Chapter 452 The dispute between the space elevator and the launch platform
This is what Chen Lin can think of. In fact, the research and development needs to rely on professional scientific researchers to figure out how far it can go. He didn't know.
"It still depends on how far those people can go with their research,"
Chen Lin calmed down his emotions a little and said to Xiao Wu: "But continue at this pace. , our association will probably evolve into an unimaginable existence in the future."
Xiao Wu blinked and didn't know what Chen Lin meant, but he soon heard Chen Lin's voice again: "... …For example, for a more high-tech galaxy overlord, the small weapons at hand are rail guns, particle bombs or nano bombs. Things like nuclear weapons will be considered old-fashioned weapons to us by then.”
After hearing this, Xiao Wu suddenly laughed: "What an idea, brother!"
"We are still at the stage of concentrating our efforts on eating the technological heritage of the pioneer civilization. Although the pioneer civilization was wiped out by the Zerg, But their technology tree is very advanced.”
“When we build the space elevator and venture out of this planet into the space universe of this world, the Zerg will not be able to do anything. Having said that, the vast space and universe, so many planets and mineral resources, make people feel excited just thinking about it."
Chen Lin also burst out laughing. What Xiao Wu said was very reasonable. When they enter space, their field of vision will automatically broaden, and almost inexhaustible resources will be placed in front of them. It is tempting to think about it!
Give a few simple examples.
For example, the asteroid belt that exists in space is obviously considered to be the leftover material from the formation of galaxies. It is also a cluster of asteroids. The asteroids inside are rich in mineral resources. For example, the most recent The common ones are metal minerals such as iron, nickel, cobalt, platinum, and palladium. There may be similar special ore minerals in the future.
These metals are extremely important for space technology and industry on earth. When the time comes to build a space elevator and enter the space field, as long as enough metal mineral resources can be collected or discovered, we can continue to inspire more and more people. More and more people are entering space continuously.
Not to mention the resources that may exist on various planets except the asteroid belt - metal minerals, water resources, energy resources, gas resources and even other potential resources, such as some planets Unique planet specialties and the like.
"Where is our space elevator project now?"
Chen Lin came back to his senses, looked at Xiao Wu and asked.
Xiao Wu really hadn't studied these contents much, so he was a little stunned when Chen Lin asked him like this. In the end, Chen Lin relied on his intelligent assistant to inquire about the current research and development progress of the space elevator project team at Qinglong Base.
The space project team at Qinglong Base is not as fast as expected. The entire project team is still in the early stage of preparations. The carbon nanotube research that appeared at the meteorite fragment site was done by its subordinate research laboratory. Some of the results came out.
Chen Lin took a brief look and realized that there were currently some disputes within the Qinglong Base - it was different from the previous plan. After the space elevator project team was established, it did invest an early start-up capital. This amount Chen Lin didn't know the exact amount. This fund allowed the Qinglong Base to be renovated and ensured that the early project team carried out all the work smoothly.
But now that the follow-up work on the space elevator is about to be carried out, everyone suddenly realized that the funds invested in the early stage of the project were not even a drop in the bucket.
Because the funding gap that needs to be invested in the later period is really too large, a group of project team members compared the possible costs of using the aircraft and proposed to change the pre-designed space elevator project into a flight launch platform. Fully develop the idea of a starship.
The disputes within the Qinglong Base are currently concentrated here. There is also some hesitation within the Red Dragon Association because of the documents they submitted. The funds used for the two major projects are not small amounts. Even though the current Red Dragon Association is rich and powerful, There is no shortage of people and no shortage of money, but the total investment of tens of billions of funds still needs to be cautious.
Chen Lin carefully read the persuasive reasons given by both parties in the dispute. The space elevator project team still insisted on the common statement that the space elevator project promoted by their project team can significantly reduce the cost of sending objects into space. .
After all, traditional rocket launches require a large amount of fuel to overcome the earth's gravity, while the space elevator uses electrical energy to drive the climber up along the cable, thus saving a lot of energy and costs. Currently, room temperature superconducting materials have With the breakthrough, the power supply for the Red Dragon Association at this time has almost doubled several times, and there is no need to worry about insufficient supply or power transportation losses.
In addition, the space elevator can transport materials continuously and is not limited by the rocket launch window and carrying capacity. It can transport large amounts of materials into space more efficiently. Its advantages are obvious.
However, in Chen Lin's opinion, these contents are all commonplace topics. The space elevator is still in the preparation stage as of now. This is because this project team is completely new and unprecedented, and a large amount of human infrastructure is required. These are all built for the first time, and the only scenes that have appeared before are in science fiction novels or science fiction movies and TV series.
The reason for the dispute is actually because the space elevator project team has too many problems.
For example, there was a material problem that had been difficult to break through before. Although the technical support provided by the Pioneer Civilization later allowed the Red Dragon Association to use carbon nanotubes to build an elevator tens of thousands of kilometers long. cable, but the energy and money consumed are unimaginable for ordinary projects.
In addition, after the space elevator is built, the elevator cables are complicatedly affected by wind, earth rotation, space debris and other factors during operation. Many of these things have never been encountered by researchers from the Red Dragon Association. ’s...
To summarize, the current problems of the space elevator project team are mainly focused on technology, cost, maintenance and operation, safety and natural disasters. Blue Star itself is still a place with many problems, how many oceans Under such circumstances, the lower area of the space elevator will definitely not be stable, which is also a factor that needs to be considered.
Various problems have ultimately caused many scientific researchers to be filled with a primitive fear of this unknown field. They will involuntarily tend to scenarios that they are more familiar with, such as resuming conventional propelled rocket aircraft projects. .
As for the advantage on the other hand, it highlights a rogue thing - the current technology of aircraft is extremely mature, and it can reach any orbit in space, including the synchronous orbit of the blue sea star, surrounding satellites and other planets.
The fighter jet project that was vigorously developed in the past can be transformed into an interstellar aircraft at any time, and a huge interstellar battleship is also not complicated to manufacture. After all, the Tianwei aerospace aircraft carrier has already accumulated the most primitive experience.
The aerospace carrier can be transformed into a huge and stable interstellar battleship based on radical modifications.
From this aspect, the space elevator project does not have much advantage-at that time, it can completely carry the ACS platform into space, and manufacture various basic buildings on site by providing a large amount of interstellar mineral materials. The space station can also be built in outer space. Chen Lin scanned the key points of the arguments between the two sides and couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
The two parties are not arguing about the other's own talents, but the dispute is about cost performance and the best choice.
If the Red Dragon Association reconfirms the next direction after consideration, whether it is a space elevator or a launch platform, the Qinglong Base can continue to devote its full efforts to work at any time.
"The elevator project team estimates that the total cost is about 120 billion..."
Chen Lin's hands shook slightly when he saw this number, more than 100 billion in funds It's no joke to invest in it. If the project fails, it will be a general operation with blood loss and explosion.
However, this 120 billion is still somewhat unexpected for Chen Lin. In his previous prediction, the space elevator project team entered outer space from the establishment of the project to the completion of construction. The entire project team’s financial investment It should be at least around 200-300 billion yuan to be normal.
Considering that many current project teams’ construction work is fully automated by the ACS platform, although the large amount of heterogeneous powder and other materials used are claimed to be sold by the gram, the price is much more expensive than gold, but When used internally, this thing is a conventional construction material. As for the price itself, it is no longer considered.
In the end, the 120 billion yuan calculated by the entire project team is considered a normal value.
“The total cost of the launch platform and subsequent upgrades and transformation of a large number of aircraft is about 70 billion yuan...”
Chen Lin saw the final conclusion presented by the other party and couldn’t help but click his tongue slightly. A sound.
The dispute between the two projects should not be discussed as a problem at the beginning. If Chen Lin's thoughts at this time are followed, the space elevator project team will continue, while the launch platform on the other side and The project of transforming and upgrading aircraft will also continue, and it will even be necessary to build a large number of new interstellar aircraft on a large scale in the next time to be used in outer space conditions that will occur in the next few years.
It's just that his thoughts are personal after all. What the Red Dragon Association will do next and how to do it are not issues that Chen Lin has to consider.
Since opening the portal and entering the Origin Star, the Red Dragon Association has obtained a large amount of materials through continuous mining, breeding, trading and even plundering. The materials obtained in just a few months The total value exceeds one trillion yuan, and this range has been greatly improved after the subsequent upgrade of the portal. At present, even Chen Lin does not know that in the few months after the upgrade of the portal, the association has passed the Origin Star and its affiliated How many valuable things have been obtained from several planets...
But speaking of it, the value of the heterogeneous powder and heterogeneous steel found in the Stuttgart Mountains cannot be measured by money. The utilization rate itself is extremely popular and common, and the heterogeneous powder has many variants and is exclusive to the ACS platform. The Red Dragon Association can easily obtain immeasurable funds just by selling these things on the earth.
Not to mention the natural room-temperature superconducting minerals obtained through intelligent mechanical mining on the Wood Spirit Planet.
If these things were really taken out and circulated on the black market here on earth, it would be easy to sell them for millions per gram.
Therefore, in principle, the current Red Dragon Association is not short of money, but what is short of manpower, experience and even time.
Chen Lin personally hopes that the association can give full play to its own advantages. If possible, the two projects will be carried out simultaneously and strive to do the most things in the shortest time. This is in line with the consistent tone of the Red Dragon Association.
He turned back a few more pages. Recently, discussions within the Qinglong Base have continued, even affecting the normal work progress. In addition to the research on meteorite fragments, the original space elevator project team even They are all in a state of suspension.
This is very dissatisfying to Chen Lin. If the space elevator is built, it will greatly reduce the cost of transporting materials to space, thus promoting the development of the space industry.
This includes satellite manufacturing and launch, space scientific research, space tourism, space resource mining, such as Blue Star’s satellites and mining of nearby small asteroid belts. The sooner these things are developed, the better. , time is running out, Chen Lin is naturally anxious.
At the same time, if this project is completed, as the cost of space decreases, new markets and business opportunities will emerge - such as the construction of the most basic space facilities, space power stations, space factories and the like will appear in large numbers, and space services ( Such as space debris cleanup, space rescue), etc. will also be born with the market operation. At that time, a new number of jobs will appear, which can urgently solve the existing involution situation on the earth.
At the same time, this project team will also affect the entire scientific community. It will jointly promote technological innovation in multiple fields such as materials science, robotics, and energy technology. The progress of these technologies may overflow. to other industries to promote overall technological development.
The simplest ones are carbon nanotubes and the corresponding heterogeneous steel. By then, a large number of normal temperature superconducting materials will be used in the entire space elevator orbit, and even newly discovered photosynthetic minerals and energy conversion ores, heterogeneous The new materials created by the fusion of powders also have their place to shine...
The existence of the entire project team as a core hub will drive a large number of related industries to become active, and the entire scientific community will be affected by this. influenced the development of the space industry.
Even though the space elevator is built on the Blue Sea Star, only the Red Dragon Association can use it, but by then Chen Lin believes that this thing will definitely be opened to associations in other countries. Those who are related to the Red Dragon Association itself Associations that are in good standing will undoubtedly be given priority...
Chen Lin suddenly thought of the original idea of building a space elevator on Blue Sea Planet - it was to enter outer space to eliminate a large number of Kara worms, and collect supplies and occupy the planet along the way. If possible, he would have A bad idea to let the Grizzly Bear Association be the first to enter the outer space of the Blue Sea Planet.
Think about it, the members of the Grizzly Bear Association, who are big and round, are wearing space combat suits, holding huge electromagnetic weapons, guarding the level and shooting wildly at the sea-like insect swarm below) - it's quite a story. A special sense of game déjà vu.
Hahaha...
Chen Lin couldn't help laughing when he thought of this.
(End of this chapter)