However, with the speed of the Tibetan antelope, even if you want to send a courier to the space station, you are a little disqualified.

Because the space station is flying in low-earth orbit at a speed of about 7.8 kilometers per second, about 28,000 kilometers per hour.

On the other hand, the Tibetan Antelope, even the nuclear-powered version of the original Black Antelope, cannot reach this terrifying speed in the atmosphere.

This is due to the difference between a rocket and plasma propulsion.

Rocket launch means that there is a lot of power in a short period of time, so it is necessary to accelerate the object to orbit velocity during this time and maintain this speed afterwards, otherwise the payload launched into space will eventually fall back to the ground due to gravity.

Plasma propulsion, on the other hand, is a continuous force that does not need to reach orbital velocity at all to go into space.

If you want to compare the two, rocket power is a car that can only be refueled once, and plasma propulsion is a bicycle.

Cars are fast, but they stay where they are when they run out of gas, and plasma power, although slow, is possible to travel the world with enough supplies.

Therefore, if the Tibetan Antelope and the space station want to dock in space, then the Tibetan Antelope needs to at least accelerate to orbiting speed.

However, even in the thin atmosphere in near-Earth space, the energy consumption of acceleration is lower than in the atmosphere, and it is not easy to accelerate by more than 20 times......

From this point of view, the plasma version of the Tibetan antelope is extremely incompatible with the current space exploration system, and even if it can go to space after being built, it will not play much role under the current system.

It cannot carry out satellite maintenance tasks, cannot directly deliver supplies to the space station, and even if it launches a satellite, it needs to equip the satellite with additional thrust engines to allow the detached satellite to reach orbital speed.

"So I think it would be better for us to change the aerodynamic shape."

Tang Huacong's words were not said casually, and he decided to put forward this opinion after careful consideration in the base in the past few days.

Because in his opinion, the aerodynamic shape of the Tibetan antelope is very unreasonable, which seriously slows down its speed.

The only good thing is that the pilot inside is very comfortable, and it offers a square space like a small house, which is very rare in spaceships and space stations.

Such an integrated large space is narrower than usual, separated by cabins, like a spaceship and a space station in a large cylinder, it is simply not too comfortable.

But this advantage is not necessary.

Today's space voyage is the same as in the previous Age of Discovery, the comfort of astronauts is not the first priority, as long as there is a sleeping place in the cabin plus a little privacy, and it is okay.

After all, every bit of space and load in space is calculated in 10,000 dollars.

"If we change to a streamlined type, not only can the speed of the aircraft in the atmosphere be increased, but the thrust and energy can also be used more, its thrust ratio will be higher, the payload will be more, so the energy consumption will be reduced......"

Tang Huacong actively talked about the benefits of changing the aerodynamic shape, and also listed many calculation results on paper, indicating that his plan was supported by data.

These calculations are the result of his thinking in the past few days.

Chen Shen also thought about this proposal for a while, and finally shook his head and decided not to change.

It is true that it is the same as what Tang Huacong said.

Changing the aerodynamic shape can effectively increase the thrust utilization of the Tibetan antelope, and the horizontal take-off can allow the thrust of the aircraft to rise smoothly below the load, and then it can slowly enter space by relying on the buoyancy of the atmosphere.

Compared with the Tibetan antelope, this solution can save a lot of energy during the atmospheric flight phase, and the load that can be carried will also increase, even when performing accelerated docking in near-Earth space, the acceleration efficiency is much more efficient than the current shape.

But Tang Huacong didn't know the possibility of the existence of miniature nuclear reactors, so he didn't take into account that the energy of the Tibetan Antelope would be the least valuable thing in the future, and he was too obsessed with the atmosphere.

The nuclear-powered Tibetan Antelope has a range of nearly 7 million kilometers, which is in the atmosphere.

If it leaves the atmosphere, its acceleration efficiency will be greatly improved when the atmospheric drag disappears, and at the same time, the energy consumed will be reduced, and the range will also be greatly improved.

In space, engines that deliver ninety tons of thrust every second can accelerate the Black Antelope to a terrifying speed in a short period of time.

In the long run, ordinary aerospace planes may be able to compare with the Tibetan Antelope when they first go out of space, but as long as they are given a period of acceleration time, those aerospace planes that rely on inertial speed and rocket engines to fly in space will not even be able to touch the tail of the Tibetan Antelope.

So although the current plasma version of the Tibetan Antelope is not as good as the aerospace aircraft, it is actually exploring the way for the future nuclear-powered version of the Tibetan Antelope.

In this way, as long as the miniature nuclear reactor is completed in the future, they who already have enough data can immediately change the Tibetan antelope shotgun and go straight to the well-off from the subsistence line!

But having said that, what Tang Huacong said is not unreasonable, so Chen Shen has to think of a suitable reason like he did with Ding Zhiyi before.

"If this is ......"

Chen Shen thought for a while, "The current aerodynamic shape is set in consideration of the development of future models, and if you change the streamlined type, you may have to blow a hypersonic wind tunnel, which will delay too much time, so I don't think it's convenient to make changes." ”

Compared with the current shape of the Tibetan antelope, the requirements for the wind tunnel are not half a bit.

The current shape is considered as long as it can fly, and it will not fall down when it encounters strong winds.

The streamlined type should consider the airflow disturbance and flight resistance outside the aircraft......

Considering the high-speed performance it may have, it might even have to blow the legendary super wind tunnel with speeds of up to Mach 25.

That thing may not have been built yet, and by the time it was built, five years have passed, and his miniature nuclear reactors may have come out.

When the time comes, blow a hammer wind tunnel, and install a few sets of propulsion units on the fuselage, which will be more fragrant when the bricks fly directly!

Without waiting for Tang Huacong to speak, Chen Shen said: "But what Team Leader Tang said is also reasonable, this can be used as a research direction, and after we realize the prototype of the Tibetan Antelope, we will carry out research in this area." ”

This direction is still very promising, and plasma reactors are indeed more suitable for such aerospace aircraft.