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

Chapter 92 The Group Leaders' Commitment

Song Xingye did not rush to make a price offer, but carefully considered it before slowly raising one hand.

"Fifty...ten million?"

"puff--"

Mr. Hu's eyelids twitched, and he almost spilled the tea he had just picked up.

He stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "You're really asking for it, kid. Fifty million right off the bat? Even the Firefly-1 detector you found isn't worth that much."

Song Xingye chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "As the saying goes, 'an army marches on its stomach.' With sufficient funding, we won't be hampered when conducting research and development."

Mr. Hu chuckled and snorted, then leaned forward and asked, "I'm curious, what kind of earth-shattering project are you planning to undertake, throwing around half a billion yuan like that? What, are you trying to build a rocket?"

Song Xingye's eyes lit up. "Is that okay?"

"What are you thinking? You actually dare to keep up with that."

Hu Shiqun waved his hand dismissively, "You're still inexperienced. Spend a couple of years gaining experience at the grassroots level and working on a few different models before you talk. Enough of this digression, what exactly is the research project?"

"Mr. Hu, my research topic is actually about building rockets. However, in terms of classification, it falls under the category of small-scale civilian special equipment."

Song Xingye paused for a moment, then revealed the answer: "I want to build a lightning-attracting rocket!"

"A lightning-inducing rocket?"

Hu Shiqun pondered the word carefully.

As the vice president in charge of operations and military-to-civilian conversion industries, he was no stranger to this field and quickly retrieved relevant information from his mind.

"This rocket—as the name suggests, is used to attract lightning, right?"

Song Xingye nodded, "Uh—I guess so. In a broad sense, lightning-inducing rockets are mainly used to artificially trigger lightning. Besides disaster prevention and mitigation, many research institutes and university meteorological laboratories also purchase these things for lightning research."

"Hehe, yes, that's right. But as far as I know, this market isn't very big. And our old partner, the Fourth Academy of Dongfang Group next door, has already entered this field."

After weighing the pros and cons, Hu Shiqun analyzed the situation, saying, "This pie isn't very big to begin with, and the Fourth Academy has already gotten there first. The remaining small piece will eventually belong to someone else anyway. Is it a bit late for us to start investing in this field now?"

He tried to dissuade Song Xingye from this unrealistic idea.

However, Song Xingye shook his head and changed the subject, saying, "President Hu, do you know the basic principles of lightning-inducing rockets?"

Hu Shiqun genuinely didn't know, and he shook his head.

"You've heard of Franklin's kite experiment, haven't you?"

This time, Mr. Hu nodded and said, "I understand. Wasn't it Franklin who used a kite to fly into the clouds to trigger lightning in order to prove that there is an electrical charge in the air during thunderstorms?"

"That's right, the lightning-inducing rocket evolved from this kite."

Song Xingye snapped his fingers. "When a thunderstorm strikes, the entire cloud layer is like a giant capacitor filled with energy. If the cloud layer is densely covered with negative charges, the ground will sense a corresponding positive charge."

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands to create a layered model. "You can think of it as a hamburger. The clouds and the ground are two highly conductive slices of bread, and the air sandwiched in between is the patty that acts as an insulator, firmly preventing direct contact between positive and negative charges."

"When thunderstorm clouds begin to bring rain, the updrafts and downdrafts cause water molecules to collide continuously. At that time, the raindrops become charged and then penetrate the insulation layer as they fall to the ground."

"Once these charged raindrops accumulate to a critical value, the air insulation layer will be torn apart instantly—with a bang!"

Breakdown discharge, that's lightning —

Song Xingye could summarize it as simply: "In short, lightning is the product of air being violently broken down by a high-voltage electric field."

Hu Shiqun was stunned. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "I understand the logic—but why are you giving me this lesson?"

"I just want to explain to you that the technical threshold for lightning-inducing rockets is actually not high."

Song Xingye began to speak eloquently, "A rocket trailing a metal wire shooting into the clouds is equivalent to artificially constructing a conductive highway. Since the air insulation layer is difficult to break, we'll help break it! In this way, what was originally a random natural lightning strike becomes a controlled event, which will travel along the metal wire to the designated location."

Hu Shiqun hummed in agreement, signaling him to continue with the main point.

"But traditional lightning-attracting rockets, especially the one made by the Fourth Academy of Dongfang Group, are still too limited in function and have a very low success rate of just over 50%."

Song Xingye said confidently, "I am confident that we can optimize the success rate of mine detonation to over 70%. Faced with an absolute technological gap, the Fourth Academy's first-mover advantage is simply untenable, and their market share will be devoured by us sooner or later."

Hu Shiqun then showed some interest, raising an eyebrow: "Young man, boasting and making empty promises isn't a good habit. Are you really that confident?"

Song Xingye would not make empty promises; he repeatedly assured that he could definitely do it.

"If that's the case, then lightning-inducing rockets are definitely something worth trying."

President Hu's attitude softened somewhat, but he quickly added, "However, fifty million is still too outrageous. I'd have a hard time approving that amount for you. Besides, is it worth the group spending so much money to compete head-on with the Fourth Academy in such a tiny market as the mine-inducing rocket?"

"The market is absolutely a blue ocean!"

Song Xingye immediately explained, "Actually, I think that the Fourth Academy of Dongfang Group has become somewhat complacent after developing its own lightning-inducing rocket. The main purpose of selling this rocket is to actively release lightning in some key areas during thunderstorms, which is a defensive launch."

"What else?"

Hu Shiqun looked at him like he was an idiot. "Does anyone actually spend money to buy a rocket just to attract lightning strikes for fun?"

As soon as Hu Shiqun finished speaking, he exchanged a glance with the young man and read an affirmative answer in his eyes.

"Kid, is that really what you think?"

Song Xingye nodded earnestly. "President Hu, there's a saying: 'To forge iron, one must be strong oneself.' Simply relying on launching lightning-attracting rockets to passively attract lightning during thunderstorms is not only wasteful due to its enormous cost, but also a strategic disadvantage. Isn't that right?"

"That's right. A single lightning-inducing rocket isn't cheap, especially the one made by the Fourth Academy. Its success rate isn't high either; it takes at least two launches to be effective."

"Therefore, it's better to guide than to block."

Song Xingye directly presented his core argument: "I believe we can think in reverse and use the lightning-inducing rockets to guide the design and optimization of lightning protection systems. If the iron itself is weak, everything will be in vain. Always relying on manual lightning detonation to avoid risks will inevitably lead to oversights, won't it?"

Hu Shiqun listened with great interest, then raised his chin and said, "Continue."

"I believe that the market for the new lightning-inducing rocket is not limited to the meteorological field. If we broaden our thinking, its applicable customer base will grow exponentially."

Song Xingye raised his fingers and listed them out clearly: "First, for basic research on the physical mechanism of lightning; second, to test the interference of strong lightning pulses on communication and electronic systems; third, to explore high-energy phenomena such as lightning-related gamma-ray flashes on Earth."

He paused, his tone solemn, "As for the fourth point, which is also the most crucial—using artificial lightning strikes for on-site testing to calibrate the reliability of lightning protection equipment for important facilities. Especially in the power system, those high-voltage transmission lines, transformers, and surge protectors that are spread throughout the country, even the slightest error would have incalculable consequences."

Upon hearing this, Hu Shiqun nodded slowly, a smile finally appearing on his lips: "In that case, the power company, this cash cow," is very likely to become our biggest customer. These companies are deep and rich, never short of money—"

Seeing that the time was right, Song Xingye followed up with a question, "So, what about the funding for this project?"

Hu Shiqun chuckled, then stopped beating around the bush and readily agreed, "I'll take care of the funding. But forget about 50 million. How about this—the group has a youth innovation fund. With your qualifications, applying for it shouldn't be a problem."

He paused for a moment, then added, "In that case, for the lightning-inducing rocket project, the group will initially approve 500 [units/units] for you."

We'll start with 10 million yuan in initial funding, and then have the East China Institute provide an additional 5 million yuan. If things go well in the early stages and we achieve results, then the funding for the second and third phases will be increased. What do you think?

The group and the institute will each contribute half, with an initial investment of ten million.

Song Xingye quickly considered it in his mind and thought it was not bad, so he nodded happily.

After the business was over, the atmosphere in the office became much more relaxed.

The two chatted for a while longer, and the topic unconsciously shifted to the future of commercial spaceflight.

When this topic came up, Song Xingye seemed to open up and talked at length to Hu Shiqun.

To Mr. Hu, many of the other party's views seemed absurd, but in his description, they were as real as if he had witnessed them firsthand.

Finally, as the tea cooled and everyone left, after Song Xingye departed the office, Hu Shiqun remained sitting alone on the sofa, savoring a word he had just heard—

Reusable rocket.

This sounds absurd.

Since the invention of launch vehicles in the last century, they have been a completely "disposable consumable".

Its mission is to send satellites into space, and then the debris is left to drift with the current, falling wherever it wants.

How can something that has flown away return to its original position?

But recalling the young man's confident expression, Hu Shiqun had a vague feeling that this matter—might actually come true!

A restless, eager feeling welled up within him.

If, as Song Xingye said, rocket recovery can be achieved in the future, it will be an absolutely historic feat for Dongyu Group.

On January 20, as the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year grew stronger, Song Xingye returned to his hometown, Jinan.

Early on New Year's Eve, he accompanied his mother, Li Hongxia, to the market to buy fresh pork and mackerel.

Back home, Dad took charge of chopping the filling and rolling out the dough. The three of them sat together and happily made dumplings.

However, Song Xingye, who is usually as steady as a rock when drawing precise blueprints, is unusually clumsy when it comes to making dumplings.

One minute I'm worried that there won't be enough filling and it won't be flavorful, the next minute I'm worried that I'll stuff too much and the skin will burst.

"The final package was a mess, all crooked and uneven, and the cutting board was covered with defective products." His mother laughed and scolded him as she chased him out of the kitchen.

On the seventh day after the Lunar New Year, Song Xingye hurriedly returned to Shanghai.

My roommate Qin Rui is still back in his hometown and hasn't returned yet. The huge doctoral building is empty and feels a bit desolate.

After tidying up his bed, Song Xingye rode his bicycle to the East China Academy of Space Technology Aerospace City in Zhuanqiao Town to report for duty.

Regarding the establishment of the lightning-guided rocket research group, General Manager Hu of the group had already spoken to Lu Zhenhuan, and Dean Lu readily agreed without hesitation.

Anyway, the group is contributing half of the money from the Youth Innovation Fund and doesn't even need to share the profits. It's practically like they're throwing money away to the Eighth Academy.

Moreover, Xiao Song was selected as one of the top students by the "Star Project". Why not use this small project to train him? The institute only needs to pay the other half of the cost.

Dean Lu is wealthy and generous, so of course he wouldn't be stingy with a mere five million.

However, according to regulations, this funding can only be disbursed after Song Xingye obtains both certificates.

However, Hu Shiqun did not break his promise of a special contribution bonus of 20 yuan, which was deposited into his account in March, along with a certificate of honor and other gifts.

Then, Dean Lu pushed over a selection form for the "May Fourth Youth Medal" and asked him to list all the honors and awards he had received over the years.

Time flies by in the midst of busyness.

As a future research group leader, Dean Lu made special arrangements for him, giving him the green light to secure a place in Building 33 of the institute.

An office on the third floor of Building 1 was specifically allocated to the lightning-guided rocket research group.

The office is not large, with only three desks and a large conference table.

Several rows of bookshelves stand in the corner. Looking out of the office window, you can clearly see the wind tunnel laboratory not far away, as well as the newly built engine testing center on the far east side.

Looking further away, the iconic yellow brick walls and huge glass curtain wall of the Chemical Engineering Building stand out prominently in the sunlight.

Song Xingye had a relatively easy last semester at Jiaotong University's Minhang campus.

While assisting Academician Li Difeng in researching the coking problem of the Long March 5 rocket engine, he also drew various lightning-inducing rocket blueprints in the research group's office.

However, the coking problem of the Long March 5 rocket is like a stubborn disease, and there is no clue how to solve it in the short term.

Even an industry giant like Academician Li Difeng was at a loss, and Song Xingye was even more at a loss.

After all, this is the first carrier rocket in China to use a new generation of non-toxic, low-pollution fuel.

The highly toxic hydrazine-based fuel/nitrogen tetroxide combination has been replaced by a combination of liquid oxygen/kerosene.

Although it has moved towards green and environmentally friendly practices, it also faces an intractable problem—

That is because when kerosene burns, its heavy components, such as aromatic hydrocarbons, are very prone to coking!

These carbon deposits can clog pipes, reduce combustion efficiency, and severely wear down the engine.

Kerosene coking is a major problem for the new generation of rockets.

Even in Song Xingye's original era, this problem still plagued the Long March 9 rocket.

Especially when the Chang 9 engine attempted to achieve reusability, the engine life loss caused by coking became a hurdle that had to be overcome.

During breaks from drawing in his office, Song Xingye would often stare out the window, pondering this question repeatedly in his mind.

If the coking problem of liquid oxygen and kerosene is truly beyond the reach of physical solutions —

Or maybe we should just switch to a cleaner fuel —

For example—using natural gas instead of kerosene?