Ion thruster propulsion system in space?
In space?
F * ck me, am I seeing this right?
The people sitting in the conference room, whether they were experts or business leaders, all rubbed their eyes. However, no matter how many times they rubbed their eyes, the data on the PowerPoint didn't change at all.
The expert from the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, who had previously shown the PowerPoint on stage, shook his head.
The representative of a private aerospace company, who had just received an investment from Penguin, was dumbfounded.
Even though bragging on a PowerPoint presentation was common, bragging like this …
That's a little too unprepared!
After the strange silence ended, the voices of discussion spread like a tide.
"Unbelievable …"
"It's not unbelievable, it's impossible! I've never heard of an ion thruster propulsion system with a thrust of KN! Even the latest AEPS ion thruster propulsion system designed by Rocketdyne for NASA only doubled the thrust of the XR-5 Hall-effect thruster. "
"…"
The staff members were about to maintain order in the venue, but they were stopped by Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou quietly waited for the discussion to die down. He then spoke in a relaxed tone.
"You can ask me any questions."
Although this wasn't the time to ask questions, and this kind of technical demonstration didn't give the audience time to ask questions, he knew that if he didn't explain himself, no one would listen to him.
Soon after, someone raised their hand.
"I have a question."
Lu Zhou looked at the old man who raised his hand and nodded.
"Please go ahead."
The old man slowly stood up from his seat and stared at the PowerPoint for a while. He then looked at Lu Zhou and spoke cautiously.
"I've never heard of an ion thruster propulsion system with a thrust of KN. I want to ask Professor Lu, are you sure you didn't write an extra letter?"
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I can tell you with certainty that I didn't write an extra letter. Moreover, we have proven through reliable experiments that its thrust can indeed reach the KN level. Of course, I admit that using the maximum thrust mode to overcome gravity consumes a lot of working fluid, but compared to traditional chemical rockets, it still saves at least 90% of the weight of fuel. "
The old man shook his head and sat back down.
Soon, another expert from the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation pushed his glasses and stood up.
"500-1000 M small reactors … This is beyond my knowledge. I haven't heard any rumors about this technology before, so I won't comment on it for now. But the problem is, how do you plan to increase the speed of the jet to one-thousandth of the speed of light? "
The conversion power of an RD-170 rocket was 192M, and most of this power was used to propel the liquid fuel carried by the rocket itself. If the total power of this ion thruster propulsion system could reach 1000M, theoretically, it might be able to send a 50-ton load to low-Earth orbit.
However …
Power alone was obviously not enough.
How to apply all this power to the working medium was the key to the problem.
Lu Zhou smiled and switched to the PowerPoint.
"This is what I'm going to say next."
The picture changed.
A cylindrical object appeared in front of everyone.
Even though they couldn't see the internal structure, the text listed next to it explained its various experimental parameters in detail.
However, after seeing these parameters, the participants who had just calmed down fell into a wave of shock and heated discussion again.
"Hall-effect propulsion unit? What is this? "
"I don't see what's so special about this Hall-effect propulsion unit design. If it's so useful, why not make it bigger? Why integrate countless so-called propulsion units into the same engine?"
"This is impossible! This is ridiculous! "
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Director Li, who was presiding over the meeting, was about to speak. However, an old man sitting in the front row of the auditorium stood up.
"Let me say a few words."
The discussion in the auditorium gradually subsided.
The person who stood up was Chief Engineer Yuan Huanmin of the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. He was also the person in charge of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's latest high-thrust rocket project. After seeing this old man, the vast majority of the people sitting there stopped their discussions out of respect.
Lu Zhou looked at the old man and saw that the old man was also looking at him.
"I understand. As an expert in the field of controllable fusion, Professor Lu has a special interest in electric rockets. I admit that controllable fusion has changed our way of life, and I also admit that ion thruster propulsion technology has great potential."
There were whispers in the auditorium.
Many people were confused when they heard this.
This doesn't seem right …
Why is this big name in the chemical rocket field supporting this guy's views?
However, Lu Zhou, who was also listening, didn't let his guard down.
Because compared to the others below the stage, he could clearly see the old man's eyes.
His pupils were filled with doubt.
As expected, after pausing for a moment, the old man suddenly changed the topic and said.
"Maybe one day in the future, the ion thruster propulsion system you proposed will really change the entire aerospace industry, but I don't think that time is now."
Lu Zhou: "Oh? Why? "
The old man smiled and said, "The development of any technology is inseparable from a step-by-step process. The birth of a new technology can't be developed in a day or two. Just like quantum computers, they already exist, but we still spend more energy on improving traditional supercomputers. This isn't because quantum computers aren't good, it's because they aren't good enough … Do you understand what I'm saying? "
Before Lu Zhou could speak, the old man continued, "It's still too early to use ion thruster propulsion technology. We should focus our limited resources on chemical rockets and complete the first step of the manned moon landing. Then, we can try to develop the so-called new technology with a higher upper limit. If we use the ion thruster propulsion technology now, we will have to bear all the risks of the new technology. Can you guarantee that your ion thruster propulsion system is really that reliable? If there is an accident, even if we can afford to wait, can our country's aerospace industry afford to wait? "
Most people agreed with the old man's words.
Even though Lu Zhou was the chief consultant of the moon landing project, he didn't have any real power in his hands. Also, everyone had their own specialties. A big name in the controllable fusion field might not have much more power than a newcomer in the aerospace field. At least, this was the case in most people's minds.
But in the field of chemical-powered rockets …
Obviously, this old man had more authority.
However, Lu Zhou was quite calm about this.
It was normal for people who had researched electrochemical rockets for their entire lives.
After all, for someone who had studied electrochemical rockets for his entire life, not only was it too unbelievable, but it was also unacceptable.
In fact, when Lu Zhou retrieved the structure diagram of the Hall-effect propulsion unit from Debris No.3, he was full of doubts about whether this thing could really push a space shuttle from the surface to low-Earth orbit. After all, according to public information, even NASA's most powerful ion thruster propulsion system could only lift an egg.
However, after completing the assembly and related tests of the Hall-effect propulsion unit, all of his doubts disappeared.
He couldn't believe that this was just a conclusion based on common sense.
The development of science and technology itself was a process of subverting common sense.
Lu Zhou believed that after seeing this amazing scene, they would naturally understand how shocked he was.
In fact, he didn't even need to explain.
Lu Zhou shrugged and spoke without any change in expression.
"As long as I can prove that this ion thruster propulsion system can send a load of 50 tons to low-Earth orbit, that's fine."
Academician Yuan wasn't angry.
Instead, he smiled and said, "If you can really do it, I'll eat my thermos."
"That won't be necessary." Lu Zhou smiled and sighed. He said, "Anyone who has said this to me has never fulfilled their promise."
Director Li, who was hosting the meeting, saw that the topic of the meeting was about the thermos flask. He coughed and tried to smooth things over.
"Everyone, let's have a friendly discussion … Today, we're mainly going to announce the bidding documents. The specific technical route to use will depend on everyone's bidding documents. The State Administration for National Defense will also conduct research with the China National Space Administration and other departments. We'll refer to the quotations and technical parameters of various units and choose a suitable plan. "
Actually, Director Li was in a difficult position.
Even though ion thruster propulsion was good, he was more inclined to choose the China National Space Corporation's chemical rocket launch plan.
This wasn't because he was against new technology, but rather, it was because of practicality.
After all, aerospace had always been linked to national defense. The reason why the country was willing to spend money on rockets was because of the development of rocket technology. Not only did it improve the country's aerospace capabilities, but it also strengthened the country's strategic strike capabilities.
Even though the ion thruster propulsion system was powerful, it was limited by the working medium, and its thrust was still inferior to a chemical engine. Even though it had a greater advantage over longer distances, ballistic missiles didn't have this advantage.
Not to mention, it was impossible for them to put a controllable fusion device on a missile.
Miniaturization of controllable fusion was important, but was ion thruster propulsion technology equally important?
Maybe in the future, but not now …
Lu Zhou looked at Director Li's expression and guessed that the State Administration for National Defense probably didn't want to invest in ion thruster propulsion technology. They just didn't want to give Lu Zhou face.
Actually, Lu Zhou didn't really care if other people were optimistic about his research, but he cared about money …
That's tens of billions of yuan …
Even if he didn't exchange his savings for East Asia Power shares, Lu Zhou couldn't afford this alone.
What should I do?
Lu Zhou stood on the stage and thought for a bit. He suddenly had an idea, and he looked at the smiling Academician Yuan.
"How about this.
"Since you're so confident that I can't do it, let's make a bet."
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