After finding the information left behind by Goddard, the researchers of the Interstellar Technology Company finally had something to train. By studying these materials, they quickly have a good idea of what they want to study in the future. It's no longer like it was flying like a headless fly at the beginning.

During this period, Hughes called Alex several times, and each time he asked about the company. He was so concerned about this matter that he sometimes called him in the middle of the night. This annoyed Alex so much that he even unplugged the phone line to calm down.

"Hey boy! How dare you unplug the phone line! After Hughes got on the phone, he kept yelling.

After Hughes's anger was over, Alex said slowly, "First of all, we are a cooperative relationship. You and I are both partners, please don't talk to me in the tone of a subordinate. Secondly, the company is now under my control, and the development direction has been determined with you, but you don't need to ask about the details. Also, I don't like to be disturbed at night, and if you want to call later, please call when someone else is not sleeping. ”

Hughes was silent for a moment, and after a few minutes, a voice said, "Okay! You are right. So let's talk calmly, how is the Interstellar Technique Company being formed now? I feel like you're having some problems, and if there's anything going on, you can tell me. ”

Alex thought for a moment, then told Hughes about his difficulties, and he mentioned the rocket experts he knew, von Braun and Korolev, on the phone. He believes that if he can find one of these two rocket experts, it will be enough to preside over the company's research.

"Von Braun?" Hughes's shrill voice sounded even more peculiar on the phone, and he repeatedly asked for the name.

"Yes, von Bryan, who is said to have been a rocket expert for the Nazis. It's a pity we can't get such a person. ”

Hughes laughed on the other end of the phone, and he said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier!" What kind of person you need, just list it and call me to find it. ”

Alex was slightly taken aback, and he asked, "Do you have a way to get this former Nazi here?" Won't there be any problems? ”

"You don't have to worry about that! You have to know that in this country, money is power! As long as you have the money, there's nothing you can't buy, man! There's nothing you can't buy!. ”

A few days later, Alex met with the legendary former Nazi rocket expert, von Brian. This is a typical German, with haughty eyes and an aristocratic appearance, and when he is conversed, it is as if he were facing a well-bred gentleman, and it is difficult to imagine that he is a former Nazi. He is fluent in many languages, quick thinking, and meticulous in research.

Von Bryan came with him, along with his crew. And, of course, there are agents sent by the United States to spy on them.

"This is the von Braun you want, and it's easier than I thought it would be." Hughes said to Alex on the phone.

From von Braun's mouth, Alex realized that he had been captured by the United States for almost ten years at this time, but the U.S. government has never attached importance to the research of space technology. The U.S. government transferred von Bryan and his crew to a massive military facility in Texas.

At that base, they trained military, factories and universities in the design and manufacture of rockets and missiles. They even assisted in the recovery of a V2 rocket shipped back from Germany at the White Sands missile range in New Mexico. They also began to work on rockets for the military and research institutes.

In the beginning, they were not allowed to leave the base at will, except with military approval. After several years, the surrendered Germans slowly gained the trust of the Americans, and von Bryan even returned to Germany on March 1, 1947. He went back to marry his cousin, and the two were married at a Lutheran church in Landshut .

After getting married, von Bryan found that Americans were paying less and less attention to his rocket skills. Some in the military believe that they have mastered German rocket technology and that there is no need to keep these former Nazis behind. These unstable factors should be eliminated to avoid leaving hidden dangers.

In order to gain support, von Bryan kept talking to relevant people and proposing more advanced and ambitious goals, trying to attract the attention of the US government. Unfortunately, the Americans were not too interested in Braun's views, and rocket development was only a step-by-step. In order to gain trust, Brian applied for American citizenship, and until early 1955, von Bryan had not become a naturalized American. His application has not been approved.

Braun repeated his previous rocket business in Germany, directly involved in the development of military rockets, and the idea of rockets becoming the main force of future space exploration was not far from him. However, the search for official support has come to naught. So he turned to promoting his ideas to the public.

The May 14, 1950, The Huntsville Times report "Dr. von Braun says rockets can fly to the moon" marked the beginning of Braun's efforts. Braun first published his vision of a manned space station in 1952 in the Collier's Weekly series "Mankind Is on the Eve of the Conquest of Space", which was illustrated by space artist Chesley Bonestell and made it widely circulated.

Just then, something terrible happened, and the media dug up Braun's inglorious years as a Nazi SS soldier and participated in the selection of slave laborers to build V2 rockets. Some media outlets have even sharply suggested that it would be a betrayal of the people to let such a former Nazi take up a heavy position in a research institute in the US military.

"Have we forgotten the tragic deaths of the American servicemen who died under the weapons developed by Nazi scientists? Who allowed Nazi scientists to enjoy American life unharmed! Who betrayed us? "Some tabloids who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic are hyped up.

Blair found that government officials who had previously been interested in his rocket skills shunned him. Disheartened, he stayed at home for a long time, and at this time he was invited by the Interstellar Technology Company. He tentatively reported the invitation of this private company to see if the U.S. government took him seriously.

"Dr. Blair, you should accept this invitation." An official told him this and hinted that he had offered to leave the U.S. military's research institute.

Blair was taken aback, and when he got home, he thought about it and finally accepted the offer. It wasn't until he came to the Interstellar Technique Company that he realized that this company was established by the famous Howard Hughes.

When Blair left the military's institute, his application for naturalization was quickly approved. For a free American, the government will not restrict his whereabouts, but given his previous status, the government intelligence agencies still sent agents to "protect"!

Seeing this famous rocket expert in later generations being poached, Alex was shocked by Hughes's power. He really didn't think that Hughes had the energy to influence the U.S. government and get out former Nazis like von Bryan. It is important to know that the development of US aerospace technology was able to succeed precisely under the leadership of Brian. Whether it is a satellite launch or a moon landing plan, without Brian, the United States would not know how many streets away from the Soviet Union.

Alex is unaware of the money and power transactions involved. However, he never realized that the difference between the United States and the Red Continent is that money is power here. At the same time, the US Government also hopes that someone will stand up and help them research rockets and space technology.

In this country, the relationship between the private sector and the government is intricate, and there are many sensitive technologies that are developed by the private sector and then procured by the government through state actions. In this way, private enterprises get the benefits, and the state does not have to bear too much burden. In some cases, the state gives money to private companies to research specific weapons.

During World War II, Hughes Airlines received $56 million in research funding and ultimately failed to deliver a working aircraft on time. Other companies, such as Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop and Boeing, received a total of $800 million, and all of them only made some planes that could not fly. There are also more than 6 billion in arms, which have never been delivered.

If this kind of thing happened in the Red Continent and was known by the people, it would definitely be regarded as a traitor. But in the United States, this kind of thing is commonplace, and people are used to it.

Brian's face was grim, and he nodded when others introduced Alex. He knew who the blonde boy in front of him was, he had seen the movie, and he had heard the legend of the IQ test. It's just that he doesn't know why this teenager will be the head of this company. He thought he was an older white American.

Could it be that young Americans are really that good, so they can beat us? Brian thought to himself.

Under Alex's introduction, Brian became more and more surprised the more he listened, and he began to look at the young man in front of him. From Goddard's data, he saw a technique that was more advanced than the V2 rocket, even more powerful than what he was currently studying. As for Alex's words, they also gave him countless inspirations and inspired his ambition that had been quiet for a long time.

But when he heard that the company currently only has a few million dollars in funding, he immediately felt incredulous: "Such a small amount of money is only enough for us to do a few rocket launch experiments." It is possible to develop a rocket that flies even higher! ”

Alex shook his head with a smile and said, "It's only temporary, but I'm afraid I'll have this amount of money in the past few years." As for the rocket launch experiment, I don't think it should be launched unless it is necessary. We are a private enterprise, not a government research institute, and if we build too many rockets, it will make people feel uneasy. ”

After hearing this, Brian felt that Alex was not talking in his sleep, and he asked rhetorically: "If we don't launch the rocket, we know so well whether our research direction is right, and can the result be successful?" ”

Alex was prepared for this question, and he led Brian to a large house where machines were placed.

"Computer?" Brian also had some knowledge of transistor computers that had recently appeared, having seen it in a scientific journal.

This is a computer developed by Carpenter, and this is a computer that has been improved many times. Seymour Clay first took the original computer and reformed his hands, and these are the results of his practice, and now he is developing a new computer.

"These computers are the fastest in the world today! You can use this to do a computational simulation first! When the conditions are ripe, you can build a physical object to verify your design. Alex said to Brian, who was looking at Brian, whose eyes were wide.

"Simulation? However, we don't have a physical object to refer to now, and I think we need to make a physical object first to really develop the rocket you need. Brian is a bit resistant to computer simulations, believing that they are all conclusions on paper and that you have to do it yourself to know what's right and what's wrong.

Alex looked at Brian and wondered if it was because of this that Brian fell behind in the rocket race with Korolev. After all, both the right and the wrong have been tried, and it takes too much time and effort. However, doing this like Brian is good for the accumulation of skills.

On the Soviet side, all rocket skills relied on Korolev alone, and once Korolev died, the Soviet Union's aerospace skills plummeted. On the other hand, the United States is different. When Brian was there, he did a lot of experiments, accumulated a lot of experience and skills, and even if he left NASA as early as 1972, it would not have a big impact.

Unfortunately, Alex is not in the U.S. government, and he doesn't have that much time and money for Brian and his assistants to explore. "You don't need a physical rocket, you just need to simulate it based on the rocket model and the relevant parameters I gave," he said. You first simulate it on the computer, and when everything is safe, we first build a small rocket to verify the simulation results, and then we start to build a real rocket for use. ”

Brian understands that it's all about the difference between business and government. He appreciated Alex's rough rocket scheme, but he wasn't very sure. But in the face of this situation, he also had to go all the way to the dark.

After seeing Alex get into the car, Blair looked back and saw that only the researchers of Interstellar Technology were left. Most of the people here are recent college graduates, and very few have done research work. Only the team he brought himself, those assistants were his team.

With only a few million dollars and these people, will he be able to realize his dream? Brian is full of anxiety about the future, but he feels free. When he was at the military's base, he had to apply to Lu Shang for everything he did. Here, he's the boss, and he's going to listen to everyone but Hughes and Alex.

"Two more years, two more years will be the age of astronautics." When Alex got into the car, he whispered to himself.

Two years later, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first human satellite into space, he said. Since then, the history of the US-Soviet aerospace hegemony has begun.

Alex and Hughes were bent on promoting American space development, but before the Soviet Union launched satellites, Americans still had no interest in outer space. They are not even interested in other countries on the planet, let alone the universe.

Faced with this situation, the two of them were powerless, so they had to silently develop their rocket skills and satellite skills. At first, they didn't think of building a satellite, and it was only after Alex bought a television station that the idea came to them.