The conference was over.
After Lu Zhou's presentation, many other research institutes and aerospace companies that had close cooperation with national defense units presented their technology on PowerPoint presentations. Even though there were many conceptual drawings that were more exaggerated than Lu Zhou's PowerPoint presentation, no one wanted to complain anymore.
Just like that, in this strange atmosphere, the bidding conference came to an end.
After the conference ended, Lu Zhou went back to his hotel and took a shower. He then called Chen Yushan and told her about the bet he made with Academician Yuan at the conference.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a bet with Academician Yuan. After all, there was no point in making a bet with a chief engineer. Even if he won against the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, he wouldn't have the final say.
Instead, it was a verbal agreement with the nature of a bet.
Which was, for the 50-ton low-Earth orbit delivery system, the "finished product" would replace the bidding documents. In other words, whoever could prove that they had the ability to deliver a 50-ton load to low-Earth orbit would be able to win the bid as long as the bid price wasn't too much higher than the other party.
This amount of money would be between 9 billion yuan and 12 billion yuan.
Even though it was only a verbal agreement, it was recognized by the leaders of the State Administration for National Defense and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It was also written into the conference transcript. In a sense, this was a binding agreement.
After all, putting aside the bet made in front of so many people, if Star Sky Technology's ion thruster propulsion system was as advanced as shown on the PowerPoint presentation, there was no reason for the State Administration for National Defense not to pay for this technology.
Also, no matter who won this competition, the bidding party wouldn't lose anything.
Of course, for Star Sky Technology, facing an aerospace giant like the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, there was a lot of pressure on them. Now that the 500-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engine had basically been developed, if they were determined to do it, they might be able to build the Long March 9 ahead of schedule.
Even so, Lu Zhou still had a good chance of winning.
Now that the miniaturization of the Hall-effect thruster propulsion unit and controllable fusion device had been completed, the design of the space shuttle had entered the final stage. As long as they had enough funding, he believed that Xiao Ai's performance and the industrial equipment would live up to his expectations.
However …
After he told the whole story to his senior sister, he couldn't help but be scolded.
"Why didn't you tell me about this in advance?"
Lu Zhou sighed and said, "I couldn't make a phone call at the conference, and I even handed over my communication device. Even if I wanted to inform you, I would have to find a way to do so, right?"
Sitting in the office chair, Chen Yushan said with a headache, "Your decision is too hasty … Do you know what this means for us?"
Even though Star Sky Technology had a good future, as a company focused on research and development, it was still inferior to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Especially in the aerospace field, this competition was completely not a contest between heavyweights.
Regardless of technical reserves and industrial production capacity, just in terms of launch experience, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation was better than Star Sky Technology.
Otherwise, why did other companies basically give up bidding for this project when the so-called "VAM" came out? Instead, they focused their attention on projects such as the lunar module and astronaut life support system.
Because no company had the confidence to beat the "500-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engine" in low-Earth orbit, much less the Long March 9.
This was the confidence of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation!
Lu Zhou gently tapped his finger on the armrest of his chair. After listening to Chen Yushan's complaints, he said, "But this is the best way. If this was a normal bidding, unless we lower the bidding price, it would be difficult to beat them."
Actually, there was no hope at all.
Back then, most experts and scholars in the aerospace field didn't believe he could do it.
Most importantly, the State Administration for National Defense's interest in his ion thruster propulsion system was obviously less than one-tenth of their interest in the small controllable fusion device …
Chen Yushan sighed and couldn't help but say, "The best way is to give up on this bid. If you really want to build this space shuttle … We can also accumulate experience from small launch missions, then consider participating in this project."
From a CEO's point of view, this was the most appropriate approach.
There was no need to continue a project where the benefits and risks were not proportional.
In fact, to be able to incubate a small controllable fusion reactor, this was already a great deal.
Once the Navy Equipment Research Institute completed the improvement of controllable fusion device technology, a lot of military companies would pay for their technology. Even though the income from national defense patents was limited, it was no problem for them to earn back the initial research funding.
However, Chen Yushan was worried about something else.
After listening to Lu Zhou's confident explanation, she sighed and said, "What kind of bank would approve a seven or eight billion yuan loan for this kind of project! Unless you want to sell your shares in East Asia Power, you can't raise that much money. "
"Yeah … I actually solved the money problem, you don't have to worry about it."
"I knew it, no money … Wait, what?" Chen Yushan snapped back to reality and was stunned for a few seconds. She then asked in disbelief, "It … It's done?"
"Yeah." Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Alibaba Group is willing to provide a portion … in the form of an investment."
Accepting this investment meant that after the project was completed, Alibaba would receive a certain percentage of the State Administration for National Defense's funds. However, Lu Zhou didn't really care about how much profit he could make from this launch project, so he didn't really care.
After all, compared to the vast world outside of Earth, the ticket to the Moon wasn't even worth a small profit.
The other end of the phone went silent for half a minute.
After a while, Chen Yushan finally spoke.
"Are they crazy …"
"Maybe." Lu Zhou shrugged and said in a joking tone, "But I think they're quite confident that we can win this' bet ', so I think you should have more confidence in me."
Actually, even if Star Sky Technology lost this bet, it wouldn't be a huge loss.
After all, the three aerospace industry support policies announced by the state at the beginning of the year stipulated investment in the aerospace field. Funds invested in aerospace projects could enjoy tax deductions for the same amount of turnover in other businesses.
Seeing how Lu Zhou still had no intention of changing his mind, Chen Yushan sighed and spoke.
"Okay then, since you said this, I won't try to convince you otherwise. In short, I'll try to help you save as much as possible … Without affecting the quality and progress of the project, I'll support your project. "
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded.
"En, I'm counting on you."
.。 m.
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