Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

The thatched hut they had built with reeds collapsed on the spot, and the four people who were hiding inside were hit squarely. They crawled out covered in dust and dirt.

Song Xingye rushed over, frowned, and looked at it for a long time. He found that the exhaust nozzle of the rocket launcher had torn a large hole in the rocket body, and the combustion chamber filled with solid propellant had flown a full thirty meters away.

After a lively discussion, Jiang Mian wrote in her test record:

"The combustion is not stable enough, the gas pressure fluctuates greatly, and the combustion rate of the propellant is too fast, releasing high-density energy simultaneously in a short period of time, generating a powerful impact force..."

"Ultimately, this caused the angle iron at the rocket launcher's throat to loosen, and the aluminum alloy skin above the exhaust nozzle to twist and deform, resulting in the external rivets falling off, thus creating explosive force..."

To ensure the combustion stability of the solid propellant, Song Xingye decided to add a little ferric oxide.

In layman's terms, it's rust.

As for the problem of excessively fast combustion, a small amount of borate is added to absorb heat through chemical dehydration, thereby reducing the local temperature of the combustion zone and preventing excessively fast combustion from causing loss of control.

Similarly, we still need to test the proportions little by little to see how much aluminum powder, ammonium nitrate, HTPB, rust, and borate should be added to maintain stable combustion of the solid propellant.

Jiang Mian's brown notebook was filled with all sorts of data. She wasn't used to holding a notebook to write, but preferred to use a ballpoint pen to write and calculate.

She calculated the thrust generated inside the rocket launcher during each combustion and studied the relationship between rocket thrust and ignition duration.

As the mathematical brain of the research group, she had to help Song Xingye, the physical brain, find clues that could be used to assess combustion performance.

These clues might tell them how to get the Thor rocket to drag a metal wire into the sky.

In just one month, Jiang Mian used up as many as 20 notebooks just for these draft calculations, all filled with neatly arranged numbers and formulas.

Each page contains specific parameters obtained from an ignition test. After returning home, Jiang Mian will substitute these numbers into her intricate and sophisticated equations to calculate the results she desires.

These equations are the core equations describing the relationship between rocket physical properties and rate of change.

She navigated through a vast array of equations as easily as eating and drinking, and all her efforts were aimed at achieving the ultimate goal of 200 m/s.

Spending more than ten hours a day writing and calculating with a ballpoint pen has caused Jiang Mian to develop thick calluses on her fingers.

At the same time, Song Xingye discovered a new problem.

It was August, and although the sky over the Laogang test site was mostly sunny, torrential rain could suddenly and mercilessly pour down.

Song Xingye then thought that their Thor rockets were designed to attract lightning in this kind of weather, so if they encountered a rainstorm, would they still be able to maintain stable combustion?

After all, lightning-inducing rockets don't operate under clear, cloudless skies.

To test the performance of the Thor rocket ignition in the rain, they dug a ditch near the previous test well and filled it with several buckets of water.

After the rocket launcher with the solidified propellant was placed into the ditch, the ditch immediately submerged the rocket's nozzle and combustion chamber, with the water level reaching a height of about 20 centimeters.

The group was a little uneasy, wondering if the rocket could be successfully ignited.

I thought the aluminum powder and ammonium nitrate would make a mournful sound in the water and then go out instantly, but to my surprise, the combustion effect of this little rocket was actually quite good, and it ignited stably!

Even Song Xingye was somewhat surprised by the result. Looking at the three people cheering and jumping around him, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"Why do I have this feeling that we've actually built a torpedo?"

……

September arrived in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the tasks on the flowchart that were mostly completed, Song Xingye slowly put a checkmark on the "Motivation Boost" item.

After a long and tedious ignition test, he finally selected the solid fuel combination suitable for Thor 1.0.

The proportion of aluminum powder and ammonium nitrate was further reduced, while the proportion of HTPB binder was adjusted to 12% to make the solid drug column more stable.

In addition, the rust content increased to 0.5% and the borate content increased to 1.5%.

Song Xingye let out a long breath, sat in the small building at the Old Port Test Site, and wearily pinched the bridge of his nose.

We worked tirelessly during this period, barely having time to breathe, but we finally managed to complete the initial design of the Thor rocket before October.

After all, the purpose of the Thor rocket is to attract lightning. By October, the rainy season will be basically over across the country, and there will be nowhere to test the samples.

It will be delayed for another six months or so until next spring, when the rainy season returns, before the Thor rocket can be used in field operations.

Therefore, Song Xingye must finish this project this quarter.

He was unwilling to wait for several more months.

Besides the Thor rocket, he also had to return to the institute building every few days to participate in group meetings for the Long March 5 rocket's coal and coke crusher.

Although Song Xingye didn't offer any particularly insightful suggestions on the specific design of the crusher, he could use his fault-predicting eye to help correct some errors and ensure that the crusher could operate smoothly in the rocket engine.

In contrast, this advantage has little room to be utilized on the Raytheon rocket.

After all, what he's been busy with most lately is testing fuel combinations. The fault prediction eye can at most help keep an eye on whether there will be an explosion, but it's indifferent to some compounds that can be successfully ignited.

Furthermore, frequent use of this ability consumes a great deal of mental energy.

So he had to rely on himself.

The goal wasn't to find fuel that would allow Thor to ignite and take off smoothly, but rather the set of fuels that would provide the best takeoff performance.

Now, all the hard work has finally paid off, and the matter has been settled.

A series of piercing "beep beep" sounds rang out from the road in the distance.

Zhao Yuehe, who was organizing data nearby, suddenly jumped up, shielding her eyes with her small hand, and exclaimed excitedly, "They're back!"

Song Xingye glanced at his watch and hummed in agreement, "You're back quite early today."

Besides building the rocket itself, another major challenge for the Thor rocket project was determining the timing for detonating the lightning.

Therefore, Chang Jian wanted to develop an AI lightning early warning model to tell people on the ground when to ignite the fire so as to release the charge in the clouds with extremely high efficiency.

AI is not created out of thin air; it needs to be fed with a large amount of valid data.

So some time ago, Chang Jian consulted with people from the Shanghai Atmospheric Research Institute and the Meteorological Bureau, and came up with a simple program framework for the AI ​​model—the Thunder Eye system.

Then we populate the database into it.

Several universities in Shanghai do have information and data about thunderstorms, but Song Xingye believes that it is still necessary to collect effective data himself, and the latest thunderstorm data will be more helpful to the thunderstorm monitoring system.

After all, those lightning data from universities were probably from experiments conducted a long time ago.

These past few months have also been the season for frequent thunderstorms across the country. Chang Jian, driving his Mazda with Jiang Mian and carrying meteorological equipment borrowed from the Atmospheric Research Institute, has been keeping a close eye on Shanghai's weather forecast all day long.

Whenever rain was forecast, the two of them would quickly drive off to the scene of the thunderstorm.

After setting up the equipment, they began collecting data on the charge in the clouds and changes in the atmospheric electric field.

Therefore, most of the time, Song Xingye could only take a taxi with Zhao Yuehe to Laogang Town to conduct experiments.

"Hoshino, I have good news and bad news for you. Which do you want to hear first?"

The Mazda was parked outside. As soon as Chang Jian got out of the car, he excitedly ran into the building and started shouting loudly.

Song Xingye picked at his ear, saying listlessly, "Let's hear the bad stuff first."

"Bad news..."

Chang Jian sighed, "We're probably out of time. I saw on the weather forecast that Shanghai will experience a period of heavy rainfall in a few days. After that, there won't be any more of this kind of weather; it'll just be a steady drizzle from autumn onwards!"

Zhao Yuehe, standing dumbfounded, asked, "Does that mean you don't have to go out and get struck by lightning anymore?"

Jiang Mian pinched her angrily.

Zhao Yuehe giggled and nudged her.

Chang Jian said in a serious tone, "What I mean is that this year's rainy season will probably end early. Even if there is rain in the remaining months, it's unlikely that lightning will develop. To put it bluntly, not only are the opportunities to collect lightning coming to an end, but our Thor rockets will also have no chance for practical testing."

Song Xingye nodded. He had also been paying attention to the weather forecast, but not as frequently as Chang Jian.

"That's true. To test the performance of the Thor rocket, you have to launch it in real thunderstorm weather; you can't simulate the power of a real thunderstorm artificially. And if I remember correctly, the continuous rain in the next few days is from a typhoon, right?"

"Yes, but don't worry, the typhoon isn't heading towards Shanghai. It's mainly passing through the Fujian province area, so our area is only slightly affected."

"I understand. So, what's your good news?"

"Good news..."

Chang Jian chuckled, intending to keep it a secret, but after being glared at by Song Xingye, he honestly confessed:

"The good news is that I've basically finished developing the lightning forecasting system. Currently, the accuracy rate for predicting lightning is as high as 70%."

Song Xingye was taken aback. "It's only been a little over two months and you've already finished? How many data points did you collect, yet you dare to confidently say you have a 70% chance of issuing an early warning?"

"Hoshino, you underestimate me. Don't you even know who's standing in front of you?"

Chang Jian puffed out his chest and said smugly, "After all, I was the former president of the student union at Beijing Institute of Technology. I have connections all over the country. Borrowing some lightning data from a few meteorological research institutes is a piece of cake for me."

Song Xingye believed it.

I have no doubt about Chang Jian's words.

In that case, everything is ready.

I have no doubt about Chang Jian's words.

In that case, everything is ready.

Song Xingye decisively said, "Then in a few days we'll take the Thor rocket out for a field test to see if your 70% accuracy rate is actually up to par!"

"You've really decided?" Chang Jian's eyes widened. "Don't we need to make any more adjustments to the Rockets' situation?"

"What a coincidence! This morning, Zhao Yuehe and I tested and determined the optimal fuel formula. Now we can hand it over to the workshop and have Zongping lead the workers to mass-produce the fuel columns."

Song Xingye put his hands on his hips and looked at his three companions. "Anyway, everyone is almost ready. If we don't test it this year, we won't have such suitable weather again."

Chang Jian nodded: "I agree."

Jiang Mian and Zhao Yuehe naturally had no objections.

Thus, this typhoon from the southeast coast became the deadline for the Thor rocket research team.

They needed to complete a practical test of lightning attraction before the last thunderstorm of the rainy season ended.

Now, the Thor rocket and its supporting equipment have been completed, the metal wire has been processed by Zong Ping and his colleagues, and the database of the AI ​​thunderstorm warning system has been largely completed.

Everything is ready.

Song Xingye began studying the weather forecast for Shanghai.

According to meteorological cloud maps, Shanghai will experience two weeks of continuous rainfall due to the impact of a typhoon making landfall along the southeast coast.

At that time, the air humidity along the entire Yangtze River estuary will be extremely high, accompanied by frontal thunderstorms.

According to Chang Jian, thunderstorms develop extremely quickly at this time, with low cloud cover and rapid charge accumulation. The atmospheric electric field on the ground is more likely to reach the threshold for attracting lightning, making the entire area around Shanghai a suitable location for attracting lightning.

Song Xingye spent half a day planning on the map with Chang Jian, analyzing Nanhui Mouth near Lingang New City, Dongtan on Chongming Island, and the coastal area of ​​Jinshan.

These places are relatively remote and unlikely to be noticed or disturbed by passersby.

However, when Chang Jian and Jiang Mian collected lightning data, they observed these locations in person and shook their heads, feeling that they were not suitable.

Because the field of vision is not wide enough.

After much analysis, the two couldn't find a suitable place in Shanghai, so they set their sights on the surrounding areas.

After contacting several friends at the meteorological bureau, Chang Jian recommended two suitable locations for lightning strikes.

The first place is Tianhuangping in Anji County.

That place is said to be a famous high-altitude pumped storage power station in Asia. The upper reservoir is at an altitude of 900 meters, and the terrain is open and towering, making it a place that is very easy to attract lightning.

Many university research groups and institutes that specialize in studying thunderstorms often go to Tianhuangping to conduct meteorological experiments.

The second location was chosen at Piaomiao Peak in the center of Taihu Lake.

That area is also a well-known high-incidence area for thunderstorms in the Yangtze River Delta region. Due to the large thermal difference between land and water, thermal thunderstorms are easily formed, making it a candidate site for this lightning-inducing experiment.

Late September.

Zong Ping and the others had prepared the rockets and accessories needed to trigger the lightning strike and loaded them into a small truck belonging to the Hongxing Factory.

The workers in Workshop 5 all climbed into the truck bed and set off in two trucks, following Song Xingye's Mazda 6 as it slowly drove onto the highway.

The journey to Tianhuangping in Anji is about 200 kilometers. Song Xingye drove while keeping an eye on the weather outside.

Shanghai has been experiencing continuous rain for the past few days, with one after another thunderstorm cloud, brimming with rain, moving from west to east and drifting over the East China Sea.

The clouds are even denser today, not a single ray of sunlight can penetrate, and the distant clouds have formed anvil-shaped clouds like mountains.

The convoy sped along the highway for about three hours before arriving at the upper reservoir of Tianhuangping.

The altitude here is about 900 meters, and you need to slowly climb up the winding mountain road.

Along the way, the floating clouds were dark and heavy, almost hanging overhead, with the faint rumble of thunder coming from within them.

As the car wound its way along the mountain road, Song Xingye felt the static electricity in the air seem to increase with each bend.

About half an hour later, the convoy finally stopped in front of the reservoir management office building.