"China Airlines Group has officially confirmed the launch schedule of the 'fuze', the time is no problem, the venue is still in Panxi, that is, it is emphasized that it is necessary to enter the test and prepare 30 days in advance, that is, half a month later. This is not yet sensitive for China Airlines, with 200 million yuan in revenue and 2.2 megawatts of VASIMR not enough for China Airlines to take it too seriously. However, the 'detonator' has to give China Airlines a downward breath, and the 10 MW VASIMR technology is desperately grabbed by domestic astronauts. ”

In the AR vision, Lou Xinghai was reporting to Xia Ming.

It is now D50, and the first stage of the "Fuze" detector has entered the assembly stage, which can be completed in a week at most.

Lou Xinghai went to the headquarters of Huaxia Aerospace Group to finalize the progress of cooperation, and he focused on the impact of new technologies in his report. Gallium nitride solar cells are one, and VASIMR is one, with the latter being more sensitive.

2 MW VASIMR can already blind people in the aerospace field, but it is not a black technology. Up to 10 megawatts VASIMR, that is a militaristic heavy weapon.

If Xia Ming wants to hand over the second stage of the "detonator" to China Airlines for launch, it will naturally be impossible to keep the VASIMR secret, and the state will not sit idly by and watch this technology be monopolized by private companies.

"We are Chinese, and there is nothing wrong with handing over this technology to the state. However, if it is handed over free of charge, the state may not be embarrassed, so the condition is to give us the green light in terms of policy. ”

Xia Ming naturally didn't want to say that I only need Zhishenxing, whether these technologies are pinched in my own hands is a trivial matter at all, after all, Lou Xinghai still doesn't know the inside story.

After getting Xia Ming's approval, Lou Xinghai had the bottom in his heart: "Then I'll talk to Huahang first, and Xiao Xia will have to come forward on the upper floor." ”

At the end of the call, Xia Ming breathed a sigh of relief, the first stage of internal and external preparations was completely completed.

Compared with more than half a month ago. There have been some changes to the "fuze", especially the VASIMR.

After the success of the 2.2 MW test machine, Dongfang Sheng did not immediately enter the development of 10 MW VASIMR. Instead, continue to optimize the design.

The main structure of VASIMR is divided into three units, the front unit ionizes hydrogen, the middle unit continues to heat the plasma with electromagnetic waves, and the tail nozzle ejects the plasma.

The biggest technical difficulty lies in the central unit, where the temperature of the plasma will reach hundreds of millions of degrees, which is higher than the temperature of the center of the sun, and it is impossible to accommodate it no matter what material is used, so it can only be confined by magnetic fields.

The advantage of VASIMR over traditional ion engines is this. It does not require a mechanical structure, and directly uses the magnetic field to control the movement of the plasma, and when the plasma rises to a sufficient temperature, it adjusts the magnetic field to push it to the nozzle. This series of adjustments requires very precise control of magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves, which is the stage for intelligence to show its talents.

Relying on the powerful intelligence of the neuron chip, Dongfang Sheng has greatly improved the energy efficiency of the middle unit, so that the original 1 MW design has run a stable power of 2.2 MW. It became the 2 megawatt class.

Dongfangsheng's improvement goal was to reduce weight, and thanks to his efforts, the net weight of the 2 MW VASIMR was reduced to 110 kilograms, compared to Zhang Fulin's VX200K. The power is 200 kilowatts, and the net weight is 150 kilograms, and the power ratio has increased more than ten times.

With the addition of 90 kg of fuel, the total weight of the power part of the "fuse" did not exceed 200 kg. And the fuel is loaded with double the margin. Dongfangsheng also miniaturized the 2 MW VASIMR to create a 100 kW MINI model with a weight of only 12 kg. It is used for auxiliary power and attitude adjustment.

This back and forth did not delay time, but provided valuable experience for the development of the 10 MW VASIMR. Dongfang Sheng slapped his fat chest loudly, saying that 10 megawatts is not a challenge, and the final one will only be 20 megawatts.

The 2-megawatt VASIMR is already enough to propel a 0.5-ton "fuse" to fly to Homo sapiens in 68 days, which has changed the existing space landscape. The 20 MW VASIMR will enable manned space to enter a new era. The goal proposed by Zhang Fulin is that flying to Mars in 39 days will become a reality, and manned space cannot be compared with unmanned spaceflight, after all, it is difficult for human beings to withstand long-term high G force.

The first stage of the "fuse" was launched after 45 days, and the second stage of the "detonator" after 68 days, leaving little time for the "detonator".

The development progress of the 20 MW VASIMR is very ideal, and I don't know if the flywheel battery on Xiaotang's side can be completed as scheduled.

Xiaotang reported: "The sample has come out, and I am doing a low-G stability test to see what the stability interval of the flywheel is. The next step is to find a large high-speed centrifuge, if we want to build it ourselves, we will not have time. Looking for the domestic aerospace department, I don't know if it will cause a series of troubles. ”

"I'll solve this, as long as we are willing to hand in the technology, no matter how much trouble can be solved", Xia Ming said firmly.

Xiaotang also nodded: "Indeed, the overall situation is important, and the flywheel battery is nothing." ”

If anyone else hears this, they will be so angry that they will vomit blood, of course, the general flywheel battery is nothing, but it can achieve a natural loss of only 0.2% per day, a power conversion of 78%, and a highly stable flywheel battery, which is black technology! Not to mention anything else, but the wide application of electric buses is how many billions of dollars per year.

From VASIMR to flywheel batteries, plus gallium nitride solar cells, a series of new technologies of the springboard project, in order to ensure that the country does not cause trouble, Xia Ming is mentally prepared to hand it in. Of course, the actual operation still depends on the food, otherwise the state will be suspicious.

Xiaotang asked again: "In the second stage, how is the probe?" ”

"No problem, it's done overall."

Xia Ming waved his hand, and a strange-looking device appeared between the two.

The total weight of the "Detonator" probe reached 4 tons, and it was equipped with a 500-kilogram landing system, and the main body had only simple detection equipment, and most of the detection functions were placed on the landing system.

The gravity on the surface of Homo sapiens is only 54 times that of Earth, and there is no way to use something like a lunar rover or a Mars rover. The landing system is actually three robots, one modeled after a spider and moving with limbs with grappling hooks. One has only a small VASIMR engine and a few robotic arms to be used as a satellite, while the rest is a robot that completely mimics the human form.

The reason for such a complex design is to take into account the various unforeseen circumstances that may arise when receiving "anchor information" on Homo sapiens. Spiders and satellites are the auxiliaries, and humanoid robots are the core. After all, the human form is the most adaptable. It can also provide reference data for the third phase of the manned program.

"Sister Yi's progress is very fast", Xiaotang exclaimed, the three robots were all designed by Yi Liyan.

Xia Ming praised Xiaotang: "It's a good idea for you to let Lao Yang turn to the direction of gallium nitride semiconductors, using gallium nitride as a circuit, and the reliability of detectors and robots has been improved by an order of magnitude." ”

According to incomplete statistics, circuit problems account for nearly 90% of the failures of satellites, probes, and spacecraft in space. The reason is that the temperature in space is low, the radiation is strong, and the components require special materials and special design, and ordinary electronic components cannot be used in space. Even semiconductor circuits made of special materials. A complex shielding and thermostat system is also required for protection.

If it is replaced with gallium nitride, although it cannot fully adapt to the space environment, that is, it cannot be directly exposed to space, the requirements for the protection system are not as high as those of other semiconductors, which greatly improves the reliability of astronautics.

At present, Yang Bin is still only working manually in the laboratory, because the time is too short, the "fuze" detector does not use new components, but the "detonator" can be enjoyed.

"It's a pity that it's too late to use gallium nitride as a chip. Intelligence and computing systems are still weak", Xiaotang regretted: "I don't know if there will be a chance in the future." ”

"There must be", Xia Ming encouraged, and the two looked at each other in the AR vision. The feelings in my heart were churning, but I was afraid that it would affect my work, so I didn't show it.

Just as he was about to disconnect the communication, Xiaotang thought of something. Ask again: "After the flywheel battery is dealt with, have you thought about the third stage of energy problems?" ”

Xia Ming shrugged helplessly: "For now." There is only nuclear energy on this road, and it is not a nuclear battery, it must be a space reactor. ”

The first stage is to throw a 500-kilogram probe next to Homo sapiens, the second stage is 4 tons, and the third stage is 20 tons of space station plus 10 tons of spacecraft, so that 10-ton things can fly nearly 500 million kilometers, and the energy required is no longer something that batteries can solve. It can only be used in small nuclear reactors that are used in space, also called space reactors.

Xia Ming said: "I have asked Vasily to go back to Russia to contact, the third stage is no longer enough to rely on the strength of Huaxia, and the launch has to find Musk to launch the space station with his Falcon rocket." The space pile, Huaxia has just started, and the Yankees will definitely not use it for us, so we can only take the space pile of Maozi and transform it. ”

"It's just just in case, it's best not to have the third stage," Xiaotang sighed.

Of course, the third stage is still only on paper, after all, the "detonator" has already sent the robot over, and if the robot can't do it, it doesn't make much difference to send people over. It's just that this matter is very important, and you have to prepare a backhand.

Xiaotang smiled again: "The first phase is done, and the second phase is going well, I think you can take Xiao Huan home in a few days." You haven't been home for a year and a half, and you won't be able to go back during the Spring Festival next year. ”

Go home, go home, why do you have to pull Xiao Huan to talk about things?

Xia Ming now somewhat understands Xiaotang's attitude towards Xiao Huan, which makes him both comfortable and entangled, and said with a smile: "That's not good, when you go back, your parents have to treat Xiao Huan as a daughter-in-law, and you will listen to the corner at night, are you happy?" ”

"It doesn't matter", Xiaotang's eyes drifted to the side.

"It's better for you to go back with me", Xia Ming said seriously.

"Don't worry about me", Xiaotang looked at him squarely, and said seriously: "You know, we will go to the end together." No matter how far or near that day is, I will be with you. ”

Xia Ming was very moved, but he was a little unwilling, he didn't want to have only Plato's spiritual love: "But ......"

"Don't be dissatisfied, boy", Xiaotang shook his fingers, chuckled, and cut off the communication.

As a result, Xia Ming still didn't go back, but only occasionally met with his parents in the AR scene.

The parents saw Xia Ming's virtual image, and said that this was not bad, no different from seeing a real person, but Xia Ming could see that they were trying their best to hide their loss.

Xia Ming mentioned to his parents before that he wanted them to move to Yandu. But the parents felt that Yandu was such a metropolis, they must be very unaccustomed to it, and they still stayed comfortable and leisurely in a small county town, so they didn't agree.

Xia Ming didn't insist either, and now he has influence. I didn't have much to worry about money, so I changed my parents to a better house in the local area, and took care of them in terms of security, medical and health care. has Xia Ming's fame, as well as some investments made by Xia Ming in his hometown, and the local government also takes care of Xia Ming's parents, which makes him feel a little more at ease.

It's just that when his parents asked who his daughter-in-law was, Xia Ming was still a little embarrassed.

He himself insisted that it was Xiaotang, but Xiaotang was too busy and rarely showed up, but Xiao Huan often met his parents with him. is so affectionate with him, uncles and aunts call so sweetly. It's hard to explain.

Mother said that it is better for Xiao Huan, and it is better to have a big breast-big fart-stock stock. Although her temper is delicate, she is very well-behaved in front of Xia Ming and them. Although the appearance is a little too pretty, it is from a military family, and it should not be indiscriminate.

The father retorted that it is still a high-level intellectual like Xiaotang who is worthy of Xia Ming, and the husband and wife must have a common language in order to last for a long time. As a result, we were sprayed by our mother, and the two of us have no common language, how can we still make do with it until now? Or maybe you're already dissatisfied. Looking for another one with a common language?

The father had no choice but to change the topic, saying that although Xiaotang was a little thinner, his appearance was not bad, and his temperament was better.

The mother did not speak. When I saw Xiao Huan again, I talked to Xiao Huan about the benefits of breastfeeding. When I heard how to eat to raise milk, how to squeeze when it rose, the two men couldn't hide. Neither is listening.

Xiao Huan listened to it with relish, and even said directly from the brain: "Ah Ming doesn't usually use his hands, I think I can still grow a size." ”

This made it even more difficult for Xia Ming to explain to his parents. That night, Xiao Huan was still close to him, thinking that he was asleep, so he quietly pulled his hand into his arms and started a massage exercise. Xia Ming pushed the boat along the water, pretending not to know, but it felt too comfortable, he couldn't help but rub it a few more times, and Xiao Huan was so ashamed that he pretended not to know......

In 2019, in a mixture of busyness, anticipation and apprehension, and a strange thoughts, it passed.

When Xia Ming came to the Panxi launch site and waited for the launch the next day, he finally felt that it was D131, March 2020, and human society had undergone obvious changes under his promotion.

In the control center of the launch site, AR glasses are already standard, and although the console is still a screen, many people are gesturing in the air. Of course, their AR glasses, as well as the connected systems and intelligence, are physically isolated from the Internet.

"Your Excellency, I'm so honored to meet you!"

The director of the control center took Xia Ming's hand, and his enthusiasm was overflowing, and the title of "examiner" also came from Xia Ming's deeper influence on human beings.

The official name of this organization is the "Global EI Joint Management Committee", or GEUM, which was announced at the end of December last year at the Global EI Coordination Meeting held in Yandu. The governing board is composed of representatives of governments and companies, as well as representatives of various academic institutions related to artificial intelligence.

The purpose of the committee is the "Xiangshan Declaration" issued at the meeting, which confirms the concept of EI as the development direction of artificial intelligence and establishes the "Three Laws of EI" as the core principle of global EI management.

Although the meeting avoided the discussion of the concept of whether the core will of EI can be monitored, and pushed the issue to the legal level of various countries, the three laws of EI and the EI technical architecture of IEI have created a huge conceptual and technical threshold for the formulation of such laws.

The GEUM elected its first governing body, and Xia Ming was one of the seven co-executive chairmen, a position that is not specific to specific matters. Their importance is only highlighted when major decisions or decisions need to be made. In general, the GEUM is resolved by the Managing Executive Chairman and the Executive Committee below.

Because the co-executive chairs have the right to vote on the adjudication of EI, which has become the engine of the scientific community, the seven individuals are referred to by the scientific community as "scrutinizers." Although Xia Ming is the youngest among them, he has the greatest right to speak.

Xia Ming was also very pleased to see that the non-governmental organizations they had set up by Liu seemed to be on the rise, and millions of core members were vigilant about the application of EI through their decentralized "monitoring GEI", just like the civil patrol team. Many detailed problems have been discovered, such as the misleading core will of interactive intelligence, the real-time reliability of authentication, etc., all of which further ensure the security of EI.

It's just that the name of their organization fully reveals the bad taste of the science nerds, and it is called the "Human Revolution Alliance", which is right, referred to as the Human Revolution Federation......

It is precisely this name that makes the government and commercial organizations not pay much attention to it, and at a glance, they know that these people are just a group of two-dimensional houses, and there will be no threat.

This time, Xia Ming came to Panxi, and stopped in Hanxia to chat with Xing Tianmin, who was scheduled to be promoted to assistant to the mayor.

Seeing that the development of EI in Hanxia City has surpassed Yandu and Haidu, Xia Ming was really a little surprised, he didn't expect Xing Tianmin to have such a strong execution.

Xing Tianmin said that he made every effort to tie EI to the future of his boss to achieve such an achievement, and for this he had to make compromises in some aspects.

For example, GEI, which is in trial operation, has added a lot of manual intervention mechanisms to meet the government's flexible needs for social control. Although many people believe that this is a widening of inequality among social groups, ordinary citizens are still immersed in the dramatic changes that EI has brought to transportation, law and order, and administrative services, and do not care that many bureaucratic traces of the past continue to be preserved.

Xia Ming also understands Xing Tianmin's situation, the national situation is like this, and the change of technology to society is not unilateral. Technology is not only changing society, but society is also folding the waist of technology. No change will be, nor should it be, stress-free. What it will look like in the future depends on the continued game on both sides.

It's just that these are no longer Xia Ming's concerns, and now his attention is on the rocket on the big screen in the control center. In the fairing at the top is the "Fuze" probe, which will go to Homo sapiens tomorrow to touch the fate of mankind.

The director said half-jokingly and half-complainingly: "Aerospace is a delicate technology, slow work produces meticulous work, you see, when we launch a satellite, we have to adjust the orbit many times." Hello guys, flying to Zhishen Star in 68 days, what's the difference between this and throwing stones? ”

Xia Ming could understand the director's mood, the aerospace technology that he had been immersed in for most of his life was about to become obsolete, he was like a traditional craftsman, facing the new era, he had to watch the past craftsmanship lost.

Xia Ming reached a tacit understanding with the aerospace system through the military, and the aerospace department not only gave the green light to Kunpeng in terms of policy for the sake of gallium nitride solar cells and VASIMR, but also gave full support to the "fuze", "detonator", and "singularity" (the third phase code) that may exist in the future, and gave the highest priority to ensuring their launch schedule.

So the director not only knows about the 2 megawatt VASIMR, but also knows that the 20 megawatt has been successfully developed and will be delivered here in a while. With VASIMR, the aerospace industry has to compare time, gravity and orbit, and it will be relaxed to the point of calculation.

If in the past, aerospace was about flying kites, which required extremely fine technology and extreme tenacity and patience, then after having VASIMR, at least in deep space, aerospace activities have evolved to the stage of manipulating model aircraft.

The director lamented: "It's too barbaric, alas......"

Xia Ming said with a smile: "As the saying goes, as long as the power is enough, the bricks can also fly into the sky." We are, as long as the horsepower is high, planetary exploration is throwing stones. ”

As he spoke, he was thinking, hoping that this stone would knock on the door of the unknown. (To be continued.) )

PS: Today, this big chapter will officially open the road to the sea of stars!