While NASA was discussing and analyzing the propulsion system used by Xinghai, on the other side, the capital capital.

In a not-so-tall building on Chang'an Avenue, after the successful orbital launch of the Xinghai, a top-level small meeting was being held in a small conference room.

In the conference room with a low-key and simple decoration, a silver-white curtain is clearly projecting the Xinghai that has landed in low-earth orbit and sailed in outer space.

In the conference room, people arrived one after another quickly.

When Yuan Zhouli, the head of the science and technology department, arrived, he happened to collide with Liang Hongyi, the leader of the industry and information department.

The old man, who had made major changes to the development of the aerospace field, and whose hair was all gray, smiled and greeted his colleague in front of him, and the two nodded to each other and entered the conference room side by side.

Although it was a temporary notice, those who are eligible to attend today's meeting will naturally know what the meeting is about, or rather, what is the reason for the meeting.

After quickly entering the venue, Yuan Zhouli sat down in his place and briefly flipped through the meeting report on the table.

The catchy title made his pupils shrink slightly, and there was some thought in his eyes.

The meeting was presided over by the top bosses of the various families present, and after the people arrived, it did not take a long time to start.

The old man sitting at the head spoke a few short words before announcing the opening of the meeting.

And the first thing that started was not the speeches of the leaders of the various sects. On the silver-white screen across the conference table, a short video of Xinghai's launch from the space center, to testing in the atmosphere, climbing gravity wells, and breaking through low-Earth orbit into outer space played quickly.

The video of less than a minute is not long, but it completely records the process of the launch of Xinghai.

It wasn't until the end of the space video that the old man re-spoke: "Everyone, the successful launch of Xinghai is not only a major breakthrough in the aerospace field. For the country, it is a rare opportunity and development. ”

"Last year, due to the breakthrough of controllable nuclear fusion technology, the development route of the aerospace carrier was discussed and determined, and the detailed report was reported by Comrade Liang Hongyi of the industry and information industry."

Hearing this, Liang Hongyi nodded, stood up quickly, and said calmly: "The development route of the space carrier based on the breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion technology is recorded in detail on pages 7-12 of the report document in front of you, so I will not repeat it here. ”

After a slight pause, as the crowd at the conference table began to flip through the report documents, he continued:

"Regarding the development of aerospace carriers, after joint discussions with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Science and Technology, the Institute of Industrial Information, the Academy of Engineering, and other institutions, it has been confirmed that it has relevant feasibility in terms of theory, technology, and engineering."

"At present, the relevant technology and research and development are already underway. The preliminary forecast is to complete the detailed drawing design of the space carrier in 2025 and the overall design around 2030."

The short report was completed quickly, and after the industry and information department finished his report, the old man nodded and said: "After the successful launch of the Xinghai, we already have a nominal aerospace fighter that can cruise in the atmosphere and outer space. ”

"Based on this, there is now a repetitive discussion on the development route of the 'Aerospace Carrier' to determine whether the relevant route is still chosen."

At the meeting, the old man's speech made everyone present stunned for a moment.

It has only been a little more than a year since the repetitive discussion and choice of a major project that has been decided and can be said to involve the national sports level, and may even choose to veto this project

To be honest, there have never been a few times since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

However, it has to be said that the relevant discussion work is indeed necessary.

After all, with the successful launch of Xinghai and the maturity of electric propulsion technology, the aerospace fighter has been able to freely cruise in the atmosphere and outer space.

Its deterrent power is no less than that of an aerospace carrier cruising in outer space.

The former already has a lot of experience and technology accumulation, even if it is modified according to the model of the space shuttle Xinghai, the feasibility of the aerospace fighter can be smoothly developed.

And the latter, an aerospace carrier with a diameter of more than three hundred meters, although judging by the reports of industry and information workers, they already have enough foundation to complete. But the time and commitment required is unimaginable.

Sitting on the chief, the old man was also thinking.

In fact, he is not the one who has come to this point and proposed to re-discuss the development course of the space carrier.

However, when the aerospace aircraft can replace the aerospace carrier to cruise in the atmosphere and outer space, whether it is worth spending a huge amount of manpower, material resources and funds to build such a huge mothership is indeed a debatable task.

Not only the input, but also the associated international impact is something to consider.

Is a semi-permanent cruising in near-earth orbit in outer space a semi-permanent space carrier a little too much for international pressure?

In the conference room, there was a slight pause in the discussion.

After a moment of quick thought, one of the participants from another department stood up and spoke in cautious terms:

"Regarding the development of the route of the aerospace carrier, I think it is really necessary to think carefully."

"At the moment, the international situation is not optimistic for us. An aerospace carrier with a size of more than 300 meters, comparable to an aircraft carrier, and ignoring its investment for the time being, the pressure brought about by the international situation alone is enormous. ”

"Now that we have a space shuttle that can travel freely between the atmosphere and outer space, and the development of an aerospace carrier is very likely to cause major changes in the international situation."

Sitting across from the speaker, Yang Hanqian, the head of the Air Force Armament Department, stood up and said, "I think it's the opposite. ”

"The maturity of the technology of the space shuttle Xinghai can more effectively drive our development and deployment in the aerospace field. Aerospace carriers are an important force in national defense strategic deterrence, just like nuclear weapons, we can do without them, but we cannot do without them. ”

"Today, when other countries are developing aerospace weapons and aerospace equipment, we are the luckiest thing to be at the forefront."

"I believe that with the support of space shuttle technology, the difficulty of the construction of the space carrier will be greatly reduced, and we will be able to complete the construction of the space carrier as quickly as possible."

Sitting beside Yang Han, Qin Anguo, the former head of the Science and Technology Co., Ltd., stood up and said, "I agree with continuing to complete the construction of the Aerospace Carrier. ”

"First of all, in the field of defense, it can play an important role. Not having a sword in your hand and not having a sword are two different things. Even if we do not take the initiative to provoke conflicts, we should pay attention to the development of aerospace carriers in today's rapid development in the aerospace field! ”

After a pause, he continued: "Secondly, in today's competition in the space field, one space carrier is enough to lead us to victory. ”

"In the aerospace field, which is developing day by day and gradually becoming the mainstream in the future, even if it is not used for military purposes, the role of the aerospace carrier should not be underestimated."

"In the future, whether it is the construction of a lunar base, or the mining of related helium III resources, or even the development of Mars, if the space carrier can be built, it will undoubtedly play an important role."

In the conference room, the discussion was quite intense.

The old man sitting at the head of the conference table listened to many opinions and exchanges, and then knocked lightly on the table, interrupting everyone's arguments, and slowly spoke.

"I agree with Qin Qianchang's point of view."

"Aside from the deterrence in the field of national defense, the space carrier is equally important in the subsequent competition in the field of space."

"Whether it is the construction of the lunar base or the development of Martian resources, we need to have a stronger space force to be able to carry it out."

"As for the international influence and pressure, it is indeed an issue that cannot be ignored. But we can also guide, the first space carrier, I think, can be built as a dedicated space ship, not a military ship. ”

"On the one hand, this can greatly ease international pressure and the sensitivity of other countries. On the other hand, the construction of ships in the aerospace field first can accumulate experience for subsequent real aerospace carriers. ”

"Moreover, ships in the civil space field can also shift the attention of other countries to competition in the space field. To a certain extent, we can contain our competitors. ”

"In addition, a series of space activities, including manned spaceflight and lunar landing projects, are also of considerable value in their own right, and are also worthy of our investment in the construction of a 'pilot' space carrier."

The old man slowly spoke his thoughts.

It's not all his idea, it's all about what all of you here today are talking about.

Even, there are some thoughts and ideas of the person who is far away in Jinling, which are also in his collation and summary.

After the completion of the controlled nuclear fusion technology, he listened to some suggestions and ideas from the young and magnificent young man on the future development direction and scientific and technological layout.

And among those thoughts, there was one that even he was shocked, no, it should be shocking.

The second and third generations and miniaturized controllable nuclear fusion are only part of that grand idea. Even the development of manned spaceflight, moon landing, fire landing, lunar bases, Mars colonies, and so on are also included.

He remembered that the young man had said:

Even if controlled nuclear fusion frees up energy, the Earth's resources and land are still limited. And human beings can't stop developing, so in order to get more resources and land, their eyes will sooner or later look at the starry sky overhead.

There, there are endless resources and possibilities.

It is precisely because of this that he vigorously supported the development of the aerospace field in the follow-up layout.

The success of the space shuttle Xinghai also proves the views and methods of the other side.

After controlled nuclear fusion technology solves the problem of the earth's energy constraints, human eyes have begun to look up at space.

As the closest moon to the earth, and Mars, the most suitable for human transformation and habitation in the solar system, it is undoubtedly the bridgehead for human civilization to step into space and enter the universe.

Whoever can gain a foothold on these two planets, and who can master them, will have the future.

On the other side, the Atlantic coast.

The headquarters of NASA in Washington state, where a large number of media reporters gathered.

After the successful launch of the Xinghai Spacecraft manufactured by the Xinghai Research Institute, the first to notice the news, in addition to space agencies such as NASA, are naturally the major media with a keen sense of smell.

After CBS media reported the information about Xinghai and telepropellation, these media with a keen sense of smell immediately arranged for reporters to go to NASA for interviews.

In order to obtain first-hand information, some media even arranged for personnel to rush to the NASA headquarters building in the middle of the night to obtain the information about the successful launch of Xinghai, and waited outside the building.

Faced with so many media reporters under siege, NASA can't and can't turn a blind eye. After all, with the fermentation of time, the voice of the outside world will only get higher and higher.

Last night, the Xinghai space shuttle reported by major media has caused many people who have stayed up all night to completely lose sleep, and almost all major social networking sites and forums are discussing this matter.

And with the fermentation of time, after waiting for dawn more and more people to know the news, the Internet of the entire rice country exploded.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networking sites are discussing related news, and countless people are shocked and incredulous, and many people are wailing and lamenting.

If the failure in the field of controlled nuclear fusion is understandable, the development of the United States in this field is not too leading. The failure in the aerospace field is something that the people of the United States cannot accept no matter what.

As a space power, since the end of the competition in the last century, its glory has been engraved in the bones of the people of the United States.

And today, the country across the Pacific Ocean has shattered this unparalleled glory.

Especially when they heard that the propulsion system used by the space shuttle was electric propulsion, countless people were shocked and unbelievable.

What they couldn't do, the country on the other side of the strait actually did it?

Especially after seeing the images taken by the satellite, everyone fell silent in the face of the space shuttle sailing in the sky, swaying with red-purple tail flames.

In the face of this situation, NASA, as the center of the United States' aerospace field, cannot fail to stand up and respond.

When working hours arrived, the media reporters who had gathered outside the headquarters building were invited into the reception hall.