This star is going to the moon

Chapter 419 Ma Yilong: How can the Federal Space System, which is so complex, possibly succeed in the space race!
There are many hot topics around the world, and the US president is definitely one of the most talked-about figures.

Although the newly elected President Biden is far less capable of generating buzz than his predecessor, Trump, he is still the President of the United States, so he still managed to pull off a major stunt on April 14th.

The U.S. troops stationed in Afghan will begin an orderly withdrawal on May 1 and will be completely withdrawn by September 11.

This marks the end of the so-called "war on terror" that the United States has been fighting for a full twenty years.

Moreover, the final evacuation deadline was chosen to be the special date "9/11," which can be described as full of all sorts of meanings.

Some people feel that this is a victory for the US, and that voluntarily handing over power to the local government is a fine example of the spirit of the world's policeman.

Some people believe this is a symbol of the decline of American power, just like when the US withdrew from the "Annam quagmire" and couldn't handle it, so it slunk away.

Moreover, this time it's even more obvious. Annan spent fourteen years in the mud before running away, bringing back a large number of PTSD patients, which has been the subject of many films by directors.

They endured twenty years of sandstorms, and after all that time they couldn't control the local area, they finally fled. This shows...

[Are the Americans really that weak? They've been fighting for twenty years and they're just running away?]

[It's truly a mess. To think a counterinsurgency operation could end like this shows the downsides of only destroying without building.]

[You just spout nonsense, do you think you're so great? Even if they really retired, they still have at least twenty years of combat experience. You've gained an advantage. Our army only knows how to train; it has no combat capability whatsoever!]

[Haha, you've never had any experience fighting noobs in twenty years? What kind of combat experience is that?]

[Exactly, experience in counterinsurgency warfare is at least experience, but if you can't even win counterinsurgency warfare, how can you expect to win a decisive battle?]

Playing against bronze-level players for too long will turn you into a bronze-level player yourself.

There are many kinds of combat experience. The experience gained from becoming addicted to counterinsurgency warfare may not be as useful as experience from actual combat exercises, especially in the future decisive battles on the high seas.

Good grief, are you all already thinking about a decisive battle on the high seas? Our third aircraft carrier isn't even finished yet, while the Americans have a full eleven carriers, and they've already started using electromagnetic catapults.

Have you noticed that the US shipbuilding capacity has actually declined significantly? Their Ford-class electromagnetic catapult aircraft carriers are likely to face delays.

[It's been noticed that the lead ship, the USS Ford, is said to have entered service, but its electromagnetic catapult system has many problems...]

[Actually, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is a major turning point; its global deployment is about to shrink...]

When it comes to discussing international affairs, netizens are no longer sleepy.

Hundreds of buildings can be built with ease.

Although the United States is still seen as a behemoth by other countries, many Chinese netizens have noticed that the US is declining.

Of course, this is also because the Chinese community is a huge entity and is growing rapidly.

It was at this moment that the US dropped a bombshell, indicating that it was not declining!
NASA has officially announced a major development – ​​the Moonhawk rocket, a modified version of the 9-meter diameter Super Falcon rocket from Elon Musk's Space Fork, will serve as the lunar module for the Artemis mission to return to the moon, safely transporting a male and a female federal astronaut to the lunar surface.

SpaceX secured a fixed-rate contract worth $28.9 billion, meaning that "in principle" there will be no additional fees, unlike SLS which requires annual increases.

The payment process for this contract is based on each key milestone. Payment is made once a milestone is achieved, and no money is received if no results are achieved or if work is done half-heartedly.

These funds will be used to carry out one unmanned and one manned lunar landing mission.

In terms of mission structure, the SLS rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for a multi-day lunar orbital journey.

Subsequently, the 9-meter-diameter Super Falcon launched the Lunar Eagle with a Super Gravity booster. After the Lunar Eagle reached lunar orbit, it docked with the Orion spacecraft, picked up the two astronauts, and landed on the lunar surface.

After about a week of lunar exploration, they returned to orbit aboard the Lunar Eagle and re-docked with the Orion spacecraft before returning to Earth.

This result is significant; it essentially hands over the final stage of the federal moon landing project entirely to Mr. Ma, making success or failure hinge on this one move.

This decision was technically quite risky.

Leaving aside the ultra-low-floor lunar module of the "small business team," the lunar module of the "national team" is essentially a continuation of the Apollo lunar module from decades ago, only larger, heavier, and more technologically advanced. It was led by Blue Origin, founded by the world's richest man, Bezos, and developed by an all-star team composed of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, which is theoretically the safest approach.

Moreover, the "national team" lunar lander can be transported to lunar orbit by a mature commercial rocket or SLS, and the actual working section is just landing and flying away from the lunar surface.

Elon Musk's "Moon Eagle," with a diameter of 9 meters, is different; it stands 50 meters tall!
This thing can't be launched by ordinary rockets; it can only be propelled into space by the Super Falcon's Heavy-Duty first-stage booster.

Furthermore, the "Lunar Eagle" is too large; even with a super-gravity booster, it can only barely get into space, and multiple refueling operations in space are needed to reach the moon.

So NASA actually funded a super heavy rocket with nearly $29 billion.

We also need to overcome and mature the technology for large-scale cryogenic propellant in-orbit refueling, as well as overcome a series of safety, technical and policy issues that the "Super Falcon" manned mission will face.

In comparison, the long-delayed SLS rocket has already cost $200 billion.

In short, although they all look like lunar landers, the others are at best considered to be of "normal" difficulty.

Space Fork chose "Hell" difficulty for itself.

Faced with the Hell difficulty, Space Fork has conducted four high-altitude test flights of the "Super Falcon" advanced prototype, but all of them ended in failure.

Some space enthusiasts have analyzed that NASA's lunar module evaluation team was present to observe each test flight of the Super Falcon, and it was this spirit of "trying again and again despite repeated failures" and strong execution that led NASA to make the decision.

After all, the lunar landers from the other two companies are still just PowerPoint presentations and models.

NASA then specifically mentioned this in its announcement, stating that SpaceX worked closely with NASA and demonstrated its determination to meet NASA's requirements.

This shows that creating models and PowerPoint presentations every day is not as inspiring as producing tangible results.

Even if they set off four large fireworks displays!
In addition, the severe underfunding of the lunar lander by the newly appointed old Deng government was also one of the reasons why SpaceX won the bid.

The drastic cuts to this year's manned lunar lander budget are a prime example.

Although this is the result of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, rather than Old Deng's masterpiece, it to some extent represents the attitude of the political circles.

The current funding is only enough to support one family working at full capacity. If the original "choose two out of three" scheme is maintained, then no family will have enough money.

Unfortunately, the lowest bidder wins.

Although the "national team" lowered its offer midway, it was still an exorbitant price compared to SpaceX.

Moreover, they can only use this money to develop one lunar lander, while the SLS rocket project has been spending other money.

If Elon Musk succeeds, the money could buy a super rocket and a super lunar lander that are unprecedented in space history, as well as a series of new space technologies.

Elon Musk's ambitions don't stop there; he actually wants the "Super Falcon" to handle the entire process of manned lunar landing.

We don't need the SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft, or the lunar module!

Once the first-stage booster of the Super Falcon rocket sends the Lunar Hawk, fully loaded with 100 tons of supplies and astronauts, into Earth orbit, and then refuels several times in orbit, the Lunar Hawk can fly directly to the moon and deliver 100 tons of supplies and astronauts to the lunar surface!

………………

The United States, the research and manufacturing base for the "Super Falcon" rocket.

Looking out the window at the towering Super Falcon rocket, Ma Yilong muttered to himself, "The Federation's space system is too complex; many things are simply unnecessary!"

"If things continue like this, how can we compete with China and Blue Star Aerospace in a new space race?"

"The Federation's space program is too slow; I need to accelerate it!"

"So all I need is my Space Fork!"

(End of this chapter)