After this meeting, Liu Xing took the inspection team to visit the future space technology company's unmanned spacecraft manufacturing factory and briefly explained to them the manufacturing process.
In fact, there is nothing special about these processes. Anyone with a slight industry background will know it. However, with so many people, they can only talk about these things. The real core technology will definitely not be easily revealed to others.
Although I went to the rocket manufacturing factory for inspection, there was really not much core technology inside. The most important rocket engine was provided by Star Power Company. The main job of Future Space Technology Company was assembly.
Although it sounds a bit depressing, it is true. In addition to the engine, the rocket body is provided by Cornerstone Materials Company. Since it uses new composite materials, it can be formed in one piece when it is manufactured.
Since the rocket is very large, in order to cooperate with Future Space Technology Company, Cornerstone Materials Company specially built a rocket body production factory near Future Space Technology Company.
Fortunately, Future Space Technology Company has launched very frequently in recent years. Otherwise, it would be a bit uneconomical to build a factory specifically to cooperate with Future Space Technology Company. Although it would not be a loss, it would not make much money.
Even the rocket's control system was actually jointly developed with Fanxing Software Company. The only thing that Future Space Technology Company has completely independent intellectual property rights is the real data related to the launch.
Although it doesn't seem like much, in fact, the most important thing about rocket launch is these data. Just having the hardware that meets the requirements may not necessarily be able to accurately send the rocket into the predetermined orbit.
Although the rocket that is about to be launched has been transported to the Wenchang Launch Center, there are currently three rockets being assembled in the rocket assembly factory. Obviously, they still have many launch missions in the future.
The minister asked: "President Liu, why are these rockets prepared for the launch mission? If it is convenient, just tell me. If it is not convenient, forget it."
"There is nothing inconvenient about this. Anyway, this information will be announced to the public soon. Of these three rockets, one is reserved for this launch mission, just in case.
One is prepared for the launch of the Tianwen University Space Telescope. Although the scheduled launch date is one month later, we must make preparations first.
The last one was for a commercial launch mission, and these are rockets that will be needed in the near future.
In fact, our launch missions are very frequent now. Basically, there is a launch mission every ten days and a half. The longest interval is only about a month. Most of them are commercial launch missions. "
Liu Xing's words are true. Future Space Technology's launch volume is now at least more than 30 a year, of which about 20 are commercial launches.
Although launching satellites in this era is a rarity, ordinary companies rarely use satellite services. The satellites launched by the country are basically military satellites, and they cannot be launched by future space technology companies.
However, the situation has undergone major changes in the past two years, mainly because Future Space Technology Company has greatly expanded the scope of satellite use.
Future space technology companies are involved in these types of satellites, such as meteorological satellites, communication satellites, remote sensing satellites, resource exploration satellites, scientific experiment satellites, navigation and positioning satellites, disaster early warning satellites, etc.
It can be said that currently only Future Space Technology Company in the world has a full set of satellite research and development technologies. As long as customers have needs, they can carry out targeted research and produce finished products within a year at most.
Future Space Technology Company was able to develop its satellite business to such a large extent in just a few years, in addition to the great role of the many technical materials that Zhao Yi left them, as well as their own efforts.
More importantly, Future Space Technology Company has a large group of brother companies with unique technical advantages, which provide them with very comprehensive supporting services.
Among them, Tianxing Semiconductor Company and Precision Instrument Company are important partners of future space technology companies. Satellite modules that cannot be manufactured by outsiders can always be completed as scheduled by Tiangong Precision Instrument Company.
Moreover, Cornerstone Materials can always provide aerospace materials that cannot be found to the outside world to future space technology companies in the shortest possible time.
It is precisely because of these unique advantages that Future Space Technology Company can manufacture previously unimaginable types of satellites, and its technical level is also far ahead.
In addition to Future Space Technology's global leadership in satellite technology, the cost of rocket launches is also very low because they have realized rocket recycling early. Their cost advantage makes them very competitive in the international rocket launch market.
In the first year, a rocket can only be launched once and cannot be recycled. In this case, each launch will cost hundreds of millions of yuan, which is very expensive.
The next year, Future Space Technology Company realized the recycling of the first-stage rocket, which instantly reduced the launch cost by one-third, and the launch price was also reduced to about 90 million.
Now that they have realized the recycling of the second-stage rocket, the cost has been further reduced, and the launch price has been reduced to about 80 million yuan.
And because the materials and engines provided by the brother company are very strong, these parts can be reused about 6 times unless major accidents occur.
Although the manufacturing cost of this type of recyclable rocket is much higher than that of non-recyclable rockets, if the number of launches is flattened out, the cost of a single launch is only about 20% of that of a disposable rocket.
According to the quotation given by Future Space Technology Company to the outside world, it is only about 80% lower than other commercial launch prices. In other words, through rocket recovery technology, the profit of rocket launches can be increased several times out of thin air.
If it weren't for the fact that the current global demand for launching satellites is not particularly strong, otherwise, they will definitely lower the price further in the hope of getting more launch orders.
However, there are not many commercial satellite launches at present. Future Space Technology Company has basically monopolized the global commercial satellite launch market. Even if the price drops further, demand will not expand immediately.
If they continue to lower prices, they will not be able to bring more orders, and they will not continue to lower prices. Otherwise, they will be the ones who suffer the loss.
Currently, Future Space Technology Company is working with sister companies to develop technology that can recycle all three-stage rockets. In this case, basically all rockets can be recycled, and the cost will be further reduced.
In fact, two of these three rockets have carried out multiple launch missions. After each launch mission is completed, the recovered rockets must be sent to the factory for repairs, and then the third-stage rocket is installed.
After visiting the rocket assembly factory, Liu Xingyou led the delegation to visit the research and development department of the Tiangong Space Station. In fact, a considerable number of the research and development personnel here overlap with those of the spacecraft.
Because although the uses are completely different, many technologies are actually the same, especially in manned technology, the degree of technological overlap is very high.
When he came here, the minister inevitably made some speeches on behalf of the government to encourage the R&D team, saying that the government and the country would not forget those who made silent contributions on the front line of R&D.
Although doing this is just routine, it sounds like a different feeling to the R&D staff. They were originally R&D staff of the national team. They know that their work is to contribute to the country, and they have a strong sense of pride.
As for those graduates who have just entered the future space technology company, or the R&D personnel from the original country who entered midway, in this social environment, they still feel a little guilty in their hearts.
In the general view of society, the main purpose of working for private companies is money. Although they are also engaged in research and development work in the world's top scientific fields, this prejudice will be difficult to eliminate in the short term.
But this time, the national ministerial figures, in front of so many people, had a positive attitude towards their contributions, which shows that although they work for private companies, they have actually made their own contributions to this country.
This recognition made their inner entanglements disappear in an instant. No matter what position they were in or what unit they were in, as long as they were in this country and worked silently at their jobs, they had made a contribution to this country. own contribution.
These speeches will be recorded by reporters accompanying the team, and will be published in newspapers after the inspection. By then, a lot of prejudices formed in society may have been eliminated, and they will be able to stand up straight when facing relatives and friends.
After delivering his speech, Liu Xing led the inspection team to introduce the results that had been formed. Although it has not been officially launched, the current research and development results are quite a lot.
In the huge factory building, the Tiangong Space Station, built one to one, lies quietly in the center of the site. These physical objects are more shocking than any gorgeous rhetoric.
The scale of the Tiangong Space Station is very large, and it can allow 20 scientific researchers to work and conduct research on it at the same time. It is much larger than the previous International Space Station.
The previous International Space Station could only allow 6 to 7 researchers to stay at the same time, but the Tiangong Space Station developed by Future Space Technology Company is at least three times larger than them.
In order to better provide commercial services, the Tiangong Space Station is also equipped with more experimental cabins, provides more experimental equipment, and can conduct more types of space experiments.
This is not just a model, but is built bit by bit based on the research results of Future Space Technology Company. If there are any new ideas and new research results, they can be immediately applied to this model.
Any scientific research is not accomplished overnight. It is accumulated bit by bit and gradually improved, eventually forming a final product with a very high degree of maturity.
Since the cost of manufacturing a space station is very high, future space technology companies would rather consider all factors on the ground than hastily launch into space to conduct experiments.
They hope that when the Tiangong Space Station starts to be launched and assembled, it can be formed in one go without having to go back and forth, because the losses caused by each failure are very large.
Of course, just doing this on the ground still has many shortcomings, and many factors cannot be verified. Therefore, Future Space Technology Company has specially developed a space environment simulation software for this purpose.
At present, the main structure of this software has been completed, but because many data are incomplete, it has not yet reached the final goal of completion.
This time, the unmanned experimental spacecraft is equipped with many data collection devices. These data will eventually be applied to the simulation software, so that the environment simulated by the simulation software is as close as possible to the real space environment.
In fact, Future Space Technology Company has previously launched a space environment detection satellite to collect space environment data, but the satellite also has its own limitations, and this experimental spacecraft is to complete the data that the satellite cannot detect.
When this space environment simulation software is finally completed, the simulation degree of their simulation can reach more than 99%, which will save a lot of money for future space technology companies' space exploration missions in the future.
"You guys are planning to build a big guy right from the get-go." The minister sighed as he looked at the giant creature in front of him.
"There is no way. We must think about the problem from a business perspective, otherwise no matter how small it is, it will still be a money-losing project." Zhao Yi said with a smile.
"Oh, how are you going to commercially operate the space station?" The minister suddenly became interested after hearing Zhao Yi's words.
Upon hearing the minister’s inquiry, Zhao Yi was not too self-conscious and said with a smile: “If you want to succeed in commercialization, you must first be unique.
The minister should have heard some voices from the international community. Yingjiang is preparing to unite other countries to launch an international space station project to provide a venue for their space experiments.
The reason why we want to enter the field of space stations is actually similar to their idea, but their main purpose is to provide a test site for scientific researchers from participating countries.
We are preparing to conduct open operations so that countries that are unable to participate in the International Space Station project can also send scientific researchers into space to conduct some scientific research experiments.
Although this idea is a good one, it is indeed very difficult to realize, because those currently mainly engaged in space experimental research are all major international powers, while those small countries are still playing in the sun and do not have such long-term goals.
The main participating countries of the International Space Station are countries with strong needs for space experiments. Therefore, if our space station wants to be commercialized successfully, it must make it impossible for the International Space Station to continue.
When there is only one of our space stations in space, then our commercial operations will be more than half successful, and these powerful space research countries are also willing to pay relatively expensive site usage fees.
Therefore, we must complete the construction of our space station before the construction of the International Space Station, and declare a commercial operation model to the outside world, and lift the barriers of great powers in space research and experiments.
This is also the reason why Future Space Technology Company’s first project is aimed at the space station. It is to compete with the International Space Station for time. If we fall behind, we will not have much advantage. Being unique is the best way to do business.
The second is to try to obtain more benefits on a unique basis, so that costs can be recovered as soon as possible and profits can be achieved as soon as possible.
This is why this space station has to be so big. If it can only accommodate a few people to live and work at the same time, then even after commercialization, the cost per person will be too high.
Some countries with more scientific research tasks still think it is more cost-effective to build one themselves, because our operating costs have no advantage compared with theirs.
But the difference is that the construction is so large. It can accommodate more scientific researchers at the same time, which can also reduce the cost of use by a single person. No matter what else, at least the cost advantage is reflected.
What's more, we also provide a lot of experimental equipment, which is more advanced than the current international space research equipment. These equipment are also charged according to the number of experiments.
There are many other items that have been recovered. For example, venues are charged based on the number of days, manned flights are charged based on person-time, and space station supplies are also charged based on material consumption. "
After listening to Zhao Yi's words, not only the minister burst out laughing, but also the other members of the delegation with helpless smiles on their faces. This is really a mature commercial operation model. Anyway, every item requires payment.
Looking at the expressions of these personnel, Zhao Yi also showed a helpless expression and said: "There is no way around this. In the end, we are just a private space agency. If we want to operate for a long time, commercialization must be our first priority." Target.
Only by successfully commercializing each project can we form a healthy operating model, continue to have funds to develop new space technology, and ultimately achieve the goal of human footprints all over the universe. "
Hearing Zhao Yi's words, the members of the inspection team all looked deep in thought. Although the national team has no money, they don't have to think too much about income, because they have the entire country behind them.
Although Zhao Yi's own assets are large enough to support limited space exploration missions, blind investment is not the right idea.
Because the time for personal prosperity is much shorter than that of a country, and there are many more uncertain factors. This is the reason why money can only last a hundred days.
This kind of research project that links space exploration and the future of mankind to one person is a logical error in itself. Zhao Yi actually thinks so, so he hoped from the beginning that future space technology companies can operate independently.
Space exploration is a research that requires continuous investment. If the interruption lasts for a long time, many technologies will gradually become obsolete, and technical personnel will be idle. In the end, the setback will be very serious.
Just like in the previous life, Yingjiang sent people to the surface of the moon in the 1970s. After this achievement demonstrated the status of a great power, it was shelved and the project was not continued for decades.
Decades have passed, and the original experts have basically withered away, and many technologies have not been well inherited. Finally, in the first decade of the 20th century, they wanted to manned the moon again, but they could not do it in a short time.
It can be seen from this how important the continuity of scientific and technological research and development is, especially in top scientific research, the more emphasis is placed on continuity.
As long as it has been abandoned for a period of time and the relevant talents have passed away, then it is just scientific information left behind. If you want to understand it, you need to go through it all over again. This is not only a waste of funds, but also a waste of time. (End of chapter)