A letter of more than 3,000 words set off a lot of waves in this small conference room on Chang'an Road.

After more than a dozen copies of the original were distributed to everyone in the conference room, the original quarrelsome meeting gradually turned to support the development of the aerospace project.

Not only because of the breakthrough in miniaturized controllable nuclear fusion technology and aerospace engines, but also because of the opinion of the man who wrote the letter.

As a strategic national treasure scholar who led China to complete controllable nuclear fusion technology and completely rewrote the history of energy and the world pattern, his opinions have been recognized by everyone even if it is in the direction of aerospace technology.

In addition to the rest, the mere item of the letter "On the importance of space technology in the field of national defense" is enough to make the high-level people sitting in this conference room today change their opinions and views.

After all, in this world, there is nothing more important than the size of a fist.

The fact that the United States was able to run rampant in the world after World War II relied not only on its own developed economy and oil-dollar system, but also on its powerful military power, as well as powerful aircraft carrier fleets and military bases that ran rampant around the world.

No matter how developed the economy is, there is not enough strength to protect yourself, and it is also a three-year-old child walking on the streets with gold bricks, and he may be robbed at any time.

Just like a certain peninsula country, the chaebol seems to be majestic, but the shares and profits behind it have long been taken away, and most of the country is working for others to develop.

On the other side, Jinling.

After sending his letter to the capital, Xu Chuan revised his work arrangement and focused on the research of aerospace engines.

Although Weng Yunzong, the director of the Aerospace Research Institute, was not the most original member of the Xinghai Research Institute, he was hired and transferred from outside.

But I have to say that he once held a core position in the R&D department of the Chuandu Aerospace Research Institute, and he is indeed very capable, and he has not lived up to Xu Chuan's expectations.

After giving the construction ideas and design ideas of the aerospace engine, Weng Yunzong led the members of the Aerospace Research Institute not only to complete the overall detailed design, but also to optimize part of the structure of the engine by using his original relationship with the Chuandu Aerospace Research Institute.

At this point, the design and assembly of the aerospace engine no longer need Xu Chuan to worry about.

However, in the follow-up design of the space shuttle, the Xinghai Research Institute is still facing a great problem.

The design and development of the aerospace engine, on the basis of the perfect theory and direction provided by you, Academician Xu, I can barely lead the team to complete. But the design of the space shuttle. IMHO, I can't really do that. ”

In the office, Weng Yunzong shook his head with a wry smile.

This person who came to communicate with him about the design and manufacture of the space shuttle can be said to be a bull's head and a horse's mouth.

It is true that he came out of the Chuandu space base, but he specializes in the field of aerospace engines.

The space shuttle and the space engine are two completely different fields.

To be precise, the latter is only a part of the former.

A full-fledged space shuttle, covering too many areas.

Such as aircraft design, propulsion technology, navigation and control systems, communication systems, sensors and instruments, materials and manufacturing technology, flight safety and research, space exploration. And so on and so forth.

These are all broad categories, and each of these subcategories can be subdivided into at least a dozen different areas when presented separately.

For example, the design of the space shuttle includes size, shape, weight, range, load capacity, as well as the materials and technologies used.

It is, without exaggeration, much more complex than controlled nuclear fusion technology.

Hearing this answer, Xu Chuan also shook his head helplessly.

He couldn't help it.

Although he can lead the development of controlled nuclear fusion technology, the design and manufacture of space shuttles is a completely unfamiliar field.

This is not a matter of the fusion reactor blowing up the loss of money and property, and if something happens to the space shuttle, it is a major threat to the lives of astronauts.

The loss of equipment funds or anything is not a matter in his opinion.

But when it comes to the safety of astronauts, it is necessary to be foolproof.

Human lives matter.

Sitting on the opposite side of the sofa, Weng Yunzong thought for a while and then said, "But when it comes to the research and design of the space shuttle, I have a suitable candidate. ”

"Who?"

Xu Chuan glanced up at Weng Yunzong and asked with some surprise.

To be honest, there is no domestic experience in the field of space shuttle research, and it can even be said that this development branch line has not been opened from beginning to end.

This is also the reason why he is worried, he can't find the right person to support the overall situation.

Weng Yunzong: "Academician Chang Huaxiang of Beihang University. ”

In the 80s of the last century, because of the competition between Misu and the two sides in the field of space and aviation, Huaguo also envisioned the development of space shuttle technology.

For example, in 1986, under the organization of the former Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the "Aerospace Technology Expert Committee" was established in the aerospace field, which conducted a comprehensive demonstration of the two theme projects "Large Carrier Rocket and Space-to-Earth Shuttle Transportation System" and "Manned Space Station System and Its Application", as well as the overall plan and specific approach of manned space technology.

At the beginning of the project planning, the industry provided a total of 11 solutions, and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense determined 5 of them as alternatives.

They are multi-purpose spacecraft, small space shuttles without main power, space shuttles with main power, rocket planes, and space planes.

In the five projects, almost all of them were related to the mainstream at that time, that is, the space shuttle developed when the United States and the Red Soviet Union competed.

After all, at that time, whether it was the successful first flight of the "Columbia" space shuttle in the United States or the successful first flight of the "Buran" space shuttle in Hongsu, it could be said that it was the most dazzling and glorious era of the space shuttle.

But later, after careful consideration, the relevant plan asked Mr. Qian, who was retired to the second line at that time, to take a look at it and do it.

After getting the project plan, Mr. Qian carefully reviewed the relevant plan, and finally wrote a sentence on the reply document.

"The spaceship case should also be reported to the central authorities."

This sentence refers to the "Challenger" space shuttle that disintegrated after the explosion in the United States.

On January 28, 1986, the whole process of the launch of the "Challenger" was broadcast live on television in the United States, and 73 seconds after the Challenger successfully lifted off, the space shuttle exploded violently in the sky, and then began to disintegrate.

This accident, in which all seven astronauts were killed, became a well-known 'spaceship case' at the time.

Mr. Qian's words completely changed the development of China's aerospace history at that time.

After synthesizing the opinions of the old gentleman and the nature of the shuttle itself, the follow-up high-level completely canceled the development of the shuttle.

I have to say that at that time, Mr. Qian had a very long-term vision.

At a time when the two countries were competing to build a space shuttle, he already saw the future of the space shuttle.

As it turned out, his views were definitely the most profound and sharp of his time.

After entering the 21st century, the once invincible space shuttle has gradually died down with accidents one after another.

On July 8, 2011, Atlantis flew the STS-135 mission, which was the curtain call of the 30-year space shuttle era.

After that, the "Space Shuttle Era" officially ended.

In just 30 years, from the glorious development to the end, the space shuttle has crossed the most brilliant and brief glory in the history of mankind.

Academician Chang Huaxiang, recommended by Weng Yunzong, was an expert who participated in the "Aerospace Technology Expert Committee" at the beginning.

Although he only entered this planning project as an ordinary researcher, he has accumulated considerable research experience in this field since then, and now he is a professor at Beihang University.

Through Zheng Hai's channels, Xu Chuan contacted the old academician, who is almost seventy years old this year.

When the old academician heard that he planned to build a space shuttle, he immediately agreed to his request, and rushed to Jinling directly the next day by buying a ticket.

In the Xinghai Research Institute, Xu Chuan personally greeted the bigwig in the aerospace field, and the two chatted for a long time in the office, and the idea hit it off.

Taking a sip of the tea in the cup, Academician Chang Huaxiang, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but sigh and said: "I didn't expect to see the day of the recovery of the space shuttle in my lifetime." ”

"To be honest, I have always felt that there is no problem with the idea of the space shuttle itself, and it was not possible to do it at the beginning, not because this path was wrong, but because the limitations of the times and science and technology limited its development."

Xu Chuan smiled and nodded, this academician Chang's opinion was basically the same as his.

In his opinion, there is actually only one core reason for the end of the space shuttle.

That is, the productivity is not strong enough, so that the scope of application of these technologies is too narrow, resulting in a series of social resources being occupied.

If you had to reply with the simplest answer, it would be two words: "Too expensive!" ”

If there were a few more words, it would be: "It's too expensive." ”

In this respect, the Space Shuttle was a failure at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.

It has failed to live up to the promise of reducing launch costs with reusability when it was originally designed.

According to some data, considering inflation factors, from 1981 ~ 2011, the space shuttle project cost a total of 196 billion meters of gold in 30 years, so that the cost of each launch is as high as 1.4 billion meters.

Although this includes one-time costs such as design and manufacturing, NASA has clearly mentioned in a report that in 2011, for example, the direct cost of a single launch of the space shuttle is about 450 million meters, which is still ridiculously expensive!

At that time, competition in the field of space, the construction of the space shuttle and the International Space Station completely occupied the bulk of NASA's space agency budget.

Just as the war on terror, which lasted for a whole decade, dragged down the layout of the United States in the Middle East, these two gold-swallowing behemoths also dragged NASA to death at that time.

These two fields made it difficult for NASA, a space agency with strong scientific research strength, to spare energy and resources to develop the next generation of new technologies, which indirectly led to the end of the space shuttle and the space field.

However, the times are developing, and science and technology are also innovating from generation to generation.

At that time, Mr. Qian probably would not have imagined that in the next two or three decades, the development of society and science and technology would change so rapidly.

The time has come for the space shuttle, which had already been discharged, to go out of the mountains again.

Breakthroughs in miniaturized and controllable nuclear fusion technology and aerospace engine technology have enabled the space shuttle, which originally needed to be powered by fossil fuels, to the field of electromagnetic pushing, which can greatly reduce the cost and weight of its occurrence.

It is perfectly fine to replace today's launch vehicles as a new route of space development.

Today, SpaceX's Falcon series of rockets is as evidenced by the Dragon spacecraft.

The reason for the failure of the space shuttle in the last century was that the materials, production processes, and technologies in the early years were not up to standard.

On the face of it, it does make it recyclable.

But in reality, there is a limit to what can really be recycled.

For example, the external fuel tank cannot be reused, and the solid booster can only be reused in name, but in fact, because it will fall into the sea, it is basically equivalent to scrapping.

In addition, the use of fossil fuels is also one of the main reasons for the restrictions on the space shuttle.

The nature and energy efficiency of fossil fuels are destined to have too low specific impulse, which means that it needs to carry a large amount of fuel and external assistance to complete the launch and take-off process.

This can be seen in the Saturn V launch vehicle, which consumes more than 3,000 tons of fossil fuel to send itself into orbit.

However, this point has been solved after the breakthrough in the miniaturization of controlled nuclear fusion technology.

With the efficiency of nuclear fusion for energy use, the energy that can be generated by a ton of deuterium-tritium fusion raw materials is enough for the space shuttle to squander.

As for the working fluid, if we say that with the traditional electric propulsion system, whether it is electric heating or electromagnetic, to be able to propelle the space shuttle to the point of outer space, at least dozens of tons of working fluid are needed.

However, for the aerospace engine, which purifies and ionizes nitrogen and oxygen in the air as the main working fluid, in the conventional orbit, it does not need to use the working fluid carried by the space shuttle itself, and can obtain it from the outside world.

This means that if you only need to send the space shuttle into space, you only need to carry a working fluid that can meet the needs of the lower ionosphere to outer space.

Of course, in fact, the working fluid required to complete a manned space flight cannot be only that.

For Xu Chuan, accelerating the space shuttle into outer space is just the most basic goal.

What he wants to do is use the efficient energy efficiency of controlled nuclear fusion technology to send the space shuttle to the moon and Mars at a super-high speed!