This star is going to the moon

Chapter 504 One after another, the lunar spacecraft's maximum dynamic pressure high-altitude escape test is a success!
Holy crap, are Americans even capable?

"Oh dear, the purpose of a wet rehearsal is to find problems. It's a good thing to find problems before the official launch."

Indeed, and it's all a problem with the launch pad. This thing is a "relic" from the Apollo moon landing program decades ago. Although it has been repaired and modified, it's inevitable that it will have some problems after so many years. As long as the rocket is fine, it's all good.

[That's right, so far the SLS rocket has been working perfectly. We should trust NASA; it's the world's leading organization for building giant rockets.]

[That's right, the US's aerospace technology is still very advanced, especially when it comes to giant rockets. Officially, they have the SLS rocket with a diameter of 8.4 meters, and commercially, they have the Super Falcon rocket with a diameter of 9 meters. We talk about how amazing we are, but our largest rocket is only 5 meters in diameter.]

Hey guys, take it easy! Don't blow my brother to death!

[Haha, the SLS rocket is fine, that's because the wet rehearsal hasn't even officially started yet. It was stalled by all sorts of problems before the wet rehearsal even began, so there wasn't even a chance to test the rocket. So don't make any promises yet!]

Do you guys even know how much you praise NASA?

Of course I didn't know. If I did know, why would the progress of both wet rehearsals have been stalled?
On the other hand, the other aerospace experts who were also paying attention to the SLS wet rehearsal with Lu Yun were also a bit scratching their heads.

How did America's space program end up like this?
SLS became known as the "King of Delays" because the technology of the Super Rocket was too complex, requiring more time to explain.

After all, many of the senior engineers present had participated in the pre-research of the Long March 9, a domestically produced 10-meter diameter super rocket. At that time, it was still the traditional four-booster bundled rocket mode in the pre-research. As a result, every time they did simulations on the computer, there were all sorts of problems, and it was impossible to run smoothly.

Later, when he learned that China's aerospace projects would not need it in the short term, he decisively abandoned it.

Let's wait until the technology is more mature before making any moves. That way, we'll have more advantages as latecomers.

Then... Lu Yun suddenly appeared.

He not only brought the heavy Long March 10, which has a 5-meter core stage and two core stage boosters, to partially replace the 10-meter core stage of the Long March 9.

The company also plans to develop a 10.6-meter diameter "Starship" rocket, surpassing the 9-meter diameter "Super Falcon" rocket.

Looking at the US, why have their rockets been delayed for so long, and why has their space infrastructure been experiencing continuous problems?

And it's a very basic question...

"Don't they check the wet dress rehearsals beforehand?"

"Yes, the fan and valves aren't major problems. You can find them by checking them once, right?"

"I remember NASA posted an update saying they had inspected it and praised the inspection team for their meticulous work..."

"?"

"The problem is obvious. To put it mildly, it's due to someone's carelessness; to put it more seriously, it's due to the entire inspection team engaging in fraud."

"What... how did the American space port end up like this?"

Compared to the younger aerospace engineers, the older aerospace engineers had more complex feelings.

After all, I used to study aerospace with Lao Xiong, and then Lao Xiong died.

Later, they followed the US in space exploration, and now the US is also...

Indeed, talk is cheap; you only know your true skill level when you actually practice.

We can't just blindly follow the Americans' lead in everything anymore; we might end up with nothing but a piece of history to show for it.

"So do you think SLS's third wet rehearsal attempt on the 15th will be successful?"

"It's really hard to say. Now that NASA has made so many basic mistakes, many of my previous predictions seem to be invalid."

"Indeed, it's really hard to say now..."

"You guys are still talking about SLS, forget about it, Mr. Lu and the others are calling you from over there."

"Oh, here it comes!"

"Hey, that's right, it's our turn to step in!"

"Haha, I was worried that the successful wet rehearsal of the SLS would overshadow our lunar spacecraft's maximum dynamic pressure high-altitude escape test. It seems we've won this round again!"

"That's right, don't you even know who's there?"

"Thank God for protecting me..."

After both countries announced their intention to conduct manned lunar landings, all projects progressed rapidly, unlike the space race decades ago where progress was kept secret and spies were needed to find out about each other's progress.

Now, progress is announced directly through well-developed social networks.

So with both sides accelerating their efforts, it's basically a back-and-forth affair. Sometimes, important news is even announced on the same day, leaving space enthusiasts around the world dazzled.

Of course, it was incredibly fun!

Young space enthusiasts envy their predecessors for witnessing humanity's first large-scale manned lunar landing, but now...

"I've caught up with Jiebo (in Tianjin dialect)!"

In comparison, Lu Yun was much calmer, after all, he had seen it in his previous life.

Since SLS couldn't escape the cycle of malfunctions in this life, the wet rehearsal postponed to the 15th probably won't happen either.

In that case, SLS's "first flight in May" plan will be canceled.

Then, the opportunity for the heavy-lift Long March 10 rocket came.

Originally, the Long March 10 heavy-duty version was scheduled to make its maiden flight in July, which was later than the SLS's maiden flight, but the SLS was too accommodating!

Just like the overall Artemis return-to-the-moon program, it has been delayed step by step, and the Chinese must be allowed to go first.

What are we waiting for? We have to go first!

If today's maximum dynamic pressure high-altitude escape test of the lunar spacecraft is successful, then the Long March 10 heavy rocket will definitely make its maiden flight in July!
Lu Yun looked at the lunar spacecraft, which was much longer than the previous zero-altitude escape experiment, at the launch site and was filled with confidence.

The previous test only involved the escape tower carrying the spaceship to take off from flat ground, so there was only the spaceship itself and the escape tower, which together looked like a giant plunger.

This test required flying to a high altitude, so a solid rocket section was installed at the bottom of the spacecraft.

This is similar to the previous high-altitude escape test of the Orion spacecraft by the US, which is relatively cost-effective.

Only Elon Musk, with his deep pockets, used a Falcon 9 rocket that had been used three times before, to conduct the maximum dynamic pressure high-altitude escape test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

After reaching maximum dynamic pressure, the spacecraft successfully escaped, while the rocket self-destructed.

This can be considered a tribute to the US for restoring its manned spaceflight capabilities.

It must be said that Old Ma was very important to the US space program.

"Maximum dynamic pressure" refers to the maximum pressure generated by aerodynamic forces when an aircraft is flying in the atmosphere. Its magnitude is directly related to flight speed and air density.

Generally speaking, the aerodynamic load on the spacecraft will reach its peak about 100 to 120 seconds after rocket launch, at an altitude of about 20 to 30 kilometers.

Although the impact of maximum dynamic pressure can be reduced through ballistic optimization, it still poses a significant challenge to the structural strength of the spacecraft and rocket, as well as the flight control system, and is also a period during launch when danger is likely to occur.

In manned space missions, if a rocket malfunctions during the maximum dynamic pressure phase, the escape system must operate normally under strong aerodynamic interference to ensure the safety of the astronauts.

The "maximum dynamic pressure escape test" is designed to simulate this situation.

Perhaps influenced by the series of basic errors that occurred during the SLS wet rehearsal, the on-site commander ordered another check, and only after confirming that everything was in order did he issue the ignition command.

"3, 2, 1, ignition!"

Solid rockets propelled the lunar spacecraft into the sky at high speed, leaving a long white plume of smoke in its wake!
(Net map)
The launch of a solid rocket is quite a spectacle.

Compared to the water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases produced after the combustion of liquid-fueled rocket fuel, solid rocket propellant contains a lot of metallic fuel and oxidizer, which produce a huge amount of solid metal oxide particles after combustion.

Therefore, once a liquid-fueled rocket is actually airborne, all you can see are the jets of flame, except for the water in the deflector channel that is bombarded by the flames to form a huge white cloud of water vapor during takeoff.

Solid-fuel rockets create a spectacular white plume of smoke after takeoff.

"Normal posture!"

"The test rocket has reached maximum dynamic pressure!"

"Simulated fault signal issued, escape tower activated!"

"The spacecraft has successfully separated from the malfunctioning rocket!"

"it is good!!!"

"Ohhhhhh!!"

"Hahaha, it's done!"

"We succeeded! We can now send people to the moon!"

(End of this chapter)