Electromagnetic acceleration orbits are far more versatile in space than on the ground.

The Earth's surface is very heavily affected by gravity.

Even if materials science is developed to the limit, it is difficult to build an electromagnetic acceleration orbit tens of kilometers high.

The intermolecular forces of materials can hardly withstand the burden of gravity.

In fact, it has long been proposed to build an electromagnetic launch orbit on the ground.

It is used to reduce the launch cost of conventional chemical fuel rockets.

It is envisaged that tens of kilometers will be excavated into the ground.

Build an extra-long electromagnetic acceleration launch canister.

Combined with powerful nuclear reactors and superconductors, it is possible to create extremely powerful magnetic fields.

At the same time, axial propulsion is created inside the launch canister.

The long acceleration process allows the launched object to reach more than 30 times the speed of sound.

Far exceeds the first cosmic velocity that is out of gravity.

The vision is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.

The construction of the electromagnetic acceleration launch canister is very difficult.

The hardest part is digging dozens of kilometers into the ground and keeping it straight.

It is not as convenient to build an electromagnetic acceleration launcher underground as a space elevator.

In space, however, the conditions that constrain electromagnetic acceleration canisters no longer exist.

Without the constraints of gravity, the length of the EMC canister can even reach astronomical levels.

In the future, colonization activities across galaxies.

It relies heavily on this technology.

An electromagnetic accelerator capable of reaching the optical fraction level can increase the speed of the spacecraft in the center to one-tenth of the speed of light.

It takes only forty years to fly to the nearest Proxima Centauri.

It's a pity that Zhang Xingyang was reborn too early.

When he was reborn, the ship to Proxima Centauri had just departed.

If he lived another eighty years, he would even be able to see humans returning from Proxima Centauri.

Even if he stayed for another forty years, he would hopefully receive a radio message from Proxima Centauri.

"If we want to build scientific research bases on the moon and Mars in the future, we can't use chemical fuels to propel spacecraft every time."

Chemical-fueled propulsion spacecraft is the most mature way of spaceflight for human applications.

The technology is more mature.

But it also has the downside, that is, the cost is too high.

If you want to transport a kilogram of material to the orbit of a space station at an altitude of between 300 and 400 kilometers, it will cost about 10,000 yuan.

It costs about 30,000 yuan to transport the same weight of material to the altitude of geosynchronous orbit, that is, the altitude at which the starport is located.

And it costs about 100,000 yuan to transport the same weight of material to the moon.

As for transportation to Mars, the cost will continue to multiply several times.

Not to mention the more distant planets of the outer solar system, such as Jupiter, Saturn, and so on.

In contrast, the electromagnetic acceleration orbit is considered both from the technical and economic aspects.

are better choices.

"Isn't our moon rocket already confirmed?"

Geng Bo said with a little doubt.

If it was just for the moon landing, there was no need for such trouble.

Adding another huge electromagnetic acceleration track to the starport will not only seriously disrupt the construction schedule.

And for a short period of time, there is no benefit.

The timing of the moon landing has actually been determined.

It will be a year and a half later, on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

All preparations have been sufficient, and even three landing sites have been chosen.

The training of astronauts who landed on the moon has also been carried out to the last moment.

Zhang Xingyang shook his head, "The electromagnetic acceleration orbit is actually prepared for the subsequent lunar base. ”

"I didn't need this thing for the early moon landing."

The first few moon landings were actually exploratory in nature.

It's like the difference between the first time a man went to space and the subsequent landing on the space station.

The first few moon landings were more about testing related technologies.

"Later, after we start the construction of the lunar base, a large number of materials will be transported through electromagnetic acceleration orbits."

Geng Bo nodded when he heard this.

In this way, it makes more sense.

The construction of the lunar base must also have at least hundreds or thousands of tons of various materials.

Even general geotechnical construction materials can be used on the lunar surface.

But like oxygen, steel, all kinds of equipment, all kinds of equipment, have to be transported from the earth.

At that time, the transportation cost alone will far exceed the cost of these materials and equipment.

Electromagnetic acceleration orbit can effectively reduce the transportation cost of these materials.

"Even if that's the case, there is no space for an electromagnetic acceleration orbit of this size in our starport now, right?"

Geng Bo then raised his own questions.

The size of the first phase of the Xinggang project, although it has also reached thousands of tons.

However, it is obviously not enough to support the large-scale electromagnetic acceleration orbit envisioned by Zhang Xingyang.

It is envisaged that it will be one light-second long!

If built, it will be a planet-level spectacle!

The diameter of the Earth is just over 10,000 kilometers.

The length of the electromagnetic acceleration orbit will be as wide as that of more than 20 Earths.

If it is really built in space.

And it's not too far from Earth.

Then all human beings in the world can see that the sky is divided in half by a long line.

However, the electromagnetic acceleration orbit at the level of light seconds is the final form.

That's for the acceleration of transgalactic spacecraft.

In the star system, there is no need for such a huge electromagnetic acceleration orbit.

But the length of the initial construction has also reached three kilometers.

It is slightly smaller than the radius of the starport.

"The electromagnetic acceleration orbit doesn't need much space, just plug it into the circular axis gap of the starport."

Zhang Xingyang opened the sketch of Xinggang with his mobile phone, pointed to the gap in the middle of each cabin and said.

Between the various cabins, most of them are empty.

Not only to leave room for future construction, but also because if all the buildings are full, too many materials will be needed.

Unless they can be the first to complete the development of the space elevator.

Transporting supplies from the earth in large quantities.

Otherwise, every kilogram of materials must be strictly calculated.

Zhang Xingyang called up another sketch he had drawn temporarily, "We just need to insert these electromagnetic acceleration tracks between the cabins like a straw." ”

Geng Bo looked at it for a while and felt that there was nothing wrong with such a design.

But he sighed.

"In this way, Xu Ying's construction work will increase a lot."

"Maybe they'll be working in space 200 days a year."

According to the current work situation, working only 200 days a year is definitely leisure.

But if you change the place of work to space.

Then this is definitely a first-class difficult job.

The low gravity environment of space can have a very large impact on the body of the staff.

Especially space engineers who fly engineering spacecraft for space operations.

It is different from astronauts who carry out scientific missions in the space station.

Their living conditions are even more difficult.

At this time, Xu Ying, who was 36,000 kilometers away in space, did not know that his future workload would suddenly increase a lot.

"Report to the command center, Hall 5 thruster has been installed."

Xu Ying concentrated on completing the installation of the first Hall thruster today, and relaxed his spirit a little.

"Tiangong-2, according to the observation of the planetary defense system, in an hour, there will be an asteroid with a diameter of 120 meters in your orbit, please change orbit in time to dodge!"

The ground command center sent an early warning message related to Xu Ying's life.

In the vicinity of low-earth orbit, there are tens of thousands of asteroids with a diameter of more than 100 meters at any given moment.

Among them, there are thousands of asteroids above the kilometer level.

Any kilometer-sized asteroid breaking into the Earth's atmosphere would be a devastating disaster.

The thick atmosphere can't completely burn up these huge asteroids.

After passing through the atmosphere, they still retain at least eighty percent of their mass.

The energy released is equivalent to thousands of the most powerful Tsar Bombas ever created, all within a range of thousands of meters.

This energy is enough to smash through the ground and trigger volcanic activity over a distance of thousands of kilometers.

Many extinct volcanoes will be reborn because of the addition of this energy.

Within a range of thousands of kilometers, it will be difficult for life to survive.

And they have different orbits, which are also difficult to predict.

Every year, the domestic planetary defense system invests a lot of money in the field of space optics and supercomputing.

It can barely detect the orbits of most asteroids at the 100-meter level.

"Tiangong-2 has received it and is starting the orbit change procedure."

Xu Ying didn't care about resting at this time, and directly began to operate the orbit change procedure of the spacecraft.

An asteroid of 120 meters may not have much impact on the starport of titanium alloy.

But he was definitely able to smash the ship he was on.

If you don't want to die in space.

He had to complete the overall orbit change within this time.

Xu Ying controlled the Tiangong-2 spacecraft and first connected to the Tiangong-1 unmanned engineering spacecraft.

Then the propulsion systems on the two spacecraft worked in unison, dragging the larger starport towards the direction of the Earth.

An hour later, Xu Ying looked at the asteroid flying five kilometers away through the optical observation equipment and breathed a sigh of relief.

This is a very common asteroid in space, with a rugged surface glowing grayish-white.

"Report to the command center, the dangerous asteroid is already far away."

Xu Ying reported to the ground command center.

In fact, in space, the probability of encountering an asteroid is very low.

Even much lower than on the highway, encountering the scene of a car accident.

Because these tens of thousands of asteroids are distributed in three-dimensional space of tens of thousands of kilometers.

There may not even be one for every 10,000 cubic kilometers.

"When will our energy core and related defense systems be implemented?"

"I'm seriously insecure right now."

After Xu Ying finished the report, she complained to the ground liaison personnel.

Starports are huge, and it is impossible to change orbits every time they encounter threats such as asteroids and comets.

So it actually has a multi-layered defense system.

Including powerful lasers, electromagnetically accelerated kinetic weapons, automatic attack missiles, and much more.

"The launch of the weapon system is very important, and there are still many unsolved problems, so please be patient."

The familiar voice of the liaison did not appear.

The answer to Xu Ying's question was the commander-in-chief Zhang Xingyang.

took advantage of the moment when Xu Ying had just completed an orbit change maneuver and her mood was up and down.

Zhang Xingyang also revealed more information to him.

"In fact, the energy core also has the research and development of weapon systems, and we have basically completed it."

"The obstacles we're facing now don't come from the technical side."

In this world, some people seem to exist just to stir up.

The construction of Starport is a good thing for all mankind.

But for some countries, being overtaken by the Dragon Kingdom seems to be an unbearable thing.

So they used almost every means at their disposal to stop it.

Whether it is the installation of nuclear reactors, or the installation of weapons systems.

They all agree that there is a major safety concern for the whole world.

Several parties are now fighting lawsuits in the international arena to the point where their brains are coming out.

"Rest assured, once you've installed the temporary propulsion system, you'll be on the back foot for a longer vacation."

At the end of the call, Zhang Xingyang still brought good news to Xu Ying.

"Xu Ying understands."

Xu Ying didn't say much, and after finishing the communication, he started the installation of the No. 6 Hall thruster.

If it is said that the first day in space, Xu Ying still has a strong sense of freshness.

Then by the third day, the novelty was almost gone.

And it is a person who performs a task, and loneliness always haunts him.

Although the communication device can always be heard to comfort oneself.

But these people, the distance between themselves and themselves, are farther than all the people in the world.

On the earth, the maximum distance between two people will not exceed 13,000 kilometers.

And now, the closest human being.

It's the astronauts of the space station in low-earth orbit.

But, even if it's them.

There is still a distance of more than 35,000 kilometers from himself.

"I'm a little homesick."

After Xu Ying finished the No. 6 Hall thruster, he turned his head to look at the blue ball outside the porthole and muttered to himself.

"Let's get back as soon as possible."

"Report to the ground command center that the Hall Thruster No. 6 has been installed."

This was followed by the installation of the No. 7 Hall thruster.

And on the ground, another round of controversy about Star Port has also begun.

"Electromagnetic acceleration orbit, what other opinions do they have?"

Zhang Xingyang browsed the recent messages with a dissatisfied face.

Geng Bo is also a little helpless, some people have really been thieves for a long time, and everyone is a thief.

At the latest press conference on the construction progress of the starport, it has just been announced that an electromagnetic orbital accelerator will be added.

Eagle Sauce questioned whether this technology would become an electromagnetic railgun.

Will the starport accelerate from the sky through an electromagnetic orbit and launch a kinetic strike on the ground?

Because there is almost no upper limit to the acceleration of electromagnetic orbits, as well as the vacuum environment of space.

The warhead is capable of reaching one hundredth of the speed of light in space.

A low-speed warhead strike that requires only one shot to wipe out a city on the map.

Rao is a well-informed Zhang Xingyang, and when he heard this idea, he was also shocked.

He didn't expect to be able to do this himself.

(End of chapter)