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

Launching an artificial object into space that can reflect light enough to be visible from the ground has always been an interesting topic.

China's first satellite, "Dongfanghong-1", created an expandable sphere behind the satellite specifically for this purpose. On a night with good light, its reflection can be found with the naked eye.

In the early 19th century, a Chinese imagined launching a mirror into space so that the reflected light could be projected onto the streets of the Champs Elysées.

This nonsensical idea was regarded as an anecdote in the country, but the alliance and Ami were aroused, but the idea they were inspired by was larger than that of the Taoist.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has proposed an ambitious plan. They hope to launch an artificial moon with a diameter of 300 meters and a weight of 4,800 tons into low-Earth orbit. According to calculations by American engineers, the brightness of the artificial moon will reach that of a real moon. 10 times that, enough to provide light for the American people at night.

Technically speaking, it is not difficult to create an artificial moon, but the manufacturing cost is quite staggering, costing US$100 billion at the time. Considering that the cost of building an artificial moon was too high and that the Soviet Union had already sunk, the military finally shelved the plan.

However, NASA values ​​the profound potential of the project. They believe that artificial moon technology may be used to change the surface temperature of Mars when colonizing Mars in the future and improve the charging efficiency of solar cells, so they took over the follow-up research work of artificial moon.

However, although Aramco’s artificial moon failed to land during the Cold War, similar projects from the alliance went a step further and were directly launched into space to complete preliminary experiments.

Alliance scientists used aluminum sheets that are only 5 mm thick to create a foldable sunlight reflector. When fully unfolded on the track, the diameter of the reflector reaches 20 meters, which can provide considerable illumination.

However, although the satellite carrying the reflector successfully entered orbit, it unfortunately burned up during re-entry into the atmosphere. In addition, the alliance's economy was on the verge of collapse at the time, so the project ultimately came to nothing.

Later, Lucia tried to resurrect this plan and built a small-sized reflector on the Mir space station. After unfolding, the diameter was 25 meters. The diameter of the ground illumination area reached 4 kilometers, and the brightness was equivalent to the full moon state of the natural moon.

Later, they prepared to develop a reflector that could make the diameter of the illuminated area reach 7 kilometers, but this reflector was also torn during deployment, and artificial moon research stopped.

So what about Shuchuan, or rather the artificial moon of Chengdu Tianfu System Science Research Institute?

Ye Changsi: "They just proposed this idea, so they communicated with us and planned to place a reflector covering an area of ​​3,400 to 6,400 square kilometers at an orbital altitude of 5,000 kilometers, that is, a diameter of 35 to 45 kilometers, the spread diameter in the sky At about 500 meters, the brightness is 8 times that of moon light and about half that of normal sunlight.

Such light intensity can not only eliminate the need for electricity for outdoor lighting, but also enable solar power generation, saving Chengdu at least 1.2 billion yuan in lighting costs every year. "

Lin Ju: "..."

Lin Ju couldn't help but shake his head as he imagined what a big flashlight in the sky would look like.

"Rongcheng, that has almost covered us, so we won't be able to sleep that night."

Ye Changsi: "They are also discussing because there are three problems with artificial moons:

Because it is in low-Earth orbit, the artificial moon operates all the time like a satellite, and a network of at least three is required to maintain uninterrupted lighting;

The orbit is too low and the angle changes at any time, requiring a motorized device that can operate almost all the time;

There is also the ecological impact on the ground, whether it will cause environmental disasters. "

Lin Ju thought for a while and found that the first two were not problems. A 500-meter-diameter reflector would take some effort, but it could be built slowly. The mobile device could be powered by a high-power electric pusher. The biggest trouble was the ecological impact.

Not to mention small animals, at least half of people will object to the fact that there is still light outside the window when they sleep, which completely disrupts their daily routine.

As for power generation, the efficiency of solar cells will be reduced by 50% under the artificial moon. It is not that easy to build a network to generate electricity.

Moreover, the lighting effect is also affected by the weather. After all, it is not ultra-high-intensity lighting like the sun, and Lin Ju is not optimistic about it.

Ye Changsi looked very interested: "I think sunlight is actually a very precious resource. Collecting sunlight means collecting heat and light energy, and it is an energy source with almost no upper limit.

Thinking about it from another angle, the reflector only needs a slight adjustment to push the detector's light sail, and it can indeed transform planets with atmospheres. If it can be focused to a certain point, perhaps smelting in space is not impossible. "

"Then what do you mean..."

Ye Changsi: "I think we can carry out small-scale experiments. The most important thing we lack is cheap transportation capacity, which is very suitable for doing some exploratory work."

This time Lin Ju nodded without hesitation. The small-scale test would not have any impact. As for the artificial moon, the best place for it to exist is on the drawings.

Suddenly, a burst of orange light in the distance illuminated the faces of the two people, and at the same time drew long shadows on the ground.

A second or two later, there was a slight vibration on the ground, and then it took another five or six seconds to hear continuous explosions in the air.

Lin Ju turned his head, and the Long March 7 began to rise with a 5-meter-diameter tank. The tail flame of the burning kerosene was like fireworks.

The fire ball composed of 10 liquid oxygen and kerosene engines rose all the way until it became a small dot in the sky and then disappeared loomingly in the night.

Ten seconds later, a bright firework bloomed silently in the sky.

The burning solid particles flew according to a carefully designed trajectory. Almost 2 seconds later, a rooster in the shape of a map of the motherland appeared in the sky. It became larger and larger as it spread and dropped in altitude, creating a strong sense of oppression.

Lin Ju couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body and tightened the commemorative coat given by the Aviation Development Commission.

The fireworks show is over, which means that New Year's Eve has passed and the new year has begun.

Most people are ready to turn off the TV and take a rest. After all, for many people, the Spring Festival Gala is becoming more and more boring every year, so the fireworks show is somewhat interesting.

But on a transport ship in Jingu Port, the crew members who had gathered to watch the show dispersed to drink a cup of strong coffee, and then controlled the ship to slowly leave the port according to the guidance in the dark night.

This is a modified medium-sized container freighter, with seven large containers placed on its hull. Inside are the rocket body of the second Long March 10 rocket and a new generation manned spacecraft in full condition.

The Chinese New Year will not affect the progress of the Shuguang Project. The Long March 10 Yao-2 rocket will arrive at the Qiongzhou launch site on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and will be transferred to the launch site on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. When most people resume work on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, it can directly enter the final assembly and launch process.

New year, new rocket, this is very reasonable and very festive.