I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

ESA.

In the past three months since the Selene Plan was proposed, Italy and France have been lobbying the remaining nine countries hard, and finally achieved some success.

In addition to them, Spain, Germany, Germany, Henan, Norway, and Switzerland have expressed definite support and are willing to provide money and technology, while the other countries are mainly wavering.

In fact, the biggest target is Dai Ying, but Dai Ying's current economy is not very good. She still has ideas for the Selene plan, but she is worried about the execution ability of ESA.

After all, ESA is not an alliance government, and it cannot allow the plan to be implemented in all countries with ironclad consistency. There will be too many surprises.

In the past, too many joint projects in Europe were carried out. Either there were too many variables in the process, or the project was delayed due to poor coordination and budget overruns. In short, few of them went smoothly.

The two industrial powers, Germany and Mao, agreed, and their own leaders believed that the technical problems were not big, but the budget was difficult to say.

According to preliminary estimates, the cost of a heavy rocket launch using the Veneto-1 rocket bundled with four EAP boosters is about US$250 million, of which the solid boosters are mainly consumption costs. The core-stage Veneto-1 can Recycling saves money.

The cost of launching a LEO heavy rocket with a capacity of more than 60 tons is only US$250 million, which is very satisfactory to ESA, and the cost of two rockets to land on the moon is only US$500 million.

In the first phase of the Selene project, four heavy rockets need to be launched before the first moon landing. One is a test rocket, one is carrying a manned spacecraft around the moon, one is launching a lander, and one is launching a formal landing on the moon. Manned spacecraft.

The lander then docks with the manned spacecraft in lunar orbit, completes the moon landing mission and returns.

Veneto 1, which bundles four boosters, is temporarily named the HVE (Heavy-Veneto-EAP) rocket and will cost a total of US$2 billion.

The lander is led by China and Germany, with research funding of approximately US$1 billion.

As for manned spacecraft, ESA is still struggling.

Japan wants to resurrect the Hermes space shuttle it abandoned during the Cold War. It has a mass of about 25 tons, can carry 4 to 6 astronauts, and can be sent to the lunar orbit by the HVE rocket.

The preliminary demonstration research of the Hermes space shuttle has been sufficient. As long as funds are allocated, it can enter the actual development stage. It is expected to make its first flight in 2019, and there will be no problem in catching up with the moon landing in 2020.

The United States and Germany prefer the traditional "Kepler" manned spacecraft. Its size and layout are similar to the mainstream second-generation manned spacecraft. It can carry up to 7 people and can carry 4 people on lunar missions.

This is where the disagreement lies.

This is the twelfth time Antoine, the representative of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has held a demonstration meeting for the Selene Project. He must determine which direction to choose at this meeting and cannot continue to argue.

He looked at the more than 20 representatives present and read out the evaluation reports of the two options:

"The Hermes Project will be 80% of the development tasks by China. It is estimated that the total cost will be 2 billion to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars. ESA countries will need to bear 1 billion to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. We guarantee to complete the first flight and the lunar mission in 2019. ,

The Hermes space shuttle will be launched using the Veneto rocket, with a single launch cost not exceeding US$300 million, and can be used for near-Earth missions and ISS maintenance;

The Kepler project is expected to cost about US$1 billion. It will achieve its first flight in 2018. It is reusable and adopts a maritime recovery solution. China is responsible for 70% of the development tasks. ESA has raised US$500 million in funding and will use Orion's ESM service module. The overall mass is 21 tons, and the cost of a single launch is no more than US$250 million. "

Well, the important factor for China and Germany to support the Kepler spacecraft is that it is cheap. The Kepler spacecraft is a weird connector. You can directly use the ESM service module developed by Europe for the Orion spacecraft. If you set up a spacecraft, you can own it.

This saves a lot of expenses, and the cost is only half of the Hermes project, which makes the other ESA countries very excited.

Of course the country wants the space shuttle. They are the strongest and have the strongest desire for independence. One country is responsible for almost 80% of ESA’s launch missions. How can they not keep up with everyone else’s space shuttle?

Italy is doing quite well in Europe, and its horizons are also high, and it supports the space shuttle.

But the opinions of the remaining 20 member states are also important, so they can only vote by a show of hands.

Badis raised his hand first:

"Italy can provide US$500 million in funding for the Hermes Project. Let's discuss the results today. If the number of supporters from one party reaches 15, it will be passed directly."

Representative Dai Ying: "Wait a minute, if we follow the original budget of US$10 billion, how many people can we send to the moon?"

Antoine: "If the development costs are included, after the first mission is completed, there should be 6 to 7 manned missions, and a total of 14 to 16 astronauts will be sent to the lunar surface.

The cost of a subsequent mission is approximately US$700 to US$800 million, with the lander carrying two people at a time. "

Representative from Spain: “In other words, if each of our 22 member countries has an astronaut on the moon, it will require at least 11 launch missions, and each astronaut on the moon will cost an average of 300 to 400 million US dollars. , a total of no more than $9 billion, right?”

Badis: "Around 15 to 20 billion US dollars is enough for us to allow every ESA member state to set foot on the lunar surface."

Antoine: "I want to remind you that the more missions there are, the more cost-effective the Hermes space shuttle is. Each Kepler spacecraft has to throw away the ESM service module worth 240 million US dollars. Even if it is mass-produced, it will not It would be less than $150 million, and Hermes would save that money."

"Well……"

Representatives from various countries participating in the meeting were all thinking. Europe is rich. It is not difficult for 22 countries to come up with 20 billion US dollars, and 20 billion euros is not much. Especially the first phase of the Selene Plan will last at least 4 to 5 years. Batching is less stressful.

But this is different from people's livelihood investment. Selene's return is not much, so the investment is destined to be limited.

The meeting on November 20 lasted all day, with three adjournments for national representatives and domestic liaison, and finally the final vote was held at 19:00.

ESA Director John Dilitsch stood up and said seriously:

"The first phase of the Selene Plan is now being voted on, requesting ESA to invest a total of 9 billion euros in the plan over the next four years."

Passed unanimously by 22 representatives.

Dilithi nodded and continued to the next item:

"The next decision is to develop a manned spacecraft for lunar landing: the Hermes space shuttle and the Kepler spacecraft. If it is the former, an additional 1 billion euros of funding will be needed. The voting will begin now."

Antoine immediately raised his hand, looking around at the others.

"One, two, three...sixteen...that's great!"

Dilitsch quickly confirmed the results. Among the 22 representatives, 16 countries supported the Hermes space shuttle program, 2 representatives abstained, and 4 representatives supported the Kepler spacecraft.

Germany also supports the Hermes space shuttle.

John Dilitsch: "So, the ESA meeting on November 20th approved the first phase of the Selene program, with a total investment of 10 billion euros. China, Italy and Germany are the main developing member states of the Hermes space shuttle. Italy and Germany are responsible for the development of the lander, and the remaining tasks will be determined within the next week.

I announce that the European manned lunar landing and reusable aircraft plans have officially begun. ESA will send astronauts from every member country to the lunar surface! "

Bardis excitedly brushed his hands over his scalp, stood up slowly, and hugged the representatives on both sides.

Regardless of the difficulties that future cooperation may encounter, the Selene Project did draw a bright future for ESA, and everyone began to applaud with increasing intensity.