-Earth orbit capacity is 6 tons, and it may be upgraded to 9 tons later!]

Indeed, a payload capacity of 6-9 tons to low Earth orbit falls into the "mid-range" of currently operational rockets worldwide.

Yes, there is very little demand for heavy-lift rockets with a payload capacity of over 20 tons, often launching less than one a year. In contrast, rockets with a payload capacity of a few tons can be launched dozens of times a year.

India's largest rocket currently has a payload capacity of only 8 tons, and even that is quite remarkable by global standards.

[It's fair to say that a super rocket with a 9-meter diameter is still too large, especially considering it uses liquid oxygen and methane fuel. Good things take time to develop.]

[Lu Yun's 10.6-meter diameter "Starship" rocket is even larger and also uses liquid oxygen and methane. Now I understand why his development has been delayed for so long.]

Indeed, it's too difficult.

Let's wait and see what happens at the Zhuhai Airshow in a few days. Bluestar Aerospace has a booth there. Let's see if Lu Yun will announce any new information...

It's daytime in the US, but nighttime in China. Those who watch the live stream of the rocket static ignition late at night, instead of playing games, are mostly space enthusiasts, so they're all looking forward to news about Lu Yun.

Judging from Lu Yun's attitude, he attaches even more importance to the Zhuhai Airshow than the International Astronautical Congress, and he will still announce any important news "at his own home".

For example, the most certain news right now is that Lu Yun will launch a space tourism ticket sales event for the space shuttle at the Zhuhai Airshow.

I just don't know how many tickets will be released.

If only five tickets are released for the first flight, they'll probably be snapped up like crazy.

Without any restrictions, there might be even more scalped tickets at inflated prices.

After all, not all wealthy people want to take a trip to space; some may simply want to make another fortune from it.

At the very least, I'd buy in for 1000 million and then sell for 2000 million.

It looks like it has doubled, but when converted to US dollars, it is less than 300 million.

It's still a fraction of the $5500 million ticket price for the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

It's rumored that wealthy individuals who bought tickets for the first manned space tourism trip on the Crew Dragon spacecraft are demanding refunds, but I don't know if it's true.

However, compared to this, $5500 million really seems like an insurmountable rip-off. Would a rich person really be willing to suffer such a loss?
Therefore, many people believe that the rumor is true, but SpaceX just doesn't disclose it to the public.

That's how the world is. When you're successful, everything you say is right, but when you start to fail, other people have to start thinking.

It's not a big deal that the prototype test of the 9-meter diameter "Super Falcon" second-stage rocket encountered problems. After all, many rockets have various problems in the early stages of research. As long as it can fly in the end, that's fine.

However, in the field of commercial manned spaceflight, the Crew Dragon was definitely the leader before, but after the Space Shuttle came along, the Crew Dragon became just another name on the sidelines.

Therefore, there are more and more jokes about Ma Yilong.

To be fair, when two new domestic rockets successfully completed their maiden flights, Lord Runduan enjoyed a small drink, while Elon Musk opened champagne before the Super Falcon prototype was even tested. It seems he opened it too early.

[Haha, this is exactly what they mean by "opening champagne halfway through the journey."]

So whatever you do, don't pop the champagne halfway through, guys!

[Lu Yun drank to celebrate the increasing prosperity of the aerospace industry, but what was Lao Ma drinking for?] [To show off, but he failed.]

Sigh, Lao Ma has a habit of talking too much; I wonder if he'll suffer the consequences later.

[What do you mean by "no big loss"? Even if Trump is a big mouth, can he really argue with the US president?]

"No way, would he dare to do that?"

........................

"Hey, you actually pulled it off!"

Lu Yun looked at Guo Fan with amazement.

"Haha, what's the big deal?"

Guo Fan smiled and said, "Although they have heavy study and training tasks, it is good for them to come out and relax occasionally, which can relieve psychological pressure."

"Besides, as an astronaut, having already filmed previous astronaut selection variety shows, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for him to act in an astronaut selection movie?"

Lu Yun also laughed when he heard this.

The selection of astronauts in "The Wandering Earth 2" is very important. The astronauts come from all over the world to highlight the film's international appeal and to emphasize the theme of "world unity in the fight against disaster".

Of course, this is also the core of "The Wandering Earth 2" as a science fiction film.

It can unite humanity... well, that's definitely science fiction.

Guo Fan originally directed the filming of the variety show "Tomorrow's Astronauts" as a practice run, thinking that it would be better for filming the astronaut selection segment of "The Wandering Earth 2" later.

However, after seeing the actual effects of "Tomorrow's Astronauts", he had even bolder ideas.

"I want astronauts to play astronauts directly in the movie, and for the original cast to act out the astronaut selection process."

Coincidentally, the commercial astronaut trainees selected by Blue Star Aerospace come from all over the world, including people from China and abroad, men and women, and even the crucial "black guy".

The "black guy" in the movie is also an astronaut trainee. Because he hasn't been officially hired, he doesn't have medical insurance. This detail is emphasized multiple times through his lines, "We haven't been officially hired yet, so we don't have medical insurance."

In his previous life, this character resonated with the audience through his humor and lines, earning him the nickname "Medical Insurance Bro".

During the space elevator crisis, his identity was stolen and he was severely injured.

Later, when the lunar crisis broke out, he and Liu Peiqiang were selected to carry out the mission. During the mission, the transport ship crashed, and he fractured his right calf. He eventually returned to the Navigator International Space Station in an emergency return capsule.

As he was being carried into the emergency return capsule, he said to Liu Peiqiang again, "We haven't been officially hired yet, so we don't have medical insurance!"

They're all so suitable, how could Guo Fan not invite them to act?
As for how they were invited, that's very simple.

"Just say it directly."

Lu Yun shook his head upon hearing this, saying that this thing was too dependent on numerical values.

Only a "cyber Daji" like Guo Fan can manipulate things at will.

After all, he would give two hundred to any passing dog whenever he needed it.

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In the first movie, his "getting the Wolf Warrior out of thin air" became a popular meme.

It would be even easier to find someone you know to play a role in a movie.

It was under these circumstances that the astronaut trainees from Blue Star Aerospace arrived at the filming location of "The Wandering Earth 2".

Armstrong Jr. exclaimed enthusiastically, "Haha, it seems I'll have to accomplish the moon landing feat in a movie first, to live up to my surname!"

Agent Simon scratched his head.

I seem to be getting more and more high-profile.

His former employer now has another "window" through which to observe his situation.

As for the "new owner"...

(End of this chapter)