"Chairman, this is the shipyard, be careful, please try not to get close to the edge of this slipway."

As soon as the last airlock was opened, the moment Dong Chen and the others walked out, Niu Baichuan began to remind Dong Chen to pay attention to safety.

Originally, he wanted to ask Dong Chen if he would be uncomfortable walking on this kind of metal ground in electromagnetic shoes, but he suddenly realized that the chairman next to him was not an ordinary chairman, he entered space much earlier than himself, and he had set various world records at that time.

He quickly looked at his feet from Dong Chen's head, paid attention to Dong Chen's walking posture, and sure enough, he found that he was even more slippery than he walked, and then came back to look at his young face, which was really unconvincing.

"I know, I'm still very concerned about my own safety," Dong Chen nodded to show that he knew, then looked around and said, "Introduce me to this spaceship, what stage are you building now?" ”

"Seeing that the date of the mission is approaching, it should be almost completed, right?"

"Okay, Chairman," he breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the chairman wouldn't run around and didn't want to have some spacewalk to float and look at the ship plan from all angles.

The spacecraft that is about to carry out the Mars mission does not yet have an official name, so the tentative name within the group is "Yuanhang 001", which is 247 meters long and will be the largest self-powered spaceflight equipment owned by the group when completed, and will also be the world's largest self-powered spaceflight equipment in the world. ”

As the director of this space station, Niu Baichuan is still quite concerned about the things under his management, so any information is at his fingertips, and he explains it to Dong Chen very clearly.

Although the length of this spacecraft is only 247 meters, it is far worse than the 1,000-meter-long Tiangong space station, and even worse than the new international space of 1,100 meters long under construction...... Far.

However, in terms of use classification, it is really the world's largest self-powered space flight equipment.

The space station is big, and there are even many people who say that as long as the main thruster is added, it is a huge spaceship, anyway, there is no air resistance in space, and there is no gravity, so it is not impossible to fly wherever you want, as long as the fuel is enough, it is not impossible to fly out of the solar system.

This is also the difference between the space station and the spacecraft and the space flight equipment, that is, the space station can only fly around the earth, because it has no main engine, no independent power source, and the spacecraft is different, it has the main engine, that is to fly wherever you want.

And it's so easy for a space station to become a spaceship.

Some people have imagined this a long time ago, especially during the Cold War, Mao Xiong and Eagle Sauce both wanted to directly change the space station into an interstellar battleship, but then they both gave up.

Only after trying it did you know that it was good to float next to the earth like this, what do you want to ...... What starships do you want.

Yes, the space station can accommodate people and cargo, and it is also equipped with small engines, and it can also transfer orbits, and it is no different from a spaceship except that it is bulky and heavy.

At most, the space station has many cabins, while the original spaceship has only one cabin, and it is like a barrel.

However, it is really necessary to install a high-thrust engine for the space station to ensure that the space station can fall apart due to uneven force during the acceleration process, especially the body of the original International Space Station, which is not strong when it looks good.

After all, it was designed that way in the first place, and because of technology and cost problems, it didn't do anything about the spacecraft at all.

Although not now, many people have not given up on this idea.

Isn't it just that the technology is not up to par...... Well, is there a reason why there is not enough money, it's not a thing, time can solve everything.

One day, when the technology is right and there are countries willing to spend money like crazy, the earthlings will always build a space station that takes into account both.

Originally, they thought that they would have to wait for many years, because no country in the world has the strength to build a space station except for the International Space Station.

But the ever-evolving science fiction works have given them a lot of satisfactory answers.

In particular, several science fiction movies, animations, or TV series that reflect the world scene of the near future, etc., all have the design idea of a spaceship that can be realized with current technology, that is, the kind of straight main body connected by a section of cabins, and a rotating gravity simulation chamber like a "big pendulum" in a circle.

Such a device is the same as the current multi-module, rack-shelf and block-type hybrid structure models of the International Space Station, but from an awkwardly complex shape to a more stress-prone shape.

As a result, I didn't expect that within a few years, the new Tiangong space station built by the Arc Group on the basis of the Tiangong space station in Huaguo, which is not suitable for spacecraft, was born.

And its shape is what people have seen in fantasy designs and near-future science fiction works, that is, a spaceship that theoretically adds a main thruster and then carries enough fuel to fly to the starry sky just away.

Even because of this, some countries have advocated the "arc threat theory", saying that with the main engine and weapons, it is a space battleship.

However, under the explosive development of the Arc Group, when the space station can really be turned into a space battleship or even a space aircraft carrier, they will not talk about it.

This is the same as a joke about "suspecting that there are chemical weapons" and "there are really chemical weapons", the difference between the two words is not the same treatment.

Many people are waiting for the Arclight Group to transform the Tiangong Space Station into a spaceship, and then go out to explore new areas of space, but the Arclight Group really made it into a space station safely and steadily, and it has also developed into a tourist attraction.

I don't know how many people behind this scolded the Arc Group for destroying the heavens, such a good thing is not for the future of mankind to explore the starry sky, but to collect money at the door of the house to open a scenic spot.

Of course, there are still few such people, and most people can understand it, after all, if there is no money, this "spaceship" will not fly far.

Arc Group is not a state organization, it does not have the financial support of the state behind it, it is a private enterprise through and through, and if it can't make money, it can only wait for death.

Moreover, the Arc Group is already a technology group at the forefront of the earth, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a science fiction drama in itself.

The construction of the next nine space stations at the same time, the construction of the moon base and the moon, etc., are all projects that shocked the world, and after having money, they did not forget the breakthrough of science and technology, this is not the spaceship to Mars is almost completed.

This spacecraft that is about to carry out the Mars mission is actually similar to the Hermes spacecraft in "The Martian", with a straight hull and a rotating gravity simulation cabin, but the difference is that the Arc Group's spacecraft does not have a solar array, so it will look a little "strong".

The reason for the abandonment of this important free source of energy is due to the success of the controlled nuclear fusion reactor in the lunar base some time ago.

With it, combined with the Arc Group's helium-3 mine on the moon, the spacecraft has a steady stream of energy to use, as well as a solar array that looks like crunchy seaweed.

Coupled with the ion engine technology with good performance that Dong Chen came up with, it will take less than 20 days for this spacecraft to fly to Mars during the best landing window, even if it is hard steel from the farthest distance, it will take half a year at most.

This is definitely a super-fast existence in the history of astronautics on Earth, and any previous Mars mission is rare and extremely troublesome.

At present, the fastest spacecraft or exploration satellite to deliver Mars probes to Mars will take at least half a year to Mars, and this time will still appear during the Mars landing window.

Otherwise, if you miss that launch window, the mission will not be carried out at all, and you will have to wait a little more than two years before you can start the Mars mission again.

And this window is not fixed, it does not mean that the Earth and Mars have reached the closest distance, but when it still has a few months to reach the closest point, you can launch a rocket at this time is the best time.

It changes according to the change of the means of delivery, so you can only prepare in advance, and if at this time, you are delayed because of something, then sorry, not only the cancellation of the mission, but also the economic and other losses are quite large.

To put it simply, the two balls are circling in circles, and both are circling the sun, everyone is on the same ecliptic, and the position is appropriate, it is best that after the spacecraft or probe is launched on the earth's side, after a long time travel, it flies to the closest point of Mars from the earth, and Mars also happens to appear at this closest point position, just to meet the spacecraft probe.

Otherwise, if you miss this time, you will have to chase Mars or wait for Mars, which is too risky.

Because if you wait for a period of time in the vast universe, your machine may encounter something, and it is good to reduce the service life, and if it is scrapped in a complex cosmic environment, it will be a big loss.

If you want to chase Mars, let alone mention, the reason why human beings have to wait for this suitable window period is because there is a limit to the capacity of rockets, and even if the extra fuel allows you to chase Mars, it is unlikely that you will catch up.

This is still in the state of transporting goods, if there are astronauts here, the variables are even greater, and it is also a pity that human beings do not have the ability to send astronauts to Mars, so that there will be no tragedy in the history of human spaceflight.

So in such a situation, you have to wait 26 months and wait for the next window to launch.

Of course, such history is about to become a thing of the past.

Because the technology of the arc group allows human beings not to be confined to the launch window, after installing excellent ion engine technology and controllable nuclear fusion reaction device that can provide continuous and strong energy, the spacecraft can shuttle between the earth and Mars in a short time.

Even when Mars and Earth are the farthest away, they can basically be reached in half a year, which is already the shortest time that the current vehicle can be launched during the launch window, which shows how big this contrast is.

"Chairman, now the main frame part has been completed, and the rotating simulation gravity cabin, that is, the main living cabin of the members, as well as the cockpit, passage, ion engine working fluid storage tank, etc., are all experimenting normally."

"The controllable fusion device and the main engine are currently under construction, and they are already more than half complete, and there are also some internal life modules that are still being installed, and they will definitely be completed before the mission is carried out."

Niu Baichuan followed Dong Chen from one side of the platform to the other, and gave him a detailed introduction to the situation.

"Well, the construction is quite fast, faster than originally planned, and it is well done." Dong Chen came to the side of the slipway and praised Niu Baichuan.

Seeing Dong Chen gradually walk to the slipway, Niu Baichuan's heart also lifted, but he was still very happy when he was praised by Dong Chen, "This, hehe, the chairman has won the award." ”

"In fact, it is the engineers who are working, they are the hardest, I just do the preparatory work, so that the engineers can eat well and rest well, and can work wholeheartedly."

Dong Chen shook his head when he heard this, "It's very good, you have done a lot, and I will never forget any of the heroes you should have." ”

"I remember that this spacecraft should have two more transport planes to carry, right, and it will be used when the time comes to land on Mars, how is their manufacturing progress now? Is it done? ”

"It's been completed, chairman," Niu Baichuan said, "Originally, the aerospace company had a task of transforming the transport plane, because now the lunar mission also needs a large number of transport planes to participate, and the Mars mission needs transport planes to coincide, so it can be used directly." ”

"There were transport planes in the company that were being modified before, so these two transport planes for the Mars mission are very easy to solve, just wait for the hull to be completed, and the two transport planes can come up for loading, because if the load is carried out now, it will hinder the construction of the hull."

"That's good," Dong Chen looked around, saw the passage that he had passed by before and entered the spaceship, and said, "Let's go, let's go inside and have a look." ”

"Okay, chairman, please here." Niu Baichuan made a gesture of please.

"Hmm."

Dong Chen took a look at the Mars mission spacecraft under construction, and also used the rest time to meet with the engineers on the space station to cheer them up.

After all, this is the first manned mission to explore Mars in the history of mankind, which has never been done in the history of mankind.

And this spaceship is a very important means of transportation for this mission, and it is also the first spacecraft in human history that can carry out space voyages, Dong Chen is also a little excited.

PS: The Qixi Festival still insists on updating, and I am all moved by myself