On December 5, 1982, Zhao Yi received a call from Future Space Technology Company. The navigation and positioning satellite had been developed and had passed ground tests and simulation tests. Zhao Yi was asked if the launch would be arranged.
This made Zhao Yi, who was holding a joint meeting of textile companies, clothing companies and trading companies, hastily end the meeting, let them discuss the matter with each other, pat their butts and leave.
After leaving Shenzhen this time, I immediately went to the Future Space Technology Company in Guangzhou to check the actual situation of the navigation and positioning satellite and confirm that the situation was consistent with what they said and that it was ready for launch.
But this is not a simple civilian satellite system after all, so Zhao Yi still needs to return to Kyoto to discuss with the government departments whether the government departments should pay for it or whether to launch it privately and then let them lease the service. Zhao Yi hopes for the first one, because if he launches it privately, he will become a thorn in the side of the US emperor. It is uncomfortable for a company to be stared at like this.
After confirming that there was no problem, Zhao Yi took a plane back to Kyoto. Instead of going home to rest, he directly contacted the people in the General Office of the State Council, informed them of his request for a meeting, and then returned to his home to rest.
Sure enough, news came the next day, inviting him to meet. Sitting at the desk of the State Council boss, Zhao Yi reported on the actual situation of the navigation and positioning satellite system currently being developed by the United States.
"The global satellite positioning system currently developed by the United States, also known as GPS, was formerly a meridian satellite positioning system developed by the US military. It was developed in 1958 and officially put into use in 1964. The system works with a star network composed of 5 to 6 satellites. , it circles the earth up to 13 times a day, cannot give an altitude, and is unsatisfactory in terms of positioning accuracy.”
"In order to solve this shortcoming, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) proposed a plan called "Tinmation" to use 12 to 18 satellites to form a global positioning network with an altitude of 10,000km. A test satellite was launched, and atomic clock timing systems were initially tested on these satellites, which is the basis for the precise positioning of the GPS system.
The U.S. Air Force proposed the 621-B plan to form 3 to 4 constellations with 4 to 5 satellites per constellation. Except for one of these satellites, all of them use synchronous orbits and the rest use inclined orbits with a period of 24 hours. It is planned to propagate satellite ranging signals based on pseudo-random codes (PRN). Its powerful function can detect signal density when it is less than 1% of environmental noise. "
"Since developing two systems at the same time would cause huge costs and both programs here are designed to provide global positioning, in 1973 the U.S. Department of Defense merged the two into one, and the satellite navigation and positioning project led by the Department of Defense Headed by the Joint Planning Office (JPO).”
"The above is the origin of the development of the GPS currently developed in the United States. Their first phase program demonstration and preliminary design phase were completed from 1978 to 1979. They are now in the second phase of comprehensive development and testing. I estimate that it will be launched in 1993 at the latest It can be fully put into use.”
"After I got the news, I started researching our own satellite navigation and positioning system. Now the system demonstration phase has been completed, and the first navigation and positioning satellite has been developed."
"Satellite positioning and navigation systems have a wide range of uses in navigation and positioning. In terms of navigation, they include weapon navigation, ship navigation, vehicle navigation, aircraft navigation, interstellar navigation, and personal navigation. In terms of positioning, they include vehicle anti-theft systems, electronic equipment and electronic map positioning, Personnel positioning, precision agriculture, etc.”
"This system plays an irreplaceable role in our country's military and modern industrial service industries. This is why I came to the State Council to report in person."
"As for the information you provided, I don't ask where it came from. I also believe that the information you said has a certain basis. As for whether to launch this project and the method of cooperation, we still need to discuss it internally and cannot give you an answer right away. Reply." said.
"Okay, I hope you can give me a reply as soon as possible so that I can arrange the next step." Zhao Yi said.
After this conversation ended, Zhao Yi returned to his home. It's just that I can't lie down as peacefully as usual, but this is something I can't control.
Not to mention the huge military value of satellite navigation and positioning systems, even ordinary satellites require the consent of government departments to launch them. They cannot be launched by private individuals.
Because Zhao Yi is not sure about the government's attitude, because this system is currently a bit too advanced for the country. Militarily, it is still in the defensive stage, with little overseas interest. It is in the early stages of reform and opening up, and military expenses are being reduced to make way for economic development. . However, due to the weak industrial base for civilian interests, there are very few equipment products that need to provide positioning and navigation services, which means that the investment and benefits are not proportional.
It is precisely because of the above considerations that Zhao Yi did not communicate with the government departments before the development. Instead, he developed the system and satellite first. In this way, he had the technical foundation. It depends on whether the government and the military can withstand the attack.
Procrastinating like this was not the answer, so Zhao Yi called Future Space Technology Company and asked them to start the research and development plan of remote sensing satellites and meteorological satellites.
I originally thought that the results would not come out in a short time, but in the past half month, on December 20, Zhao Yi was invited to participate in a high-level seminar. It was not specified who else was participating.
When Zhao Yi arrived at the venue, almost everyone inside had already arrived. Judging from their seats, clothes and expressions, some of them were from the military, the Academy of Sciences, and the government, while he was from the "civilian" "of.
After a while, the personnel were all due. This time, experts from the State Council, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Military Commission and the Chinese Academy of Sciences were present.
Said: "Originally, 1982 was about to pass, but at the end of the year, Mr. Zhao came up with a problem for us. We were all wrong, so we just invited everyone to discuss it together."
After speaking, he said: "Two weeks ago, Mr. Zhao came to our State Council to report on the satellite navigation and positioning system developed by his Future Space Technology Company, and explained to me the research status of the United States in this area. The specific situation has been You can take a look at the meeting documents on your desk."
"As can be seen from the name, it is an integrated air-ground satellite system used for positioning and navigation. It has a huge role in both the military and civilian fields. These roles have also been explained in the document. As for the specific plan, let us Our Mr. Zhao will tell you."
Upon hearing this, Zhao stood up, walked to the blackboard, and said while drawing: "The United States' global positioning system consists of 28 satellites, 4 of which are backup satellites. The satellites are distributed on 6 orbital planes that equally divide the earth. , there are 4 satellites distributed in each orbit, and these satellites are all 20,000 kilometers above the ground.
The positioning principle adopted is based on the instantaneous position of the high-speed moving satellite as the known starting data, and the spatial distance resection method is used to determine the position of the point to be detected.
At present, the satellites they launch are not very practical and are in the verification stage. However, the working satellite data after subsequent improvements is expected to be: single navigation accuracy of about 10 meters and comprehensive accuracy of 1 meter. Of course, the higher the accuracy, the lower the reliability. It is predicted that civilian use Field opening accuracy is approximately 10 meters. (ps: The accuracy data of the first-generation GPS has not been found, but it is definitely not very high. The GPS currently used is no longer known for how many generations and is always being iterated.) "
"The Beidou navigation system designed by Future Space Technology Company (ps: a tribute to the scientists who have devoted their wisdom and efforts to China's Beidou navigation system) consists of 35 satellites, 5 geostationary orbit satellites and 30 non-geostationary orbit satellites. First On behalf of the Beidou navigation system, the highest military accuracy is 0.1 meters, and the civilian accuracy is 10 meters. The satellite design life is 20 years, and the actual service life is 18 years."
"At present, our system is much more advanced than theirs in terms of accuracy and satellite life. I think it has reached the point where it can be formally networked. Of course, how specific it is, we still need to launch a few preliminary networks. Only then can you tell." Zhao Yi finally said humbly.
They still believe Zhao Yi's words, because not long ago, Future Space Technology Company helped **** launch a television communication satellite. It is currently operating well, and the satellite's design life has reached 15 years.
After Zhao sat down, a person from the Ministry of Finance stood up and said: "We still believe what Mr. Zhao said, but do we need to launch this project now? In terms of demand, it seems that the demand is not strong at the moment. Can It is foreseen that it will definitely be in a state of loss, and the current national finance is not rich, and it needs to issue national debt to balance the fiscal deficit."
As soon as he finished speaking, the military personnel said: "I think it is still necessary. After all, with this system, we will have a huge role in terrain survey, precision guidance, cruise missile navigation and guidance, etc. Our military is Support the establishment of this system.”
The military personnel were concise and concise, explaining the necessity of the system and their own attitudes in just a few words.
Then experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences spoke. One expert said: "From the introduction, we analyzed that this system will be used in transportation, agriculture, forestry and fishery, hydrological monitoring, meteorological forecasting, communication time systems, power dispatching, disaster relief and reduction, and public safety. It is widely used in this field and will produce significant economic and social benefits in the future. So our opinion is that this system can be developed."
After listening to the opinions from all sides, he said: "The Ministry of Finance, the Military Commission, and the Academy of Sciences have all expressed their views and opinions. Mr. Zhao, do you have anything else to add?"
Hearing his name being called, Zhao Yi took over and said: "Let me answer why we should build our own satellite navigation and positioning system in advance. The main reason for us to do this is to establish our own market advantage. We expect that in Within a year, 35 satellites can be launched to form a complete global positioning system, and the United States is expected to complete it by 1993.
There is a gap of 10 years. During this period, with our technological advantages, we will be able to occupy the global market. This will not only bring economic benefits, but also form a huge stock market. When GPS provides global services, It is difficult for them to replace the huge existing market instantly and provide a strong guarantee for the improvement of our relations in the international community.
After all, Western countries naturally work together. Otherwise we would be very passive. "(End of chapter)