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

Song Xingye turned off the engine and got out of the car, looking up at the gloomy sky.

The dark clouds overhead seemed almost within reach, and the air was filled with the smell of an impending mountain rain, somewhat like the smell of ozone.

This is a sign that a thunderstorm is about to tear the sky apart.

Zongping had already instructed the workers to unload the equipment from the trucks and install the rocket launcher and related equipment on a patch of land next to the reservoir.

The most crucial piece of equipment is, of course, the AI ​​early warning model used to predict lightning.

This is also the biggest difference between the Thor rocket and traditional lightning-guided rockets.

Traditional lightning-inducing rockets are often launched at inaccurate times, either too early or too late, with a success rate of only 50% to 60%.

With the support of the "Thunder Eye System," an AI technology, the success rate of the Thor rocket will increase to around 70%.

If we were to describe the traditional lightning-inducing rockets manufactured by the Fourth Academy as a sharpshooter using an ordinary rifle to shoot at a moving target in the wind...

Even if his skills are excellent, the uncontrollable factors of weapons and environment often lead to an unstable hit rate.

The Thor rocket is like a special forces sniper, using a high-precision sniper rifle and equipped with various advanced equipment such as a scope, an anemometer, and a laser rangefinder.

Therefore, he can pull the trigger at the optimal moment.

As the weather gradually darkened, the rumbling thunder in the clouds became increasingly noticeable.

Even Zongping and his fellow workers, who knew nothing about meteorology, knew that thunder and rain were about to fall.

So everyone sped up and quickly set up the launch site for the Thor rocket.

The launch site was equipped with a total of 50 Thor rockets, which seems like a lot, but they were all small rockets.

Compared to the scaled-down design of the initial version, after two months of continuous improvements, the final length of each rocket is 2 meters and the diameter is 10 centimeters.

When fully fueled, it weighs up to 15 kilograms, has a maximum altitude of nearly 1,000 meters, and a specific firing time of about 250 seconds.

At this altitude, the missile can reach most thunderstorm clouds.

Of course, in some extreme thunderstorms, especially in the high-altitude areas of northern Tibet, the Thor rocket still has difficulty effectively attracting lightning.

Soon, the launch site for the Raytheon rocket was set up, the launch pad was firmly driven into the mud pit, and the supporting coaxial shunt and Logowski coil were also erected.

Finally, there's the location of the drainage rod.

There were a total of fifty Thor rockets, each with a lightning-attracting metal wire attached to its tail. The other end of these wires was attached to this metal rod.

Wherever the pole is inserted, the current will flow there.

To avoid the problem of tangled wires, Song Xingye had ten metal wires tied to one metal rod, and a total of five rods were tied together.

Then Zongping led several workers to insert five diversion poles into the shallow water pit next to the reservoir.

Chang Jian was still tinkering with electronic devices with Jiang Mian and Zhao Yuehe.

Fifty meters from the launch site, there was a welded Faraday cage.

In addition to the rugged computer and generator, precision instruments for recording data such as current, charge, voltage, and high-frequency electromagnetic fields were also included.

Chang Jian set up another high-speed camera, adjusted the focus, and aimed it at the sky above the reservoir to ensure that the lightning strike footage would be recorded.

After all, no one else on-site could witness the effectiveness of the Thor rocket; only video footage could prove it.

Next, Song Xingye took out a large rain cover from the trunk of the Mazda and told Chang Jian to each pull one side and cover the Faraday cage.

The group then left the scene and hid in a car nearby, patiently waiting for the opportunity to detonate the lightning.

Chang Jian was holding a tablet that was simultaneously receiving charge data collected by an atmospheric average electric field meter, a high-frequency lightning pulse sensor, and a Doppler meteorological antenna.

At this moment, the sky above the reservoir was no longer simply gloomy, but rather a deep, inky black.

Layer upon layer of dark clouds, like heavy lead blocks, hung heavily from the sky, almost crushing onto the turbulent river surface.

Thunder rumbled through the clouds, and the wind on the mountaintop echoed with a deafening roar. Song Xingye could even feel the ground beneath his feet trembling slightly.

A strong earthy smell and moisture hit me, the distinctive odor before a rain.

The reservoir staff who had originally gathered around the dam to watch the spectacle were all frightened away by today's apocalyptic weather and wrapped themselves tightly in their raincoats before returning to their office building.

Only a very few daring individuals remained hidden in the nearby guardhouse, their cheeks pressed against the thick glass, peering in this direction with expressions of both tension and excitement.

At the launch site beside the reservoir, fifty Thor rockets, like fully armed warriors ready to go, were poised for ignition and launch.

As the electric field data on the tablet kept fluctuating, the Thunder Eye system, through big data comparison, finally gave a countdown to the thunderstorm.

Lightning is expected in 30 seconds...

Song Xingye was ready to remotely ignite the engine, while Chang Jian shouted from the side.

"Countdown, ten, nine, eight..."

Finally, the countdown reached zero, and Song Xingye abruptly pressed the switch.

On the launch site.

"Whoosh—"

In an instant, the deafening shriek of the Thor rocket tore through the air.

The first batch of ten rockets ignited almost simultaneously, their tails spewing out dazzling orange-red flames, which then drew ten straight and conspicuous lines of fire across the gloomy sky.

They dragged along ultra-thin metal wires that were almost invisible to the naked eye, like ten sharp swords rising from the ground, swiftly piercing the churning, roaring black clouds in the sky.

Just as the rocket disappeared into the clouds, the sky suddenly fell silent, and then—

Boom!

A loud bang exploded above everyone's heads.

Thunder roared, as if tearing the sky apart, and blinding blue-purple arcs of electricity followed the metal wires trailing the rocket, instantly connecting heaven and earth.

Ten winding, thunderous dragons descended along the guide wires, carrying an aura of annihilation, and exploded with a deafening roar above the reservoir, causing the water surface to surge and churn.

As the saying goes, "A single arrow pierces the clouds, and a thousand armies come to meet it."

The sight of ten Thor rockets attracting lightning amazed and impressed everyone.

The dark, swirling clouds, which had been churning in the storm, now emitted countless restless arcs of electricity. These arcs converged with the metal conductor wires, rushing towards the reservoir's diversion pole.

Then, Song Xingye ignited the rockets again, launching the remaining forty Thor rockets after the initial test.

Soon, forty rockets, trailing thin metal wires, erected more conductive channels between heaven and earth, accompanied by the author Space Pioneer's book, "Reborn in 2011, I am the Chief Designer of Aerospace."

"Crack! Pop!"

A series of sharp, astonishing explosions ripped through the sky above Tianhuangping, followed by a continuous roar that was both powerful and earth-shattering.

Hundreds and thousands of dazzling bolts of lightning, following the metal wire, resembled straight golden iron rods, carrying billions of volts of fury, slamming fiercely into the water's surface.

The scene of splashing waves and the smell of burning flesh, where heaven and earth were forcibly connected, sent chills down the spines of every witness present, followed by applause and cheers.

Chang Jian exclaimed, "Holy crap, that's so cool! Even Hollywood blockbusters couldn't create special effects like this, right?"

His eyes were fixed on the dozens of beams of light that pierced the heavens and the earth, his expression somewhat fanatical.

As these golden iron rods bombarded the tablet, the data on the atmospheric electric field changes began to decline.

The large amount of free charge that had accumulated in the clouds was being released to the earth at a visible speed through the metal wires of the Thor rocket.

This was a typical small thunderstorm.

According to the lightning eye system's estimates, the amount of charge stored in the clouds is approximately 100 coulombs.

At first glance, this number seems unremarkable.

After all, a modern smartphone battery with a large capacity can easily hold up to 10,000 coulombs of charge.

But the terror of lightning lies not in the amount of charge, but in the terrifying voltage difference.

As each thunderstorm brews, an astonishing voltage of at least 10 million or even 1 billion volts accumulates between the sky and the ground.

According to the formula of physics, if energy equals charge multiplied by voltage, then a 100 coulomb thunderstorm will release billions of joules of energy!

And that is precisely the mission of the Thor rocket.

Each Thor rocket carries ultra-fine metal wires that act like giant straws piercing the clouds, continuously drawing free charge energy from the clouds to the earth, thus averting a terrible thunderstorm crisis.

As time passed, the lightning-inducing operation for the Thor rocket gradually came to an end.

A large amount of free charge in the thunderstorm cloud has been released into the reservoir through the ultra-fine metal wire. The thunder and lightning in the sky have stopped, and in an instant, only the pattering raindrops fall on the water surface, making a muffled crackling sound.

The reservoir struck by lightning created a spectacular sight: waves surging across the water's surface.

When the current enters the water surface along the metal wire, it quickly spreads in a hemispherical shape in all directions of the diversion rod, and is also quickly short-circuited by the river water, forming a lightning protection shield.

The river water within a radius of several meters was instantly blown away, and there were even cases of vaporization and explosion.

Chang Jian said incredulously, "So this is what it looks like when lightning strikes the river... I feel like a few fish were struck and pulled ashore?"

Song Xingye picked up his binoculars and looked carefully along the riverbank, and found that there were indeed several fish surfacing.

After the lightning strike ended and the rain stopped, they rushed over to check the situation.

Chang Jian borrowed a net from the reservoir staff and spent a long time scooping up fish, managing to count about a dozen, mainly silver carp and crucian carp.

He seemed a little disappointed, saying, "I thought I could catch a lot of fish, but it turned out to be just this few."

Zhao Yuehe said, "What are you thinking? You think that if you put lightning in a reservoir, the entire surface of the water will become electrified?"

In the end, they left behind only a few fish and gave the rest to the reservoir office building before packing up their equipment and returning home in triumph.

The lightning-inducing experiment at Tianhuangping was undoubtedly a great success.

According to Chang Jian's subsequent data analysis, 38 out of 50 Thor rockets effectively attracted lightning!

The success rate is higher than expected, far exceeding the 70% pass rate, which means that the 1.0 version of the Thor rocket is ready for market launch.

In fact, before Director Cheng Long could even arrange for the publicity department to make a plan, sporadic images of the Thor rocket had already started circulating online.

When the lightning was detonated at Tianhuangping, in addition to their own high-speed cameras, many reservoir staff also filmed the event.

These videos were later posted online, quickly causing a huge uproar.

Many netizens questioned whether these scenes were created using special effects software, and a group of veteran movie fans even banded together to analyze them frame by frame, suspecting that they were clips taken from some science fiction movie.

The hype grew until the Red Star Factory officially released the complete version of the detonation process, which debunked some of the rumors.

And the Thor rocket brand became an instant hit from that moment on.

The innovative launch method that uses AI to identify lightning, coupled with a success rate as high as 70%, quickly drew attention from all sides to the Thor rocket.

After receiving feedback from the publicity department, Director Cheng realized just how terrifying the market potential of the Thor rocket was.

Many military and aerospace customers are extremely fond of it.

Lightning-guided rockets are used by the military to test the radar protection capabilities of missile silos, radar stations, and aircraft, as well as the impact of lightning on weapon systems and electronic equipment.

As for space launches, lightning protection is indispensable. It is well known that there have been numerous explosion disasters caused by lightning in the history of spaceflight, which cannot be ignored.

In addition, people from NASA, the Space Force, university laboratories, defense contractors, as well as meteorological bureaus, power departments, lightning protection research centers, oil and gas companies, and the wind power industry at all levels called to inquire about orders.

CCTV even did a special report on the lightning test at Tianhuangping, which made Director Cheng extremely happy.

I have never seen such a scene since I became the factory director of Hongxing Factory.

Even though the rainy season is almost over, the order backlog for the Thor rocket is still several months ahead, and it is conservatively estimated that the commissions for those who stay at the factory this year could reach nearly ten million.

If we wait until next spring, when the new rainy season begins, and sell for another year, we can probably even fill the hole left by the shantytown renovation project.

The Thor rocket research team lived up to expectations and successfully completed the first phase of the project. Before Song Xingye could even ask, Cheng Long took it upon himself to help him secure the second round of funding from the group and the institute.

At the same time, the coal and coke pulverizer project for the Long March 5 rocket also achieved experimental success.

After solving this thorny problem, although the First Affiliated Hospital was somewhat dissatisfied with the East China Institute's concealment of the issue, it had at least resolved its current predicament.

This allowed the launch of the Long March 5 rocket to be put on the agenda.

When Dean Lu Zhenhuan called Song Xingye to his office, he was all smiles. He said that Song Xingye had performed very well recently, not only helping the nearly bankrupt Hongxing Factory find a new business, but also solving the problem of kerosene coking.

The maiden flight of the Long March 5 rocket is scheduled for next year, and it will carry the new generation manned spacecraft test vehicle and the flexible inflatable return capsule experimental module to verify the construction capability of the near-Earth orbit space station.

Lu Zhenhuan earnestly told him that the Long March 5 rocket is the first truly high-thrust rocket ever launched by the Eastern Kingdom.

This allows some missions that would have been difficult for low-thrust rockets to perform to be accelerated.