Chapter 1366 The Chief Engineer’s Ambition (Second update, please subscribe)
There were so many secrets in the Soviet Union.
Even so, for most people, they never know what is not a secret and what is a secret.
Just like all Soviet people know, the Soviet astronaut Gagarin knows that the Soviet rocket sent the first artificial satellite into space. He knows that in the past few years, the Soviet Union launched satellites to the moon, Venus, and Mars. detector.
But beyond that, who developed the rocket?
Where is the rocket launched?
Most people know nothing about it. People always only hear or see a paragraph from newspapers or radios - the Soviet Union has once again successfully launched a spacecraft or satellite.
Even if high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and reconnaissance satellites from Western countries have photographed the Baikonur Cosmodrome, this place is still highly confidential to the Soviets and any snoopers may pay the price with their lives.
The Kazakh locals living near the launch site are very aware of this. They know that they must not get close to the place surrounded by barbed wire. Not only that, but even the cars going in and out of there can't get close, because getting close to those cars may pay an extremely heavy price.
Fortunately, most of the materials transported to the launch site enter the launch site by train, but occasionally some vehicles pass by. Just like now, when a Victory car and a jeep drive on the gravel road, nearby herdsmen will Actively avoid it to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
The person sitting in the back seat of the car was none other than Korolev. Although he designed the rocket to send satellites and humans into space, the outside world knew nothing about him. However, to the top Soviet officials, he was not It's not a secret, just like now, he has just accepted the local medal in Almaty - this is normal. In addition to the medal actually awarded by Moscow, he also has medals from more than a dozen other union republics.
However, now the gold medal was placed casually in his briefcase. The briefcase was still the same shabby old bag with more than 20 years of history.
Korolev, who was holding a document in his hand, couldn't help but be surprised when he was flipping through the document:
"Athlon microprocessor... With it, the problems we encountered in engine control should be solved. 50 microns, 3068 transistors, really amazing!"
After being amazed, Korolev said again:
"But this kind of microprocessor is too expensive. A microprocessor costs tens of thousands of rubles."
Even as the chief engineer, he had to be surprised by how expensive the chip was.
"Chief Engineer, I heard that electronic research institutions have begun to study this microprocessor. I believe that we will be able to successfully imitate it soon."
"Well, I hope! An N1 rocket requires at least 20 microprocessors like this. If we rely on imports, a large part of our funds will be spent on this. Moreover, these microprocessors are bought with gold. ”
Although Korolev did not understand foreign trade, he knew very well what was needed to purchase various equipment from abroad-gold or US dollars, and the Soviet Union often could only provide the former because the latter was too scarce. Because of its choice of barter trade, the Soviet Union lacked foreign exchange such as U.S. dollars and could often only pay in gold.
"The military does not support our exploration operations and thinks it is a waste of money. They need more money to build missiles, so we must save every ruble..."
Unlike the American "Apollo Project" which had sufficient funding, the Soviet Union's moon landing plan did not have sufficient funding. If it weren't for Korolev's good dealing with high-level officials, I am afraid that this plan would have been stopped by the military long ago. !
In this way, Korolev, sitting in the car, was flipping through this manual and imagining his rocket in his mind.
In fact, his rocket has completed the basic design, but there are still many problems, but it doesn't matter. Whether it is launching satellites or sending astronauts to heaven, it is not necessarily successful. Risk... human space career That's it.
"The key is still the control of the 30 engines in the first stage..."
While Korolev was thinking about how to use Athlon processor to control the engine, the convoy stopped at the checkpoint. The officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for the security of the launch site looked through the car window and carefully checked each one, even Korolev. No exception.
This is the principle.
Just like unplanned planes are not allowed to land at the airport inside the launch site - because the plane they took when they returned from Almaty was not a planned plane, even Korolev's plane could land more than a hundred hundred meters away from the launch site. Land at an airport kilometers away and drive back to the launch site.
In the Soviet Union the principle of secrecy was paramount and no one was exempted.
An hour later, Korolev finally returned to the office after a bumpy ride. Perhaps because of the long ride in the car, he felt extremely uncomfortable. He frowned and even touched his heart. Three years ago, he suffered from heart failure. He was admitted to the hospital due to a sudden illness. While he was recuperating, it was discovered that he had kidney problems, which were caused by his early life as a hard labor prisoner.
The reality of his illness caused the doctor to ask him to take a long-term rest, but instead of taking a rest, Korolev even worked harder.
When he opened his briefcase and took out a worn-out aluminum water cup, Korolev threw aside the medal box rolled into the cup and couldn't help but complain.
"Another two days wasted!"
The contrast between the exquisite velvet medal box and the worn briefcase is very obvious on the table. This briefcase has been with Korolev for many years. He had no pursuit of material life. When he died in another world, he had only 16.24 rubles in his bankbook and the aluminum water cup that had been with him from Siberia.
Although he wasted two days, Korolev knew the importance of these things. His experience in Siberia told him that some things may seem useless, but they are extremely important
After pouring a glass of hot water, Korolev once again walked to the drawing board, on which hung the structural sketch of the N1 rocket.
"Engine, the key is the engine..."
Holding the aluminum water cup in his hand, Korolev’s brows wrinkled,
Since being hospitalized three years ago, he has felt that his remaining life is precious, so he decided to race against death and send humans farther into the universe before leaving this world.
From that time on, Korolev worked longer hours.
"The key is that the KORD system controls the thrust differential of the 24 engines in the first-stage outer ring by adjusting the flow of propellant, and can shut down failed engines facing each other to ensure the normal flight of the rocket..."
KORD is the Russian abbreviation for rocket thrust controller, which controls all rocket engines. In another world, KORD was unable to respond quickly and correctly to some rapidly occurring events, so all four launches ended in failure.
But now, Korolev has a better option. "KORD, microprocessor, now you can prepare for ground testing..."
While Korolev was thinking about this, he felt extremely uncomfortable and sat down. After drinking two sips of water, he still felt uncomfortable and picked up the phone.
More than an hour later, in the launch site hospital, looking at Korolev who was about to be pushed into the operating room, deputy Vasily Mishin, who came after hearing the news, said:
"Sergey, I think we should go back to Moscow for the surgery, where there are better doctors and better medical conditions."
Faced with the persuasion of his assistant, Korolev said:
"It's okay, it's just a minor operation. Such a minor operation can be done here."
The doctor's diagnosis was simple - it was hemorrhoids caused by the bumps caused by sitting in a car for too long. Of course, there was no need to go to Moscow for such a minor problem.
Although doctors were reluctant to operate on such a big man, the operation was performed in Baikonur at Korolev's insistence.
"In a few days, we will conduct our first ground test. We cannot delay our progress because of this trivial matter. Vasily, the moon is right there..."
After that, Korolev smiled and said to the doctor:
"Okay, doctor, let's go into the operating room!"
In this way, Korolev was pushed into the operating room. Before anesthesia was administered, the doctor took a look at his chin, noticed the scar on his chin, touched it specifically, and asked.
"Have you had an injury to your jaw?"
"Yes, my jaw was broken while I was in prison."
After listening to his answer, the doctor thought for a while and said:
"The nurse first inserts oxygen into Comrade Chief Engineer."
"Is such a minor surgery necessary?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief Engineer, although this is a minor operation, I think we should be more cautious. I don't know if an accident will happen during the operation, but we must consider this possibility because your mouth has been injured. It may not be opened properly during the operation, so oxygen cannot be delivered, so be careful.”
The doctor cautiously reminded him that he wanted to kick the chief engineer off the operating bed now. For such a big shot to get on his operating bed... it would be fatal!
Therefore, there is no reason for him to be careless. The risks were even deliberately "exaggerated".
In this way, Korolev was inserted into an oxygen tube, and after he lost consciousness due to anesthesia, the operation began.
Not long after the operation started, the doctor was dumbfounded:
"It seems like it's not just hemorrhoids, but a polyp."
What now?
Now that the surgery has begun, let’s continue!
As a professional, the doctor fully demonstrates his professional qualities. Compared with ordinary hemorrhoid surgery, this operation is longer. Although the doctor who performed the surgery is not as good as the experts in Moscow, he is at least much better than the drunk expert.
In another world, Korolev's surgery was performed by Health Minister Petrovsky himself on this national treasure-level scientist. But that day, he drank too much on the day of surgery.
At first, the operation went smoothly, but later, the nurses noticed that Korolev was having difficulty breathing and tried to provide him with oxygen. Because Korolev's jaw could not be opened normally and the oxygen tube could not be inserted, this national treasure-level scientist died directly on the operating table.
And this completely rewritten the Soviet Union's aerospace process!
The doctor didn't know all this at this time, and neither did Korolev, who was sleeping.
However, as the operation progressed, the doctor also discovered that the polyp had a lesion at the front. In this way, the operation that could have been completed in a short time continued for three hours.
When the operation was completed and Korolev was pushed out of the operating room, Vasily even called the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In fact, Vasily was waiting there patiently at first, but as he waited, he became a little uneasy, so someone called someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
When I heard that the chief engineer was in the operating room, and that he had not come out after the operation for several hours, the KGB officers who were drinking wine immediately rushed over with a group of people. If anything happened, they would They are all being sent to Siberia.
When they arrived, the operating room door finally opened!
The officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who had just arrived asked directly:
"Why did the operation take so long?"
"During the operation, I discovered that there were polyps, and there was also a diseased front lesion, so I delayed it until now, but..."
The doctor, who was facing an enemy, explained nervously. After listening to his explanation, Vasily asked nervously:
"What now? How is the situation now?"
"The operation went well! Comrade Chief Engineer will be able to return to work soon!"
What they didn't know was that in another world, a few years later, the same operation took his life...
(End of chapter)