As the last piece of alloy plate was welded, the robotic arm that extended outward from the Moon Palace finally retracted. The true appearance of the entire Xu Fu colonial ship was finally revealed to the world.
Overall, its shape was like a top-heavy dumbbell.
The larger end was located at the front, which was the core area of the entire colonial ship, which was the part of the colonial cabin that had not yet been unfolded. The smaller end was located at the back, mainly composed of a series of complex and sophisticated aerospace components such as power systems, interplanetary communication systems, and energy units.
After the colonial ship entered Mars orbit, the huge front structure would be separated from the entire colonial ship and plunge to the surface of Mars with the help of chemical thrusters.
The remaining part would stay in orbit around Mars as a communication satellite and meteorological observation satellite, providing at least 20 years of interplanetary communication, meteorological observation, positioning and navigation services for the colonists on the ground.
Although this design did not conform to aerodynamic principles, there was no need to consider these things in space. On the contrary, because of this unique design, it looked quite cyberpunk.
Professor Pearson, who was standing next to the porthole, was so surprised that he was speechless. After a while, he muttered to himself in a difficult tone.
"How many tons is this …"
"I don't know …" Professor Yan Xinjue's face was also full of shock. He gulped and said, "But looking at this size, it is already twice the size of the Magpie Bridge. The tonnage must be at least twice the size, right? Forget it, I'll stop guessing … Let's wait for tomorrow's news. "
It wasn't just the staff on the Moon Palace that were shocked.
There were also astronomical observers at the Arizona Astronomical Observatory, as well as astronomical observatories located in other countries that were ordered to track China's Mars landing plan.
Since the establishment of the Guanghan Special Economic Zone, in order to learn from the successful experience of the moon landing project from China, almost all countries and organizations that had made achievements in the aerospace field had upgraded the lenses of optical observation satellites.
Even if they couldn't go up for the time being, they had to find a way to steal something from Guanghan City and the Moon Palace.
Because of this, the movements on the Moon Palace naturally did not escape their eyes.
Whether it was the flexible robotic arm or the behemoth named Xu Fu that had been assembled, they were all deeply shocked by what they saw.
This was probably the largest spacecraft capable of long-distance navigation in human history. If the Apollo spacecraft and the BFS spacecraft were compared to sailing ships and sailing warships, then the Xu Fu was like an aircraft carrier sailing in space.
If there were still people who doubted whether the Mars landing plan would succeed …
Now, almost no one doubted that there was any possibility of failure in this expedition that spanned tens of millions of kilometers.
While the aerospace agencies that were fortunate enough to witness the scene were shocked by the amazing operation of the Moon Palace, the atmosphere at the Jinling launch site was also in full swing.
Almost as soon as the news of the Xu Fu colonial ship's successful "launch" was sent back to Earth, the ground command center erupted in excited cheers.
Whether it was the staff standing in front of the console or the reporters from Central TV and Central TV, everyone's faces were brimming with excitement and joy.
Many people waved their fists excitedly. They couldn't control the excitement in their hearts, and some even took off their hats and threw them to the ceiling.
The "Xu Fu" colonial ship was successfully assembled!
The first phase of the Mars landing plan was successfully completed!
Although this was only a small step toward Mars, it was also the most difficult step. After that, they only needed to load the astronauts and the materials needed for the colony's production and living on the colonial ship, then ignite the colonial ship's engine, and wait for the good news from tens of millions of kilometers away.
"Everything is ready, we just need to move on."
With a gratified smile on his face, Lu Zhou looked at the majestic spacecraft on the large screen in the command room. He smiled and nodded. "The next step is to send our astronauts up."
Director Li stared intently at the majestic starship on the screen. He had an unsatisfied expression on his face as he couldn't help but speak.
"How heavy do you think this thing is?"
"About five hundred tons."
When Director Li heard this number, he took a deep breath and spoke.
"Five hundred tons … This is almost larger than the low-Earth orbit payload of our Long March series rockets combined!"
"The tonnage doesn't mean anything, not to mention that there is no comparison between chemical rockets and starships. For the Xu Fu, this five hundred tons is just the net weight. When our astronauts board the ship and the spacecraft is replenished, the weight will exceed a thousand tons. "
Lu Zhou smiled. He looked at the screen in the command room and continued in a fascinated tone.
"But it won't be long before a thousand-ton spacecraft is nothing.
"There are two types of spacecraft in the future. One is an aerodynamically designed spacecraft that sails between low-Earth orbit and the surface of the planet, and the other is a large and medium-sized spacecraft that only shuttles outside the atmosphere.
"For the former, our Jinling high-tech zone is already at the forefront of the world. For the latter, when our Guanghan Special Economic Zone develops, forget about a thousand-ton spacecraft, even a ten-thousand-ton or million-ton spacecraft will be a piece of cake!"
Ten-thousand-ton spacecraft …
When Director Li heard these words, his jaw dropped for a while.
Even the Saturn V, known as the largest rocket in human history, weighed no more than three thousand tons from head to toe. When such a rocket stood upright, its huge volume was comparable to a hundred-meter-tall building!
A thousand-ton spacecraft was close to the boundary of his imagination. As for a ten-thousand-ton spacecraft, he couldn't imagine what it would be like.
As for the million-ton spacecraft that Lu Zhou mentioned …
He had completely ignored it.
Lu Zhou looked at the ground command center that had fallen into a sea of jubilation. He didn't care about Director Li, who was too surprised to speak. Instead, he looked at Director Chang standing on the side and spoke.
"We can start preparing for the last launch mission.
"If there are CTV reporters who want to interview me, help me deal with them, or ask them to wait for me in my office for a while.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
After that, Lu Zhou turned around and left the ground command center.
However, when he walked to the first floor and was about to turn into the bathroom, he saw Director Li chasing him from upstairs.
At first, Lu Zhou didn't take it to heart. He just thought that the old man wanted to go to the bathroom, so he didn't bother with him.
However, when he came out of the bathroom, he found that no matter where he went, the old man was following him.
Lu Zhou finally couldn't take it anymore. He stopped and turned around.
"Do you have something to say?"
He didn't realize how lame his stalking skills were.
Director Li, who was caught red-handed, still tried to quibble. He pretended to be stupid and said, "Huh?
What … What? What … What? I'm just walking around … "
"You've been following me for almost a mile, you call this walking around?"
Seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore, Director Li finally gave up. He coughed and spoke.
He coughed and said, "Um, Academician Lu …"
"What?"
"How is your life going?"
"It's going great."
"What about your relationship? You didn't have any conflicts with your … partner, right? "
"No."
"What about your mood? Is there anything you're thinking about? "
Lu Zhou's expression suddenly became serious.
"I'm in a very bad mood. If you keep beating around the bush, I might lose my mind at any time."
Hearing these words, Director Li seemed to finally realize how bad his behavior was. The expression on his face gradually became awkward as he spoke embarrassedly.
He spoke embarrassedly, "I'm actually fine … It's just that some time ago, I heard from Director Chang that you adjusted the number of colonists for the Mars landing plan from three to five?"
"So, is there a problem?"
Director Li read the speechlessness in Lu Zhou's expression. He quickly waved his hand and spoke with a smile.
"No, no, no problem! I will definitely support you! It's just that … The conditions on Mars are very difficult, and the most important thing is that it's not safe. You also know that only astronauts who have undergone strict screening and training can be competent for this kind of dangerous mission. Even though you may be very interested in it, my suggestion is to wait until the time is ripe before considering it. "
At this point, the old man changed his tone into one of negotiation.
"How about … you think about going to the Moon first? It's quite fun there. "
Lu Zhou: "…?"
What the hell?
Lamp pen?
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