"I set up a space technology company called Space X, are you interested?" Zhang Chen looked at Elon Musk with blazing eyes.

Musk really likes space too much, and since he was a few years old, he has developed a strong yearning for the endless universe. When other children said that they were afraid of the dark, he could already say that darkness is just no light, nothing to fear, and darkness is the normal state of the universe.

One of his biggest hobbies is making models of various space shuttles and rockets, which can be found everywhere in his house. How could such a person not be interested when he heard Zhang Chen say that he wanted to invest in space exploration?

Elon Musk was completely shocked by what Zhang Chen said, a space technology company? a private space technology company that you have established? Is there any other institution besides NASA that has the strength to engage in space technology research and can it make a profit?

From this, we can see the difference in thinking between the East and the West in different environments.

If an Oriental person hears the news, his first reaction is often -- bragging, right? Even if you have money, the government won't let you do it privately.

But in the West, no one pays attention to the government or does not agree with private individuals, as long as you are an American company, as long as you are engaged in business that does not violate the law, no one cares what kind of business you do.

Don't say that you are engaged in rockets or space shuttles, even if you are engaged in a nuclear industry company, as long as the process is legal, your company is legal.

Of course, whether there will be intelligence agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and NSA will pay attention, and sending undercover agents to collect your illegal evidence is another matter.

There are two completely different thinking logics that the law does not prohibit and what is not allowed by the law is not to be done, and we will not discuss the superiority or inferiority of the two thinking logics here, but the difference exists objectively.

Therefore, the Musk brothers did not think at all to question whether Zhang Chen could open this company, and there were only two questions that really made them unbelievable.

Money and money scenes.

Space exploration is a big money-burner that can be compared to war, and millions of dollars are invested in it, and you may not be able to hear a single sound of water, or wrongly, you can't hear a single explosion.

At least there are war dividends to be gained, what is there for space exploration?

Helium-3 on the moon? No kidding, this thing is purely for funding and providing material for science fiction scientists, and the technical difficulties of nuclear fusion are worthless if they are not overcome for a day.

As for when nuclear fusion will be broken? Hehe, haven't you heard that there are still 50 years away?

In short, the possibility of making a profit in space exploration in the short term is too low, and there is basically only one way to make some high-risk transportation costs by transporting artificial satellites to the sky. Therefore, in any country, it is basically the state treasury that sustains the expenditure, and private capital is basically not touched.

It's not that you won't be allowed to touch it, it's not worth touching.

Zhang Chen's legendary story has long spread throughout the United States, and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are even more familiar with Zhang Chen's resume, and Elon Musk is the same, he knows very well that Zhang Chen has never done a money-losing business since he appeared. It is really incomprehensible that such a person suddenly told himself that he wanted to develop space technology.

Seeing the expression of the Musk brothers, Zhang Chen waved his hand: "Elon, times have changed. Indeed, now that the boom in space exploration has passed, countries have cut their budgets for space exploration. But that's why now is the time for our private capital to get involved in aviation. ”

"First, after the Rakshasa financial crisis and NASA's budget cuts, a large number of scientific researchers in the United States and Russia will be laid off, and a large number of scientific research institutions will lose their contracts with NASA and RKA, and we can select the right talents to do research and development at a lower cost. ”

"Second, the current rocket launch technology is very mature, and we can make rockets just by relying on public information. Didn't there be a report a few days ago that a sixteen-year-old boy, with the help of information found on the Internet and his own research, and his friends made a liquid-fueled rocket and successfully launched the rocket near low earth orbit. Although there was an element of sensationalism in this news, the rocket launched by the teenager did not enter orbit at all. But this also shows that the technical threshold for this industry is really not high. ”

"Third, NASA has an annual budget of more than 10 billion dollars, a wide variety of departments, research projects and public functions. If we only put our limited financial resources into one area, we don't need so much money at all. I estimate that $2 billion over five years is enough for us to complete the first phase of our plan. And this money is still affordable for me. ”

"One field? the first phase plan?" Musk's baby face became serious, although he still didn't understand what Zhang Chen's specific plan was, but after some explanation, he also admitted that although it was unbelievable, it was really feasible!

Musk was calculating quickly in his mind, he knew a little about rockets and space shuttles, "Zack, although I don't know what your so-called first phase plan is, but any business should not be loss-making, I don't understand how this business should be profitable, if there is no profit, no matter how much money you have, it is impossible to lose endlessly." If this is the case, it is better not to do it, such a demonstration effect is too bad, and no one will invest in this field in the future. ”

Elon Musk's baby face was tense, and Zhang Chen couldn't help but smile when he saw it: "You're right, I'm only going to lose a total of two billion dollars in five years, and after five years, I hope to be able to recover the cost within one year and achieve seventy percent gross profit in three years." I forgot to mention that in the first stage, SpaceX only did the development and manufacture of low-cost launch vehicle launch systems. My goal is to reduce the cost of launching rockets by seventy percent within five years. ”

Brother Musk's eyes widened and he reduced the cost of rocket launch by 70 percent?

"In the past year, there have been 86 launch vehicles around the world, and the average launch cost for NASA is about $18,000 per unit mass. I hope that within five years, the average cost per launch of a launch vehicle will be reduced to less than $6,000. ”

The Musk brothers looked at each other, Kimbar didn't know anything like rocket launches, but he knew how to operate, no matter what industry, if the cost can be reduced by 70 percent, it means that the entire industry will face a big revolution.

Listening to Zhang Chen's meaning, this is only the first stage, and the two of them have almost lost the ability to shock.

Stop bragging, right?

The Musk brothers had such a thought in their minds at the same time.

"Elon, you can go back and consider my proposal. Your work at ZIP2 is fantastic, but that's what ZIP2 is, and even if you sell it, it's only two or three billion dollars in business. I've heard that you've publicly declared that you want to do a billion-dollar business. And space exploration, which is an infinite number of billions, is really big business, to be precise, there is no bigger business than this. ”

Zhang Chen stroked the smooth wall of the Endeavour model with his hand, "To paraphrase my friend Steve Jobs, would you rather be a cartographer for the rest of your life, or change the world with me?"

It's sent.,Finally made up for it the day before yesterday.,There are still three chapters left to make up.。

(End of chapter)