Dr. Schmitz's speed was still very fast, and within three days, a thirty-plus page explanation of the reason for the failure of the mission was transmitted through the fax machine.

Tang Feng couldn't understand the dense data on the explanation, but he could understand the final conclusion.

Sure enough, as Tang Feng guessed, the failure of the recovery mission of the first-stage core-stage rocket of the "Starry Sky No. 1" heavy-lift launch vehicle is directly related to the shell materials used in the first-stage core-stage rocket.

Tang Feng had just received the fax when Dr. Schmitz's phone called.

"Tyrant, after the inspection of the team's engineers, it has been determined that the main reason for the failure of this recovery mission is from the shell material of the first-stage core-stage rocket." Dr. Schmitz's slightly tired voice rang on the phone, and it is conceivable that Dr. Schmitz has not rested at all in the past two days, and has devoted all his energy to this.

"Doctor, you need to pay attention to your body. We can rebuild the rocket without it, but if something happens to your body, I don't have a place to find an expert like you. ”

"Hehe, Don, thank you for your concern, I know my body, and I can still hold it." After a pause, Dr. Schmitz continued: "Tyrant, the reason for this failure is that the materials used in the rocket body have suffered metal fatigue due to the test of extreme conditions for a long time during these dozen launches, which eventually led to the fracture of the rocket body. On this, our experts have come to exact conclusions. Therefore, if we want the Star series of heavy-duty launch vehicles to continue to be recyclable, then we must solve the problem from the shell material, otherwise, if the Star series launch vehicles continue to use the current high-strength aluminum-lithium alloy, then they can withstand up to fifteen consecutive launch missions. ”

Tang Feng was stunned, and then asked, "Fifteen times?" ”

"Yes. According to our measurements, the maximum limit for safety is fifteen times, and if it exceeds fifteen times, the safety of the material cannot be guaranteed. Our 'Starry Sky One' was able to launch seventeen times in a row, which is actually God blessed. ”

Tang Feng let out a "hmm" and lowered his head in contemplation for a while. Only then did he ask: "Doctor, if our launch vehicle can be reused fifteen times, how much can the launch cost be reduced?" ”

The reason why Tang Feng spent a lot of money to develop the reusable recycling technology of launch vehicles is to reduce the launch cost, in the case of the "Xingkong-1" heavy-duty launch vehicle, if the first-stage core-stage rocket is scrapped after only one launch, then the cost of each launch of the "Xingkong-1" heavy-duty launch vehicle will be as high as 90 million US dollars.

Just like the previous 17 launches of the Star-1 heavy launch vehicle, if not reused, the total cost of these 17 launches would be as high as $1.53 billion. However, after the introduction of recyclable recycling technology. The average cost of these 17 launches is only 22 million US dollars per launch, and the total cost of the 17 launches is only 374 million US dollars, with a difference of almost 1.15 billion US dollars!

That's where the gap between single-use launch technology and recyclable technology comes in.

And that's only seventeen launches, and if the launches continue, the total cost savings will be even greater.

The reusable recovery technology of the first-stage core rocket of the launch vehicle is the more powerful engine that promotes the human space industry.

Tang Feng could clearly hear Dr. Schmitz crackling on the keyboard through the microphone, and after a while, Dr. Schmitz's voice rang out: "Don, if our heavy launch vehicle can be safely launched fifteen times." Then the average launch cost can be reduced to 23.8 million US dollars per time, which is already extremely low. Don't forget, we're using a heavy-lift launch vehicle, not a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. ”

Tang Feng nodded with satisfaction with this figure, and the average launch cost was less than 24 million US dollars per time, which was actually lower than Tang Feng's expectations. Dr. Schmitz is right that the Star series and the Falcon series are not launch vehicles of the same grade at all. The Falcon series is fine if it launches a satellite, transports supplies to the International Space Station, or something, but if it is to carry out the delivery of supplies or equipment to the geosynchronous transfer orbit, the Falcon series is far from enough.

You must know that the "Falcon 9", which can now realize recyclable technology, has a large GEO capacity, which can transport more than 130 tons of materials and equipment to the earth's low earth orbit. But its GTO capacity is far from sufficient. The GTO capacity of the Falcon 9 is only 4.85 tons, which is less than a quarter of the GTO capacity of the Star 1 heavy-lift launch vehicle.

If the "Falcon 9" is allowed to carry out the construction task of the Mars spacecraft, not to mention anything else, the "Falcon 9" will have to be launched at least 70 times just for the ten functional warehouses that have been built by the Mars spacecraft.

Although the launch cost of the "Falcon 9" is relatively low, it is simply impossible to complete 70 launch missions within a year.

Although in 2013, Musk's SpaceX launched the "Falcon Heavy" launch vehicle bundled with two boosters, both GEO capacity and GTO capacity have increased significantly, ranking among the current top heavy launch vehicles, and the cost of "Falcon Heavy" per launch is as high as $100 million. And although the "Heavy Falcon" has also achieved the reusable recovery of the first-stage core-stage rocket, it is still inferior to the "Starry Sky One" in terms of GTO capacity.

The overall design of the Mars spacecraft, especially the weight design of each functional compartment, is designed according to the GTO capacity of the "Starry Sky One" heavy launch vehicle, although the GTO capacity of the "Heavy Falcon" is only about 3 tons less than that of the "Starry Sky One", but less is less, your GTO capacity is three tons worse, then the functional compartment of the vast majority of Mars spacecraft will not be able to take off.

You can't cut a functional bin with a dry weight of 21 tons and send it up, right? That's just a joke!

Therefore, the construction of the Mars spacecraft is absolutely inseparable from the "Star Series" heavy launch vehicles.

Thinking of this, Tang Feng said: "Doctor, the average launch cost of 24 million US dollars, I can still accept it. Besides, if we want to find a more suitable material than our new aluminum-lithium alloy, it is estimated that it will not be possible to find it in a short time, so I decided that the construction of 'Starry Sky No. 2' or even No. 3 and No. 4 should still use the technology and drawings of 'Starry Sky No. 1'. Doctor, we only have a little more than three years left, so we can't afford to delay the construction of the Martian spacecraft because of the launch vehicle. ”

Dr. Schmitz said, "Well, since you've made your decision, we'll follow your decision." Rest assured, when the Mars launch window arrives, our astronauts will definitely be able to board the brand-new Martian spacecraft. (To be continued.) )