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

Mu Chunsheng ran back to the front of the group, blew his whistle, and shouted in a strong voice:

"All units, to your positions—erect the missiles!"

The officers and soldiers of the First Squadron of the launch battalion chanted in unison: "Erect the missile!"

The voice was so powerful that even the onlookers couldn't help but feel their blood boil.

With Captain Mu's methodical command, the procedure, which had been practiced countless times, was completed in just 40 minutes, and Dongfeng-1 was steadily erected on the launch pad.

This is a very small missile, only 18 meters long and 1.6 meters in diameter, with a takeoff weight of 20 tons and a takeoff thrust of 27 tons.

As for the scope of the attack, it's even less worth mentioning.

With a range of only 600 kilometers and a maximum flight speed of about Mach 3, the theoretical accuracy error is no more than 2 kilometers.

What's more troublesome is that this missile cannot be separated into its entirety; it can only fly towards the target as a single unit.

In hindsight, Dongfeng-1 was riddled with flaws.

But this is the starting point from 0 to 1, the starting point for drawing the sword!

After the erection was completed, Captain Mu checked the rubber sealing rings and the high-altitude wind speed based on Zhou Yunxiao's additional suggestions in the plan, and instructed the fire truck to connect the water hoses and stand by.

Ye Ling, who had been observing the entire process, habitually glanced at his watch and smiled with satisfaction.

"Director Chen, shall we go over for the ribbon-cutting ceremony?"

Chen Zhizhong nodded, and the more than twenty leaders around him also stood up and walked together toward the launch site.

Director Chen silently circled the Dongfeng-1 missile, gazing up at its towering structure, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He suddenly turned to Ye Ling with a smile and said, "This missile wasn't just the work of a few of us. Let's call a few more comrades over and have the heroes cut the ribbon together!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Ling immediately thought of Xiao Zhou and called out to the crowd:

"Where is Zhou Yunxiao hiding? Come here right now!"

Before the guards could even look for him, Zhou Yunxiao, shoved by Xiao Su, eagerly squeezed through the crowd and ran over.

"Director Chen, Ye Ling!"

Zhou Yunxiao stood at attention and saluted.

Ye Ling praised, "Director Chen, it was this kid who came up with the idea to improve the purity of our liquid oxygen. Otherwise, this missile would still be gathering dust in the warehouse."

Director Chen praised, "Keep up the good work and strive to catch up with and surpass the world's advanced levels. The future belongs to you young people."

Dean Qian also came over. "I've read your research report. It's very good. You're a talented young man!"

Zhou Yunxiao excitedly held the dean's hand for a long time, reluctant to let go.

Let go of that hand! Let me do it!!!

The streamer even held onto Dean Qian's hand tightly...it looked just like the stalker's face I have when I see my idol at a comic convention.

[Dean Qian said he'd seen the anchor's research report... My goodness, that report is the culmination of the hard work of all the STEM guys on the internet! Does that mean we all gave our final thesis defense in front of him?]

This isn't just Zhou Yunxiao shaking hands; it's Dongguo Aerospace Industry in 2026 shaking hands with the pioneers of 1960!

Not only was Zhou Yunxiao incredibly excited, but the viewers in the live stream were almost dizzy with excitement.

Only after Ye Ling coughed lightly did he reluctantly let go.

Then came the group photo session.

Zhou Yunxiao stood in the back row, with the commanders of various military branches in front of him.

When it came to arranging the center position, Director Chen and Dean Qian hesitated for a long time, but in the end they cooperated with Ye Ling and forcibly pressed the dean into the seat.

In the morning sunlight, the leaders, dressed in Zhongshan suits, work clothes, or military uniforms, stood in neat rows, their golden collar insignia gleaming.

click-

Against the backdrop of the Dongfeng-1, the first surface-to-surface missile copied by the Fifth Research Institute, this historic moment was captured in a frame by a photographer from Jingzhou Film Studio!

After the photos were taken, the female members of the cultural troupe held up a ribbon and handed the scissors to the leaders for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, everyone returned to the viewing platform to await the missile fueling process.

9:30 a.m.

Liquid oxygen-ethanol fuel refueling completed.

A white mist rose up around the projectile, and even condensed into shiny icicles.

That's liquid oxygen at -183 degrees Celsius evaporating at high speed.

Ye Ling called Zhou Yunxiao over and whispered the instructions:

"Xiao Zhou, the next step is launch. According to regulations, the leaders cannot be on site. Go and tell Director Chen and Deputy Chief of Staff Ping to wait in the underground command post."

Zhou Yunxiao rubbed his nose. "Ye Ling, I'm just a lowly technician. How could I possibly give orders to a leader? You should be the one to do it!"

"Hey kid, you've learned to bargain now, huh?"

Ye Ling glared at him with his tiger-like eyes. "Director Chen is stubborn, he might not listen to me. But he respects intellectuals the most, so if you talk to him, it will definitely work."

Zhou Yunxiao glanced around the scene and realized that apart from himself, a genuine "intellectual," only Dean Qian was left.

Okay, I guess I have to do these errands myself.

He approached Director Chen with his head down and earnestly reported to him:

"Director Chen, the launch is about to take place. According to regulations, as the superior officer, you cannot remain on site!"

Chen Zhizhong asked sternly, "What kind of rule is this? When I commanded the Baobei Campaign, I ate and slept with the soldiers on the front lines. Why do we have to hide underground here?"

Zhou Yunxiao was speechless, unsure how to respond.

After all, the commander had never dealt with missiles before and did not understand how terrifying the power of a missile's secondary explosion could be.

Fortunately, Dean Qian came to the rescue: "Director Chen, you should listen to Comrade Zhou, otherwise Dongfeng No. 1 might not dare to ignite it."

Since even a highly educated intellectual like Dean Qian had spoken, Director Chen reluctantly nodded, "Alright then!"

After a group of leaders entered the underground command center, the command "Fifteen minutes to go, get ready" was soon broadcast over the loudspeaker.

Zhou Yunxiao wasn't allowed in the basement, so he and his colleagues from the technical team hid behind a small hill, taking turns looking through binoculars.

He saw his roommate Jiang Weimin at the launch site carefully inspecting the fuel hose connections to make sure they hadn't cracked from the low temperatures.

Captain Mu, like an iron tower, directed his team to dismantle the equipment and leave the site.

This hero, who was a special operations company commander on the front lines of Chosin Reservoir three years ago, has now become the on-site commander of the first missile launch, something even he finds unbelievable.

Soon, the staff officer of the underground command post announced via broadcast that the optical measurement, telemetry, horizontal calibration, and communication systems along the route were all ready, and the Anxi landing zone, 600 kilometers away, was also in position.

Captain Mu quickly led Jiang Weimin and the last two team members away on foot.

"Attention all units, ten minutes to go!"

"Five minutes to go, get ready!"

Zhou Yunxiao saw through the telescope that a large amount of liquid oxygen, resembling white milk, was being ejected from the bottom of the missile.

[The moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived; it's time to draw the sword!]

As the ancients said, everything is ready except for the east wind. Well, starting today, the east wind is here!

Dongfeng Express, mission accomplished! Worldwide door-to-door delivery, no returns!

[If it weren't for the Dongfeng series, those Western scoundrels would have already turned on us. Respect to our pioneering scientific researchers!]

At this moment, not only Zhou Yunxiao, who was on the scene, but also countless netizens in the live broadcast room were in a state similar to "fever".

The wind on the Gobi Desert seemed to stand still at this moment.

The only sound was the hissing of liquid oxygen evaporating.

At this moment, the snow-white Dongfeng-1 sat upright on the launch pad, like a bride-to-be pointing straight to the sky, its surface covered with a thick layer of frost.

As the launch pad slowly retracted, the unsupported icicles began to crack on the metal surface, and large chunks of ice shards fell onto the flow channel.

"One minute countdown, get ready..."

— "The fire hoses have started spraying water!"

"30 seconds countdown, get ready..."

— "Battery-powered startup!"

"Ten, nine, eight..."

—"The entire system is ready!"

"Three, two, one! Main engine start, ignition!"

boom!

The electric detonator in the combustion chamber was activated instantly.

Once the main valve is opened, high-pressure nitrogen gas immediately and roughly mixes the 99.5% pure liquid oxygen with the high-concentration alcohol.

In an instant, a thunderous roar spread across the land.

Immediately following was a dazzling blue-white trail of flame that outshone even the sun, which shot out from the bottom of the missile.

The ultra-high temperature gas flow generated by the combustion of liquid oxygen and alcohol directly bombards the bottom of the guide channel with terrifying force.

Hundreds of tons of fire-fighting cooling water evaporated almost instantly, spraying out a white mushroom cloud that shot into the sky through the exhaust duct.

The usually emotionless announcer's voice finally betrayed an undisguised excitement.

"Main-level!"

"Take off!"