Spark

"Stunning!"

Looking at the drawings of the RD-180 engine just delivered, Li Bingzhong couldn't help sighing.

"Lao Maozi really has his own system in the field of spacecraft design. The material is not the strongest, and the processing technology is not the strongest, but relying on design alone has evened out all the gaps."

"It's just a turbo pump, and you can see their technology accumulation."

"Even now, it is difficult for us to solve the pressure increase problem of the gas pipeline brought about by the pump back swing technology, not to mention the design of double booster pumps to pressurize the fuel chamber."

"If we didn't see the document, we wouldn't even understand the specific path of the supercharging design's impact on the cavitation effect of the blade."

"It is really a good move to bring this engine and frame technology over. When actually manufacturing the LITV engine later, many problems that would have required multiple tests and verifications can now be said to be easily solved."

Hearing what he said, Luo Wen, the assistant on the opposite side, nodded in agreement.

"It's really strong-in fact, to be honest, it's not easy to copy."

"However, this engine is coming from Xinghuo, and they will send someone to guide it later. Our pressure is not that great."

"Then you can't rely on them for everything—by the way, when you talk about this, the people from the Spark faction should have arrived today."

"In the next few months, the experts there will be fully involved in the LITV engine project. At that time, you should seize the opportunity and establish a good relationship with them."

"Don't talk about what benefits or scientific research resources you want to get, even if you just learn from them."

"After all, the scientific research team that Xinghuo currently has is the top in the country and even the world. Communicating with them more can also bring us a lot of inspiration."

"Understood, don't worry, I know it well."

Rowan quickly replied.

In fact, he knew the meaning of Li Bingzhong's exhortation very well.

One word: leverage.

The previous TBCC engine project has allowed this small team to take a big step forward, reaching an unimaginable height in the past, but unfortunately, during the progress of the entire project, this team did not have much direct contact with Xinghuo .

The communication between the two parties stays, and only stays at the technical level, and even most of the information transmission is also achieved through encrypted files.

Li Bingzhong has always wanted to meet the group of people who developed the TBCC technology, but unfortunately he has no chance——However, this time he participated in the LITV engine project, and being able to meet the person in charge of this project is another kind of form made up.

Thinking of this, Luo Wen followed the trend and asked:

"Has the reception been arranged? According to what specifications?"

Li Bingzhong shook his head and replied:

"The meaning over there is not to engage in reception, and the staff will go to work as soon as they are in place-this is also their signature style."

"In short, go meet in the afternoon and hand over the current progress. For specific communication, let's take it easy after the work is in order."

"good."

Rowan nodded.

But when the two continued to chat about the details of the specific work arrangement of the solid-liquid conversion module assigned to them in the LITV engine project, a phone call came suddenly.

"What? People have arrived?!"

"Where? The door?"

"Okay, got it, we'll be right there!"

Putting down the phone, Li Bingzhong showed a helpless smile at Luo Wen.

Afterwards, the two got up immediately and walked quickly to the gate of the institute.

When they arrived at the gate, the security personnel who arrived earlier had already cleared the venue, and Chen Nian, who flew from Chengdu, had already got out of the car.

And when Li Bingzhong saw Chen Nian's face, he froze in place.

This young man. He seems to have seen it before.

It seems to be a discussion meeting about new heat-resistant materials?

At that time, I was still working on RBCC engines, which involved a technical discussion about the fuel cooling system and the material of the outer wall of the fuel tank. At that time, this young man seemed to be present.

However, I am not particularly impressed with him, but I am sensitive to the weight of what he says, and he can often make a final decision.

And now...he actually participated in the LITV project?

What is the logic?

This project doesn't seem to require any new materials, does it?

Li Bingzhong suppressed the doubts in his heart, and walked forward quickly, but before he could speak, the young man said first:

"Mr. Li? I already know the progress of the project, so I don't need to introduce it."

"Our group is mainly responsible for the solid-liquid conversion and the turbo pump module. The former already has a technical plan, so just follow along."

"The latter should be said to be your strong point. You have accumulated a lot of talents in the RBCC and TBCC projects before."

"Our request is very simple, that is, to have an epoch-making turbo pump based on superconducting technology, and to go further on the basis of RD-180 --- I am not talking about performance, but structural design. further."

"Understood, no problem!"

Li Bingzhong quickly answered.

Structurally, not performance—this sentence is actually quite professional, because it completely rules out the possibility of taking advantage of the properties of superconducting materials.

The two walked towards the office together, and as the communication between Li Bingzhong and Chen Nian deepened, he felt more and more that this young man was unusual.

He was a little too clear about the whole project.

It's as if this project was designed, implemented and controlled by him himself.

Who the hell is he? Or does everyone in the Xinghuo team have to have such qualities?

If that's the case, it's kind of scary.

".So this time we need to solve not only the main engine problem, but also the engine that is equipped with the lander. I need you to work on this part simultaneously."

"The technical indicators require that you have all seen it—sending something into space is only the first step, and how to make it fall on the moon is the key."

"Understood, we have already made plans for this area, and the expected indicators are"

"Needless to mention the performance index, this is not very meaningful. I have only one standard: to achieve a smooth landing under the premise of landing on the moon with a large load and taking the Hohmann transfer orbit."

"no problem!"

Another very high standard.

Li Bingzhong's head was sweating unknowingly. The last time this feeling appeared was when he was defending his thesis in front of his tutor when he was studying.

After finally waiting for Chen Nian to finish all the requests, Li Bingzhong suddenly realized that he had no need to "hand over to him" at all.

It should be said that his input of information to himself is more like a handover.

No wonder Xinghuo wanted to send him here, he really has a brush.

After discussing the work matters, Chen Nian let out a long sigh of relief.

In fact, it was a temporary decision to fly to Chang'an this time, mainly because the technology of the LITV engine is too new. If we only rely on a few documents and technical parameters, it is impossible to achieve the highest efficiency.

In addition, the urgency of Chen Nian's several projects is not high, and the most urgent quantum encryption algorithm project has been solved, so he simply flew over to personally participate in this historic event of Huaxia's step into space.

Of course, on the other hand, this is also due to Chen Nian's own interest.

Nonsense, go to the moon!

This is the first step toward deep space.

Even without considering the value of the moon in helium-3 raw materials, just for a romantic fantasy of "reaching the moon in nine heavens", he hopes to experience all of this in person.

Moreover, he actually has a bit of a temper in his heart.

What Musk said in front of the media, "We will definitely get ahead of China" made him very upset.

Snatch?

Go ahead and grab it, I'll show you what it means to be served first.

Putting down the materials in his hand, Chen Nian's expression relaxed a little, and Li Bingzhong and Luo Wen who were on the side immediately said:

"Chen Gong, it's almost lunch time, shall we go to the cafeteria to eat first?"

"Okay, let's eat first."

Chen Nian glanced at the time and said politely.

After all, he is not a devil. Although the project is tight, there is still time for dinner

Several people walked towards the cafeteria together, because they didn't make arrangements in advance, so they just ate in the lobby of the cafeteria with other employees, and just sat down, a figure that Chen Nian felt familiar sat in the empty space opposite. seat.

Li Bingzhong greeted that person familiarly, and when he called him "Xugong", Chen Nian remembered who this person was.

Huo, Xu Liping.

A master in the field of rocket fuel sculpture, a stunt technician, and a winner of moving Chinese characters.

No wonder it looks familiar, I've seen it

But why would he come here to eat?

Chen Nian looked at Li Bingzhong suspiciously, and the latter quickly explained:

"XCMG came here to communicate. You also know that the design of the solid-liquid conversion module of the LITV engine has changed the requirements for solid rocket fuel shaping, so some front-line staff are required to participate."

"We invited him over this time because we wanted to understand the specific difficulty of implementation from a front-line perspective."

"After all, rockets can't just stay in theory. Some problems that can only be solved manually must be exposed to risks in advance."

Hearing his words, Chen Nian nodded repeatedly.

This is indeed an extremely pragmatic way of doing things. Judging from this detail, the operating system of the entire aerospace industry is quite mature.

He stretched out his hand to Xu Liping, who was opposite him, and shook it friendly. The latter smiled honestly, and replied following Li Bingzhong's words:

"Boss Li is elevating me. In fact, there is very little I can do to help."

"I'm just a mechanic, and I'm fine in practice, but not in theory."

"Also, I have actually seen the new engine we are developing this time. The requirements for solid fuel shaping are not changed, but greatly reduced."

"It can even be said that its requirements are limited to fuel center of gravity trimming, because in the process from solid to gas, there is also a liquid stage."

"In this link, the self-levelling of the liquid surface will offset the influence of the unevenness of the solid section, which is equivalent to naturally completing our original work."

"So, once this engine is built, our craft will probably disappear slowly."

Xu Liping's tone was a little emotional, but there was absolutely no trace of resentment. Chen Nian looked at him curiously and asked:

"Aren't you a bit sorry?"

"Regret? Regret what?"

Xu Liping raised his head and continued to answer:

"Don't talk about getting a new engine, let me tell you the truth, I have been in this business for so many years, and almost every year I think about how to completely kill my own job."

"We tried cutting with machines before, but on the one hand, it was very dangerous and on the other hand, the efficiency was low. There was a balance between left and right, and then we returned to people."

"Later, we thought about the pretreatment plan, that is, the gunpowder is directly formed into one piece and modularized, but this plan has not worked out, because the source of the error is not the processing equipment, but the material itself."

"Later, various precision measuring instruments were developed, and we wanted to engage in semi-automatic cutting, but it is still in the demonstration stage, and the effect has not yet met the requirements."

"I'm actually very worried, but now I'm fine, the problem is solved once and for all!"

Xu Liping's words were very calm, which made Chen Nian a little confused.

In his impression, this person should be very confident in his "craftsmanship", but now he said it as if...would rather not?

Seeing his expression, Xu Liping couldn't help laughing.

"You think it's weird? Actually, my wife thinks it's weird too."

"It used to be said that the apprentices of the church starved to death of the master, but what about me? I wish I could smash the pot."

"But if you think about it from another angle, it won't work if the pot is not smashed."

"Technology is going to move forward. Although I am an old-fashioned person, I also know one thing: machines are better than people."

"So, replacing people with machines is my lifelong pursuit."

"If I do this, I will be worthy of my job."

Hearing his words, Chen Nian nodded solemnly, with a bit of "new" respect in his eyes.

This kind of respect is no longer for his decades of hard work, his wholehearted and unreserved dedication, and his excellence in technology, but for his purest "Responsibility".

In his heart, his job is not to carve the gunpowder, but to ensure the rocket goes to the sky safely.

Although these two things are related, in fact, they have completely different meanings.

Officials always promote the so-called "ownership spirit", but in fact, who else has a more ownership spirit than these front-line workers?

They are not like a monk ringing the clock for a day, they are ringing the small clock, but what they worry about is the season of the world.

If not, why is it necessary for Xu Liping to do those "things he shouldn't do"?

Thinking of this, Chen Nian solemnly said:

"You have worked hard."

"Hey, what's my hard work?"

"Scientists who work on technology work hard, Mr. Li works hard, and you work hard too."

"I just want to watch our rocket go up to the sky safely. When Chang'e 3 lands on the moon, it's a new idea for me to enjoy the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"That is!"

The three of them laughed and each picked up their chopsticks.

Chen Nian silently swallowed a mouthful of food, thinking to himself:

The moon is ours after all.

They don't have such people.