There is no soft white sand beach, but there are also jagged black rocks.

In late autumn, on the island at the southern tip of the motherland, you can still feel the afterglow of midsummer.

Even the wind that blows from the sea from time to time does not feel like a bleak inland.

"I feel that the temperature of the Dragon Tower is higher than the temperature of the Xichang base."

"I wonder if it's my delusion?"

Although it was already November, Geng Bo, who was wearing long sleeves and long pants, still felt very hot.

While fanning himself with the hem of his jacket, he couldn't help but compare the temperature in Longlou Town with Xichang.

Although Zhang Xingyang also wears a long-sleeved blue-and-white aerospace uniform, he is not as afraid of heat as Geng Bo.

Even the buttons on the collar are tied tightly.

"The latitude where the Dragon Tower is located is even lower than that of Xichang, and it is already a tropical area."

"It's normal to be a little hot."

In addition to Zhang Xingyang and Geng Bo, there were many people at the scene.

Including Sun Hongtao, the head of the aerospace department, Li Ruian, the leader of the land department, local leaders, and their entourage.

This time, Zhang Xingyang's identity when he came here is quite different from before.

In the past, although Zhang Xingyang was actually responsible for many matters of the low-orbit satellite communication network, after all, there was still Chen Zhongyan in charge.

Since Chen Zhongyan recommended Zhang Xingyang to the country to become the actual person in charge of the low-orbit satellite communication network before his death.

Because considering that Zhang Xingyang's age may not be enough to convince the public, the leader in charge on the surface has become Sun Hongtao.

But everyone knows that it is impossible for Sun Lao to manage many details of the low-orbit satellite communication network project, and these tasks are basically entrusted to Zhang Xingyang.

And this time, so many people came to the big island at the southern tip of the country in order to choose a site for the new launch site of the low-orbit satellite communication network project.

The 40 satellites of the first phase of the project, after all, are very small, and only two rockets are needed to launch them.

So it is not very necessary to build a new launch site specifically.

However, the goal of the second phase of the project is to complete the construction of a domestic satellite communication network.

More than 4,000 satellites need to be launched!

As for the more distant third phase of the project, more than 50,000 satellites will be deployed in space to cover the whole world!

Even the Hongyan rocket, which has a very powerful carrying capacity, can launch more than 30 satellites into space at a time.

The second phase of the project will also require more than 130 launch missions to be completed.

If satellite launches continue to be carried out at inland launch sites, then the cost of fuel and transportation will be consumed.

It could be billions!

This is also the reason why their group will go all the way to the Dragon Tower, a small place that no one knew about in China before.

It is relatively close to the equator, located at 19 degrees north latitude, which can better use the inertial centrifugal force brought by the earth's rotation speed and save fuel for rockets.

"Xiao Zhang, what do you think of how this place compares to the Sanya we saw before?"

At this time, Sun Hongtao came over and asked Zhang Xingyang what he thought of Longlou.

In fact, before coming to Longlou for inspection, Zhang Xingyang and his entourage had already inspected two other places, namely Sanya, which is also on the island, and Yangjiang, which is on the opposite side of the island.

Yangjiang is at a higher latitude than the two places on the island, so it is the first site to be excluded.

Now there are only two places left on the candidate list: Sanya and Wenchang Longlou.

"I still prefer to choose Wenchang as the location of our next-generation launch site."

Zhang Xingyang first gave his own opinion.

"Oh?"

"Tell me why."

Sun Hongtao was also a little curious at this time, what kind of advantages Wenchang would have in the eyes of professionals like Zhang Xingyang.

"First of all, there is the transportation problem, next to Wenchang is Qinglan Port, which is convenient for us to carry out the transportation of rockets."

"As you know, although the Hongyan rocket has made great progress in thrust compared to our previous rockets, the size of the corresponding rocket is also a lot larger."

Zhang Xingyang first mentioned the transportation of heavy rockets.

"Ordinary rail transportation, ordinary freight carriages have no way to transport at all."

Because the carriage of the general train will not exceed three meters five, and the diameter of the Hongyan rocket is about four meters five.

"Usually, more road transportation is carried out, and rail transportation also requires special carriages, and the cost is too high."

"And if we use the sea route, it is much better than road transportation and rail transportation in terms of transportation safety and economy."

Because the satellite communication network project, from a certain point of view, can be regarded as a commercial project, so the cost of the whole project process is a key consideration for everyone.

Even if the cost of each rocket transportation can be reduced by 1 million, then the second phase of the entire low-orbit satellite communication network project can save more than 100 million costs.

Sun Hongtao also agrees with this, after all, the whole project is too huge, and it is good to be able to save some.

"According to what you say, isn't Sanya even better than here?" Sun Hongtao raised his own questions.

Although Sun Hongtao is not from the aerospace system, he also knows some basic knowledge, and the closer the rocket is launched to the equator, the better.

Sanya is further south than Wenchang in latitude.

If it is for cost reasons, then from the perspective of fuel saving, choosing Sanya seems to be a better choice.

"Sanya is better if you look at it purely from the latitude."

Zhang Xingyang also knew what Sun Hongtao was thinking about, and began to analyze the issue of Sanya as a launch site in detail.

"But the current level of commercial development in Sanya is too high, and if the rocket launch site is chosen there, there may be many inconveniences."

On the eve of the 21st century, an island at the southern tip has also ushered in an era of large-scale development, and Sanya has also developed in this wave of development.

The priority is the tourism industry, and many northerners come to Sanya every day to experience the happiness of the blue sea and blue sky.

Therefore, if the rocket launch site is selected here, once any accident occurs, it will cause great personnel and economic losses.

"But this is also a small part of the reason, mainly because of the location of the east and south of Sanya."

Zhang Xingyang then talked about the problem of Sanya's topographical distribution.

"Sanya is a circular bend, and there are many mountains and islands in the east and south."

"And our current rocket launch trajectory is basically to the east or southeast direction."

"Comparatively speaking, the east and south of Wenchang are vast and boundless seas, and the first-stage rocket can directly fall into the sea after separation, ensuring safety to the greatest extent."

The rocket wreckage fell into the sea, which brought more guarantee to the safety of people's lives and property, and there would be no casualties or property damage caused by the rocket wreckage falling in residential areas.

However, after the completion of Wenchang, the coastal residents of Southeast Asia can often pick up gifts from heaven from the beach, and the shell is written with the high-strength aluminum alloy of Longguo Aerospace!

Sun Hongtao really hadn't thought of this layer before.

However, Zhang Xingyang didn't finish talking at this time, and then said:

"Similarly, the meteorological conditions here in Wenchang are slightly better, both wind speed and humidity are lower."

Speaking of this, Zhang Xingyang felt that his mouth was a little dry, swallowed his saliva, and continued:

"The last important reason is that the land price in Wenchang is cheaper!"

At this time, the real estate speculation fever on the whole island has just passed, although the real estate bubble has burst, but Sanya, as an important tourist location, is still not cheap.

Even if the entire launch site construction project is land acquisition by the state, it will still cost a lot of money.

At this time, Wenchang was just a place where there was nothing to do, and the cost of land acquisition was very low.

"So on the whole, it is a better choice to choose our new generation launch base in Wenchang."

After saying a lot, Zhang Xingyang finally concluded.

After listening to this, Sun Hongtao still did not express his opinion, but looked at the rolling waves not far away, and was silent for a while.

"Elder Sun, it is said that the new-generation launch base will belong to the Xichang Launch Center, right?" Zhang Xingyang also had a hint of gossip at this time.

This gossip has just appeared in the space system, and no one can be sure of its authenticity.

After all, at this time, the location of the new generation of launch bases has not yet been determined, and the question of ownership is not known.

"Of course, this launch base will be inextricably linked with the Xichang launch base in all aspects, and it is more convenient for Xichang to manage it."

Sun Hongtao did not become a riddler, but gave the answer directly.

Zhang Xingyang also remembered many rumors before the establishment of Xichang at this time.

In the 70s, the country actually considered building a space launch site on the island, but at that time, the international environment was more complicated, and considering the pressure of national defense, the launch site was finally built in Xichang, which was safer.

"The construction funds will not be all responsible for the Xichang launch base, right?" Zhang Xingyang asked another fatal question at this time.

Although the Rocket Research Institute and the Xichang Launch Base do not have a direct affiliation, almost every rocket launch has been carried out at the Xichang Launch Site before, and there is a deep brotherhood between the two.

So considering this possibility, Zhang Xingyang couldn't help but sweat for the Xichang launch base.

After all, the construction of the launch site also requires tens of billions of construction funds, and the Xichang launch base alone will not be able to come up with so much money even if it is squeezed dry.

"That's not it, the state will contribute a part, the local government will contribute a part, and finally the Xichang launch base will contribute a part."

Sun Hongtao did not give the worst answer in Zhang Xingyang's opinion.

However, even so, Zhang Xingyang estimates that the part that needs to be borne by the Xichang launch base will not be very low.

However, these are not things that Zhang Xingyang needs to bear, so he didn't care much after asking.

Turning his head to the sea, even though it was November, the sea breeze still gave people a cool feeling.

Zhang Xingyang felt the coolness on his body, and couldn't help but think in his heart:

"Will the wind in the South China Sea blow into space with our rockets?"

(End of chapter)