This star is going to the moon

Chapter 508 Lunar Landing All-in-One Package: Dream Boat Embraces the Moon, Seeking Truth in the Universe
The live broadcast of the "Xiancha" spacecraft docking with the Tiangong space station for the first time, carrying astronauts from the national team, was of a very high standard. The broadcast experts not only invited the team leader who modified the "Xiancha" spacecraft, but also Yang Liwei, China's first manned spaceflight pilot.

Seeing that many viewers had questions about "Xiancha R1" in the comments, Yang Liwei gave an explanation.

"The Xiancha space shuttle is different from the single-use Shenzhou spacecraft. The number Shenzhou indicates which ship and how many times it has flown. For example, I entered space aboard Shenzhou V, which is the fifth Shenzhou spacecraft."

"The Immortal Chariot is different; it is fully reusable. It's not appropriate to directly use the Immortal Chariot number to represent the number of missions, so we added a letter in the middle of the design number."

"The 'R' is the first letter of the pinyin for 'person,' indicating that this is a 'manned' flight. 'Xiancha R1' is the first manned mission of the Xiancha."

"When it comes to loading cargo, we'll use the letter 'H,' which is the first letter of the pinyin for 'cargo.' The 'C' code name was used for the previous unmanned test flights of the Xiancha..."

The viewers in the live chat laughed when they heard this.

[Classic! Absolutely a classic!]

Haha, I knew it would be the first letters of the pinyin; our country just loves doing it this way.

Indeed, many of our country's equipment models are designed this way; foreigners might think they're English letters, but they're actually Chinese pinyin letters!

[I remember even funnier places where signs were supposed to be bilingual (Chinese and English), but the English was just pinyin, not English at all.]

Our country is just too warm and hospitable; those elderly Americans should be taught some Chinese.

Now that we have mobile phone translation services, we can just ask our phones if we don't understand anything. If some idiot or arrogant foreigner can't even do this, then we don't need to come; we don't welcome them anyway.

[Haha, that'll have to wait until we officially become number one in the world. But for now, let's watch the national team's manned space shuttle maiden voyage.]

[A national team is a national team; their needs for space shuttles are different from those for commercial space tourism flights...]

The space agency's "Xiancha" spacecraft was equipped with more equipment and fuel because it needed to quickly dock with space and quickly balance air pressure.

This resulted in the "Xiancha" having a smaller payload capacity and a smaller passenger capacity than the original Muyuan-class space shuttle.

This is only achieved by simplifying the seating and interior design; if these features were slightly better, it could only accommodate four people.

Of course, even so, the "Xiancha" has a larger payload capacity than the Shenzhou spacecraft.

After all, the Shenzhou spacecraft's return capsule is fully occupied by three people. Although there is an orbital module that integrates many functions such as working, eating, sleeping, cleaning, and loading cargo, its "upward" cargo transport capacity to the space station is at most 300 kilograms.

50 kilograms of it are still inside the return capsule.

This 50 kilograms is also the only "downward" capability of the Shenzhou spacecraft for transporting cargo from space to the ground.

The "Xiancha" is much better; it has an "upward" capability of 700 kilograms even with only three astronauts on board.

Of course, the "downward" capacity is also 700 kg.

At the same time, its internal space is much more spacious than the Shenzhou spacecraft's return capsule. In addition to transporting things like crop seeds, commemorative flags, and small packages like the Shenzhou spacecraft's return capsule, it can also fit a space station experimental cabinet the size of a washing machine.

The live broadcast was turned off after the "Xiancha" spacecraft entered space. It will be turned on again two hours later when it docks with the Tiangong space station, so viewers smoothly opened the live broadcast room for the Space Day opening ceremony.

There are many things to announce this Space Day, but the most eye-catching is the latest progress and name announcement of the "lunar landing family package".

NASA also organized an official observation team to watch the live broadcast.

Then, Lu Yun took the stage.

He's basically the face of China's manned lunar mission now, after all, he's young, healthy, good-looking, has achieved great results, is highly respected, eloquent, and well-known...

Anyway, he has too many advantages, and there are many benefits to being a spokesperson, so no one has any objections. "Hello everyone, I am Lu Yun."

Lu Yun greeted the audience at the scene and in the live broadcast room with practiced ease, and then said in a relaxed manner: "Originally, I was just the chief designer of the Long March 10 heavy rocket, but since everyone thinks I'm so handsome, it would be a pity if I didn't make an appearance, so I thought..."

"...That's definitely true!"

"So this task fell to my shoulders."

"Currently, all projects of my country's manned lunar landing program are progressing in an orderly manner, although many projects do not yet have names. Fortunately, we launched a global naming campaign last year, and today I will reveal the names to you..."

Lu Yun's press conferences are much more relaxed and humorous than those of middle-aged and elderly engineers, and the audience loves listening to them.

After all, when he speaks, he doesn't just present dry data; he uses superb "vocal dialogue" techniques to tell his story.

"...The new generation of manned spacecraft is currently called the lunar spacecraft, which involves our millennia-old dream of reaching the moon. Therefore, its official name is 'Dream Boat,' which means that manned lunar exploration carries the space dream of the Chinese people."

Lu Yun pressed a button on the remote control, changing the image on the large screen to the latest CG image of the Dream Boat spaceship.

Unlike previous experimental spacecraft, this photo shows its final form.

(Dream Ship)
"As a vessel of dreams, it will embark on a new journey for our country to explore space."

"It also reflects the systemic inheritance with the Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft family..."

After discussing the Dreamship spacecraft, the next topic is the lunar lander.

Its name comes directly from the poems of great men.

"Reach for the moon!"

(Lunar Landing Module)

"Lan Yue" is derived from the phrase "We can reach for the moon in the heavens and capture turtles in the five oceans," showcasing the Chinese people's pride and confidence in exploring the universe and landing on the moon.

The lunar spacesuit that followed was key to realizing this sense of pride and confidence.

After all, the key to "landing" on the moon is "personnel landing," not just staying in the lunar module.

The lunar spacesuit was named "Wangyu".

The character “望” is derived from the imagery of “looking up at the starry sky” in classical poetry, which is “raised head to look at the bright moon”. The character “宇” comes from the “Huainanzi” which states that “the past and present are called Zhou, and the four directions and the up and down are called Yu”, implying philosophical reflections on the universe and spacetime.

It echoes the "Flying Sky" extravehicular suit used for space station missions, symbolizing that after realizing the dream of flying into space and building a "space home," the Chinese people will embark on a new journey of landing on the moon and gazing into deep space.

This also conveys the firm stance of Laos and China in developing their space programs, adhering to the peaceful use of outer space, and contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

(Wang Yu's lunar landing suit)

All three names were the same as his name in his previous life, and Lu Yun had no objections.

But when it came to the lunar rover, Lu Yun smiled.

He finally corrected the regrets of his previous life.

"Seek the truth!"

(End of this chapter)