For Xu Chuan, it is not a matter of paying some money to complete a scientific research project by himself.

He doesn't have much pursuit of material life, even if the money in his bank card has exceeded ten figures, and the cash is more than 99% of the domestic enterprises, he doesn't feel too rich.

Aside from the things arranged for him above, there is not much difference from ordinary people. I eat in the cafeteria when I go to work, and if I don't go to work and stay at home, I will cook two dishes casually by the housekeeping aunt.

For him, the cost of living is not enough money for a year.

After chatting with Academician Chang Huaxiang about the development and deployment of the space shuttle and manned spaceflight, Xu Chuan refocused his time on the improvement and optimization of small fusion reactors.

The technology and engineering are controlled by this experienced old-timer, which is still reassuring.

By the way, it is worth mentioning that after NASA announced its plan to return to the moon, although China did not respond to it with a certificate, including the answers on some diplomatic channels, it was also decent, but the relevant actions had the meaning of wanting to actively participate in the competition in the space field.

For example, after NASA announced the 'Artemis Program', the two major production groups of aerospace science and technology and aerospace science and industry have both announced increased investment in the aerospace field, with funds as high as 10 billion.

The space agency also released the corresponding report, and its reporter said that the Tiangong space station will be completed within this year, and six astronauts will work and live in orbit at the same time.

This means that the Tiangong space station will be the first space station in the world to be built by a single country in this century.

In addition, the planning and design of the "Long March 9" super-heavy rocket, the Long March 5G launch vehicle, and the completion of the 50-ton low-earth orbit delivery capacity project within five years, etc., all mean that Huaguo has followed up in the aerospace field.

In mid-October, after the end of the lunar cold dew solar term, the aerospace research institute led by Weng Yunzong came to the first good news.

The assembly of the aerospace engine is done!

The first electromagnetic thruster with high power and thrust that is theoretically comparable to a large turbojet engine was officially launched in the Xinghai Research Institute.

After receiving this news, Xu Chuan put down his work and quickly rushed to the Aerospace Research Institute.

In the experimental base near the back mountain of Qixia Mountain, in a pre-divided aerospace engine test area, Xu Chuan saw the assembled aerospace engine.

It is a device that looks somewhat similar to the Poseidon Trident in shape, with a body length of nearly ten meters and a dense propulsion structure at the tail, each of which is the size of a sea bowl, and when assembled, it looks somewhat like a honeycomb from the back.

Numerous engineers and researchers are putting the finishing touches on it.

"How's it going?"

Walking quickly to Weng Yunzong, who was presiding over the work, Xu Chuan asked.

Weng Yunzong replied quickly and nervously: "The assembly has been completed, and the final inspection before the test is being done, if there is no accident, the first test can be started in an hour." ”

Xu Chuan nodded, squinted his eyes at the aerospace engine that was mounted on the test site, and took two deep breaths to calm his mind.

Although he did not participate much in the R&D, design and assembly of this aerospace engine, the core idea was provided by him, and it can be said that this is the aerospace engine designed by him.

Whether this engine can carry his dream to achieve his goals in the coming time depends on today's test.

If the parameters of the indicators can achieve the results of the simulation test, there is no doubt that it will completely change the history of aerospace!

If it can't be done, I'm afraid that the space agency's support for electric propulsion will not be so strong in the future.

After all, compared to the more mature and stable traditional fossil fuel propulsion, electric propulsion is ultimately unknown.

An hour is not a long time, and after receiving the news, Academician Chang Huaxiang and Wen Yuanhang, who are in charge of the aerospace project, also rushed over.

The unrelated personnel have already been cleared out of the test site, and as the inspectors under the elevated highway began to complete their work, the engine that determines the direction of space is also ready to start for the first time.

"Academician Xu, are you here to command?"

Standing in the improvised outdoor control room, Weng Yunzong asked Xu Chuan, who was standing aside.

"No, you can do it."

Xu Chuan shook his head and declined the invitation.

Although he completed the core idea of the aerospace engine, he did not participate much in the research and development, design and assembly.

What's more, he is not clear about the performance parameters of the space engine, as well as the projects that need to be completed for testing, and it is not his philosophy for a layman to interfere in the work of an insider.

Hearing this, Weng Yunzong took a deep breath, nodded with a serious expression, and said, "Okay, then I'm welcome." ”

Not only Xu Chuan, but he is also looking forward to the moment when the works completed by himself will show themselves.

After glancing at the time, Weng Yunzong picked up the pager in his hand and said calmly: "Each unit reports the situation!" ”

"The energy group is ready, and the load on the grid can be reliably adjusted!"

"The motor set is ready, the vertical stability test is complete!"

"The coil bank adjustment is complete, and the superconducting state is stable!"

“.”

After listening to the reports one by one, Weng Yunzong took a deep breath and gave an order: "Please note that the first start and test of the aerospace engine will start now!" ”

With the issuance of the order, responsible for various tasks, the personnel of each group of control rooms quickly got busy.

The energy team closed the power switch and started to supply power to the engine in the sky from the line opened next door.

The core area of the engine, which consists of improved superconductors, strong magnetic regulators, electrode ion generators, etc., quickly began to work.

A powerful magnetic field is rapidly generated internally and then controlled by a mathematical model.

Along with the initial start of the engine, a low humming sound was transmitted from the sky engine not far away.

Standing in the control room, after hearing this low humming sound, Xu Chuan obviously felt something uncomfortable.

On the side, Weng Yunzong quickly explained: "This is a kind of high-frequency oscillation that will occur when the electrode ion generator inside the aerospace engine starts to operate. However, it does not last long and does not cause harm to the human body. ”

As he explained, the tickling resonance quickly disappeared as the words fell, lasting less than ten seconds.

Nodding, Xu Chuan didn't speak, since it is a normal phenomenon and there is no harm to the human body, then don't care.

On the console, with the influx of huge electrical energy, the superconducting coil inside the aerospace engine constantly mediates the magnetic field inside the engine.

[The steady-state magnetic field strength is up to standard!] 】

[The fine-tuning magnetic field has been corrected according to the instructions, and the engine magnetic field has reached the target requirements!] 】

【. 】

【Working fluid injection! 】

[The electrode ion generator has been activated, and the 'ion probe' has detected the electric field!] 】

【. 】

The sound of one report after another continued to sound in this control room, and every successful report would make everyone's faces flash a trace of joy, but then, it was quickly replaced by a solemn and tense atmosphere.

Everyone held their breath and looked at the indicators on the general monitoring screen with a solemn face.

Standing in front of the console, Xu Chuan looked intently at the monitoring screen to capture the clarity of the equipment, and he could see the situation of the vector propulsion unit at the end of the engine.

Standing at the forefront, Weng Yunzong, who presided over the test work, completed all the preparations little by little, and then, a new order was issued.

[Start the engine!] 】

As the command was given, the temperature monitor data deployed near the vector propulsion unit at the end of the engine began to climb rapidly, and the massive conical tail of the three-digit propulsion unit distorted the nearby air like a scorching flame.

A few seconds later, a reddish cone-like tail flame resembles a flame-like tail flame behind each vector propulsion unit.

This is a flame of light formed by the high-temperature ions ejected from the engine.

As the engine's output increases, and as the temperature increases, these small reddish cone-shaped tailflames gradually grow larger, and eventually merge with each other, forming a narrow reddish-purple flame at the end of the engine.

It is completely different from the blue-white tail flame of the conventional Hall thruster, because of the different working fluids used, the tail flame color of the aerospace engine is mainly a mixture of dark red and light lavender.

This is the high-temperature flame color of nitrogen and oxygen ions.

After being absorbed and purified, the air is sent to the ionization chamber and then changed by the electrode ion generator, which ionizes it from the molecular structure into an ionic state, and then sends it into the propulsion chamber.

The massive spiral magnetic field formed by the improved superconductor will accelerate these high-temperature ions to an extremely exaggerated velocity, and the huge reverse thrust formed by it can carry the space shuttle to complete its mission.

There is no doubt that it can bring far more thrust than Hall thrusters.

With the test of the aerospace engine and the increase of the output power of the engine, the tail flame at the end of the engine is also constantly elongated.

In the control room, on the display screen that records the thrust data of the engine, the thrust of the aerospace engine is also rising.

The graph is like an arc across the monitoring screen, and the thrust data has climbed from 5KN to 481.31KN at the beginning.

The ultimate thrust of close to 500KN has far exceeded Xu Chuan's previous estimate.

I have to say that this aerospace engine is even better than theoretical!

At least, judging by the current thrust data, yes.

Although its thrust is still not comparable to that of the space engine on the launch vehicle, this figure is comparable to the top aero engine on the market.

The extreme thrust test was completed, and the data of 500KN made everyone in the control room clench their fists.

This is undoubtedly the best news for today's first round of testing!

However, the tests are not over, and for an engine used in a space shuttle, the relevant tests are not limited to the ultimate thrust.

Whether it is the thrust of the thruster under different working conditions, including the magnitude, direction, time and measurement of related parameters of the thrust;

Or the influence of environmental factors on the thruster, as well as the switching of working fluid during the space shuttle, whether the complex point can be quickly realized after the emergency shutdown, and the limit working time, etc., must be carried out in detail and repeated experiments to ensure that the engine can work in a stable and orderly manner in the working engineering.

The first round of testing lasted a full hour.

When the aerospace engine was shut down, and after the scorching temperature on the parts dissipated, engineers in protective suits flocked to the thrusters still on the test bench with various testing equipment to test the operation of the engine.

However, these have little to do with Xu Chuan, after the preliminary completion of the test work of the aerospace engine, he has already obtained the data he wants most!

The extreme thrust of close to 500KN is enough to send the space shuttle into the sky.

His design ideas have been proven once again!

"500,000 N of thrust electric propulsion can reach this number"

In the control room, standing in front of the monitoring screen, Academician Chang Huaxiang stared at the aerospace engine not far away, muttering over and over again, his face full of shock and incredulity.

As a scholar who has studied in the field of aerospace all his life, he never imagined that electric propulsion could reach this point in his lifetime.

Even before that, he had already learned the theoretical data of the simulation from Xu Chuan.

But theory is just theory after all, and it is far less shocking than reality.

"How the hell is this done?"

Chang Yuanhang, who had been in shock for a long time before coming back to his senses, cast a longing look at Xu Chuan.

Turning his head to look at this veteran in the aerospace field, Xu Chuan smiled and said: "The core actually lies in some of the technologies used in controlled nuclear fusion, such as the improved copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting material, whose critical magnetic field can reach nearly eighty Tesla after superposition, providing a huge magnetic field for the ionization chamber and the acceleration chamber. ”

"On top of that, it's also a huge amount of electricity."

"In the two-hour test experiment, it is not the limit of the whole process, and it can even be said that it has consumed more electricity than a small power station can generate without high-power operation."

"Compared with the amount of electricity it consumes and the thrust it generates, it can be said that it is exchanging energy for thrust, and the efficiency is not high."

"At present, I am afraid that except for the supporting small controllable nuclear fusion reactor, there is no energy supply device that can provide energy for it."

"Of course, this is what it did when it was designed, a small fusion reactor + aerospace engine is the ultimate form of the space shuttle!"

(End of chapter)