Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

Zhou Yunxiao and Xiao Wang prepared the report that day and submitted it to the office building at the No. 10 garrison.

The following day, a file marked "Top Secret" was sent to Jingzhou—

Request for instructions regarding the first flight test of the Dongfeng-1 missile.

The last page contained an inspiring sentence:

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of all comrades at the Dongfeng Base, preparations for the launch of the first prototype liquid-fueled missile have been completed. Please approve the commencement of the flight test as planned!"

The document was reported up the chain of command before finally reaching the desks of higher-ups.

On May 11, President Qian of the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defense led the review and approval of all technical specifications of the Dongfeng-5 rocket, supporting the implementation of its first flight test.

General Staff: Approved.

Science and Technology Committee: Approved.

The Dongfeng base quickly received a reply from Jingzhou, which consisted of only two short lines:

"Agreed to proceed with the flight test as planned! Please organize meticulously to ensure success!"

"The launch window for the maiden flight will be decided entirely by Comrade Chen Zhizhong, Director of the Science and Technology Commission!"

Thousands of soldiers at the Dongfeng base cheered and celebrated this hard-won moment.

Although the Dongfeng-1 was a copy of the missile, it was still a missile of East Korea. Countless researchers worked day and night for two and a half years to develop it.

Since the beginning of the year, the Dongfeng training base has been preparing for this moment.

However, the missile's maiden flight was repeatedly delayed because Sultan was unable to deliver the liquid oxygen as agreed.

Now, my wish has finally come true!

[Everyone stand! Straighten your uniforms! Prepare to witness the first sword of the Eastern Kingdom being drawn!]

[Dongfeng No. 1: Hello everyone, I'm a short-range surface-to-surface missile with two and a half years of training. I love fueling, ignition, takeoff, and getting slapped in the face!]

[Please stop with the abstract stuff. It might sound like a ridiculous joke, but the older generation really did grind for a full two and a half years.]

[This is the ancestor of the Dongfeng-5C! Streamer, remember to find a sand dune with a good view during the launch, don't miss a single frame, I'm going to record the video and upload it to Bilibili as a family heirloom...]

At this moment, Zhou Yunxiao was sitting on a hillside at Camp No. 9, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.

Beside me was Xiao Wang, a lab lab worker, who looked somewhat lost and dejected.

Ignoring the excited netizens in the live stream, Zhou Yunxiao asked him with a smile:

"Dongfeng-1 is about to launch, why do you still look so sullen?"

Xiao Wang sighed, "I really regret wasting all that liquid oxygen. One ton is worth a thousand kilograms of rice. This means thousands of kilograms were wasted! What a waste!"

At the foot of the mountain in front of them, several tanker trucks transporting liquid oxygen were lined up in a row.

Soldiers are sealing off the area.

Zhou Yunxiao nodded. "If we calculate it by the exorbitant prices charged by the Soviet Union, it is indeed a waste of several thousand kilograms of grain. In fact, according to the design parameters of Dongfeng-1, 99% pure liquid oxygen is more than enough."

Xiao Wang couldn't help but say angrily, "That damned Xie Lieping is even more vicious than Huang Shiren. Let's ask ourselves honestly, we haven't really neglected our hospitality, have we? We gave him milk when he wanted milk, bread when he wanted bread, and we didn't skimp on beer, fruit, or sausages at all."

Every week, they even arranged for the female members of the performing arts troupe to dance ballroom dances with them and for the film projection team to show them movies. What more could they ask for? And this is how they repay us—delivering liquid oxygen that has been dragging on for half a year!

They didn't want to deliver it, so we tried to be self-sufficient, but they still weren't happy. They forced us to dump all this pure white liquid oxygen. It's such a pain in the ass!

Last time, Su Weilu participated in the testing and signed off on the 99% pure liquid oxygen. The liquid oxygen workshop produced a total of ten tons in the first batch, but Xie Lieping reneged and rejected it.

Seeing that more than half a ton of this batch of liquid oxygen was evaporating every day, Ye Ling, adhering to the principle of not wasting it, ordered the launch team of the first division to use this batch of "substandard" liquid oxygen for simulated ignition drills.

The drills were conducted three times, and there was still plenty of liquid oxygen left in the special fuel warehouse.

However, with the maiden flight of "Dongfeng-1" approved by higher authorities approaching, the warehouse must be emptied to store liquid oxygen with a higher purity of 99.5%.

So several liquid oxygen tanker trucks loaded the liquid oxygen from the warehouse and took it to the foot of the mountain.

At this moment, the people watching from Garrison No. 9 all stared at the scene with blank expressions, their fists clenched tightly.

After several fire trucks set up water hoses a short distance away and preparations were complete, Captain Mu of the First Division blew his whistle and gave the order:

"Prepare—unload liquid oxygen!"

The tanker truck operator immediately connected the hose and stood ready.

Captain Mu, who had fought the 1st Marine Division at Chosin Reservoir without batting an eye, couldn't help but turn his head and give the order he least wanted to utter:

"Three, two, one—"

"fall!!!"

The operators immediately opened the valves, and after a series of hissing sounds, the pipes that were thrown into the ravines began to flow with a rushing sound.

Platinum-like liquid oxygen gushed out in a rush.

Zhou Yunxiao pursed his lips, while Xiao Wang beside him felt heartbroken.

He thought about how the liquid oxygen he had worked so hard to produce was being wasted so meaninglessly, and he felt as if what was being poured out was not liquid oxygen, but his own blood, the blood and sweat of all his comrades.

It's pure white grain!

The situation is so difficult now, everyone has tightened their belts to support them in developing missiles and the 596 missile, but it's all been ruined because of a single sentence from the Sultan expert...

The liquid oxygen in the tanker truck is a liquid at -183 degrees Celsius. As soon as it comes into contact with air, it expands, vaporizes, and evaporates, increasing in volume by more than eight hundred times.

Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke, resembling mushrooms, rose from the ravine, growing larger and larger until it blotted out the sky.

"That wasn't just a puff of white smoke; it was a breath of fresh air that we fought for."

Xiao Wang looked up. "What?"

Zhou Yunxiao patted him on the shoulder, "Comrade Wang, don't regret it. This lesson was worth it. Because we poured out these tons of liquid oxygen today, we won't have to worry about even a single screw on our missiles being dictated by the Soviets anymore. Besides, out with the old, in with the new!"

Although Xiao Wang found these words incomprehensible, he wondered to himself, "Will such a day really come?"

But Zhou Yunxiao's expression was very firm, as if he had really witnessed it with his own eyes.

……

During mid-May, Zhou Yunxiao had no time to deal with the blueprints for the lightning-inducing rocket, and instead devoted himself entirely to the work of the first division.

With the maiden flight of Dongfeng-1 imminent, Ye Ling's instruction was only one sentence: "Absolutely no mistakes must be made!"

The first division is the surface-to-surface missile test site and also the main test range for the Dongfeng-1 missile.

As the technical consultant, Zhou Yunxiao naturally had an unshirkable responsibility, working overtime every day to check for any loopholes in the launch plan.

Viewers in the Time-Traveling Livestream Room naturally participated actively, monitoring the project online every day, looking for vulnerabilities, and tirelessly offering various suggestions.

However, most of the suggestions were directed at the Dongfeng-1 missile itself, that is, its inherent design flaws.

Zhou Yunxiao simply skipped over these kinds of suggestions and ignored them.

After all, our predecessors were also learning by trial and error, so it's normal that these early missiles had many design shortcomings.

As long as it can launch and make a sound, that's enough.

Only a very small number of people can occasionally point out problems with the launch plan, but that's just icing on the cake.

[Answerer, I said this ten minutes ago: the cooling design of this combustion chamber is too inefficient. The wall temperature... oh well, you're right not to listen to me. Even if I had pointed it out, with the materials technology of the 60s, we couldn't have made a better high-temperature alloy.]

[Don't give me any nonsense suggestions. Discussing parameters without considering the historical context is just being irresponsible! The Dongfeng-1 was based on the V2 rocket; what kind of combustion chamber do you expect it to have?]

Building missiles isn't like playing the Kerbal Space Program. Even if you gave them the blueprints for the Dongfeng-5C right now, the machine tools at the base probably wouldn't even be able to machine a nozzle with the required precision.

The current goal isn't how accurately the missiles hit the target. As long as the launch procedure, ground support, and telemetry system all work correctly, the anchor will consider the mission accomplished!

[Answerer, half an hour before launch, remember to double-check the rubber seals on the fuel lines. They are very fragile and prone to cracking at -183 degrees Celsius!]

[The high-altitude wind field data before launch must be measured accurately. The all-moving control surfaces of early missiles are very sensitive to lateral wind forces. If the wind speed is even slightly excessive, the launch must be postponed immediately. Under no circumstances should the launch be forced!]

The valves of older liquid oxygen-alcohol engines are prone to fire; fire trucks must be readily available to extinguish fires and prevent secondary explosions.