Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 102 NASA’s Tyrant (Seeking monthly tickets!)

"Okay, I understand.

I promise you.

First Hong Kong, then Southeast Asia and finally Japan. I know what you want.

I agree with that.”

John Morgan said after thinking for a moment.

As a Chinese, it is normal to hate and be hostile to Japan.

Whether it is going to Hong Kong or fighting for the interests of Hong Kong ship merchants, it can fully prove that Lin Ran values ​​and has a good impression of Hong Kong.

At this point in time, Japan's economic importance on a global scale had not yet been realized, and both its export industry and foreign investment were still in their infancy.

Neither John Morgan nor anyone else could have predicted the explosive growth of the neon economy.

Lin Ran’s change in the Asia-Pacific shipping port layout can effectively slow down the pace of Neon’s development.

At least in some industries, Hong Kong is able to compete with Japan with the help of shipping costs.

Therefore, the last condition proposed by Lin Ran could be agreed.

In October 1962, Lin Ran continued his work at NASA. His first thing was not to go to the Redstone Base, but to the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida.

Lin Ran and von Braun stood in front of a row of flashing instruments, staring sharply at the Atlas-Agena D rocket on the launch pad.

James Webb's transformation of NASA continues, and after the news of next year's $18 billion budget was confirmed, the opposition voices within NASA have become so weak that they can be ignored.

Although von Bryan and his team were focused on the development of the Saturn series of rockets, he also worked on the Atlas-Agena D rocket.

Because this launch was crucial to America's victory in the space race.

This victory can even be said to be of strategic significance.

Although the shadow of the Freedom 7 failure has been cleared, NASA still faces great pressure from the sharply increasing budget.

If you take the money, you have to perform accordingly.

"Director Lin, Dr. Brian, the rocket's fuel system has been checked and everything is normal." An engineer's voice broke the silence.

Lin Ran nodded and turned to look at the rocket model on the table.

"very good!
But not enough!
We can’t take it lightly. Previous NASA accidents remind us that every detail can make the difference between success and failure.”

Lin Ran held a brief meeting as usual.

The control room was packed with engineers and scientists, and the air was thick with tension.

Everyone knows that Lin Ran has some tyrannical tendencies.

Especially after General Aerospace became a core supplier of NASA, General Aerospace often told its colleagues at NASA about Lin Ran's deeds as a tyrant.

"Gentlemen," Lin Ran said in a low but firm voice, "This concerns NASA's first step toward Mars.

Bringing back photos from Mars is not only a triumph of technology, but also a triumph for America. I need you to be ready for anything!"

The young navigation expert said cautiously: "Director, we have fully inspected it according to the new inspection standards and inspection procedures.

We are very confident.”

Von Bryan also added: "Success is never accidental, it is the result of our countless calculations, tests and improvements.

I believe everyone has confidence.”

Feng Brian gave up competing with Lin Ran for the right to speak on technology, but that doesn't mean he really has no thoughts at all.

After all, judging from the close connection between Lin Ran, Kennedy and the Democratic Party, the other party can stay here for a maximum of eight years.

When the Donald Trump leaves the White House, the other side will have to leave the White House too.

In contrast, technocrats like him can stay much longer.

So you are a tyrant, and I will be a good person, slowly weaving my own network.

Von Bryan has enough patience and even has to thank James Webb and Lin Ran for significantly increasing NASA's budget.

"Chamberlin, the time window for the Mars rover is in late October, and we are still 10 months away from that time.

Remember to do more checks to avoid any unexpected launch accidents during the Atlas-Agena D launch."

A window refers to a specific time period suitable for launching a spacecraft from Earth to a corresponding planet.

In the aerospace field, this "launch window" is usually determined by the relative positions of two planets in their respective orbits.

Taking Mars and Earth as an example, the best time usually occurs during the conjunction period between Mars and Earth, which occurs approximately once every 26 months.

At this time, the spacecraft can reach Mars in the most energy-saving way.

But it does not mean that success can only be achieved in this time period. In addition to the best, there is also the second best. Even if the launch this year is not ideal, there will still be relatively good time points.

Next year's launch window is between late October and early November.

The Soviet Mars 1 probe was launched on November 1962, 11.

They hoped that Mars 63 would flyby Mars on June 6, 19.

Mars 1 was halfway to success.

It entered the planned orbit and flew over Mars, but due to communication interruption, it was unable to transmit any data.

The first successful mission to bring back photos of Mars was Mariner 4, which was also launched in November two years later.

"Please rest assured, Director, we will ensure its reliability," said Qian Bolin.

Of course, not all NASA employees like General Aerospace.

After all, in the eyes of some NASA employees, people from General Aerospace are supervisors who help Lin Ran keep an eye on their supervisors.

It is a manifestation of the White House's distrust of them.

After a brief visit to the Cape Canaveral launch site, Lin Ran returned to Redstone. The Sikorsky H-19, which was originally equipped for senior White House bureaucrats, has almost become his private plane.

"I've been traveling a lot lately and haven't had time to discuss the sailor with you all. Previously, when we were in London, the confidentiality in London was so bad that I didn't ask you to send me the sailor's design drawings.

But I took a quick look at it last night when I was in Washington, and we can still talk about it. I also have some ideas that we can discuss.

You shouldn't treat me like this."

When Lin Ran mentioned the current state of secrecy in London, everyone sitting there, whether it was Bruce Murray, William Pickering or Jack James, burst into laughter.

American newspapers frequently used Korolev's arrival in London to mock England's intelligence and security services.

These people were core members of the Mariner probe design team.

“Well, in addition to the solar panels, the Mariner’s power system also needs to be equipped with nitrogen thrusters to ensure its attitude stability and ensure that it can maintain the correct direction.

Just solar panels are not enough.

Because the communication system you designed is garbage, you know that?"

Lin Ran continued, "The multi-band antenna you designed is completely ineffective. You need to replace it with a high-gain parabolic antenna and an omnidirectional antenna to ensure stable communication.

Using a multi-band antenna can easily lead to communication interruption.

A launch costs at least tens of millions of dollars. Are you just trying to fool me with this kind of design?
Stupid design, poor quality thinking."

Russia's Mars 1 uses a multi-band antenna, which is currently the mainstream solution for probe communication equipment.

The reason why Mariner 4 was successful was that it changed the multi-band to high-gain based on the failure of Mars 1.

In short, Lin Ran’s idea is that I will teach you the same way you succeeded.

It's impossible for me to give you more techniques.

Unless I have ulterior motives.

In fact, there is a better solution, which is pressure sail.

This is a technology that is ten years ahead of the times, a bit like science fiction coming true. It had to be iterated until Mariner 10 before it could be used, but Lin Ran didn't mention it at all.

“This is a sketch I drew on the plane, you can take a look.

Cold gas propulsion technology is used here to achieve precise three-axis attitude adjustment through 12 small nozzles, solenoid valves and sensor-computer control systems.

Nitrogen was chosen because it is chemically stable enough and light enough not to burden the detector.

The nozzle here can be the simplest Laval nozzle, which relies on gas expansion to generate thrust.

Then here is the solenoid valve, which is triggered by the electronic control unit to achieve a pulsed injection.

The most important thing is its control system, I think it uses a combination of sun sensors and star trackers to sense the attitude.

The onboard computer receives sensor data, automatically calculates deviations and triggers the corresponding nozzles to spray.

This requires only minimal ground control assistance."

Simple digital logic circuits have existed since the 20s.

(Design of the Mercury 1964 probe, launched on November 11, 28, from "Mariner 4 - NASA Science" and "Alone in the Darkness: Mariner 4 to Mars, 4 Years Later - Caltech")
After launch, NASA maintained contact with the spacecraft until the probe was 3.09 million kilometers from Earth.

Bruce Murray, William Pickering, and Jack James looked at each other.

They were all a little embarrassed to take out their own design drawings.

Because compared to Lin Ran's design, their designs are no different from kindergarten graffiti.

And the more people look at it, the more they feel that this is what a Mars rover should be like.

They can't even think of where they can improve.

If there are people within NASA who don't like Lin Ran or this style, there are naturally people who like it.

Needless to say, engineers with a background in mathematics almost all naturally have a special respect for Lin Ran. This is the halo effect brought by the highest level of Brahmin.

Most people are like these three who have worked with Lin Ran and experienced the feeling of being crushed by him, so they understand that it is normal for the other party to have a bad attitude.

Because the other party's level is much higher than yours, just like in the past when you were in high school and college, they were also top students, and they would feel superior in IQ when communicating with classmates.

In front of Lin Ran, they became his former classmates.

The other party could draw a sketch on the plane that was almost perfect, so it was not surprising that he was scolded.

Bruce Murray even felt that if he were Lin Ran, he would curse much more foully.

Of course, in the eyes of NASA employees who don't like Lin Ran, these people who like to be scolded have a bit of masochistic nature.

"I'm sorry, Director. We didn't think it through."

(End of this chapter)