China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
A huge cylindrical core module was parked in the middle of a factory in Tianjin Aerospace City.
The final inspection before the launch was about to begin. The engineers from the Fifth Academy were conducting a routine safety inspection on the core module.
After Sun Yuanpei checked the wiring of the core module and confirmed that it could be opened and closed after entering the password, he raised his arm and rubbed it against his forehead. He smirked and chatted with another engineer next to him.
"The chief designer of the Lunar Orbit Committee, Professor Lu, is really powerful this time."
Zhao Xianpu was immersed in his work. He didn't even look up as he said, "Yeah."
The launch was scheduled for the end of the month. The engineers, who were originally resting on weekends, immediately came to work.
Sun Yuanpei shook his head and said, "Sometimes I really don't understand what this guy is thinking. Isn't it better to just be a veteran in the controllable fusion field? I heard this guy quit his position as the director of the Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center and gave his position as the chief engineer of East Asia Power to someone else. He's determined to go into aerospace … Isn't he crazy? "
In his opinion, no matter how the aerospace industry developed, its future couldn't be compared to the booming controllable nuclear fusion field.
Just by looking at the controllable nuclear fusion technology and the engineers of East Asia Power, as well as the amount of international benefits that China had won, one could imagine the industry's bright future.
However, it was as if Professor Lu turned a blind eye to all of this. After completing the controllable nuclear fusion research, it was like throwing away a toy that he was sick of playing with.
In the eyes of most scientific researchers, not only was this unimaginable, but it was also incomprehensible.
Didn't they work so hard for so long just to taste the fruit of victory?
It was unbelievable that Lu Zhou would leave when it was time to pick the fruit.
Zhao Xianpu adjusted the helmet on his head and closed the circuit protection cover on the cabin wall.
"Who knows what he's thinking."
A slightly younger engineer next to him interjected and said, "Maybe he's on a different level than us?"
Sun Yuanpei curled his lips. "They both have two noses and one eye. What's the difference?"
At this time, footsteps came from outside the factory, and the three of them immediately started chatting.
Not long after, Zheng Xiangdong, the vice president of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and Academician Yuan Huanming, the chief engineer, walked into the factory with a group of people.
Academician Yuan walked in front of Sun Yuanpei and looked at the core module. He then looked at him.
"Is the examination complete?"
"It's done. There are no problems with all the circuits." Sun Yuanpei immediately straightened his back and handed the form to the old man.
Academician Yuan took a look at the form and nodded. He then looked at the director of the space station.
"Let's start the examination."
"Alright!"
Director Zhang nodded and did as he was told.
Originally, this examination was scheduled for two days later, but because Star Sky Technology was already preparing for the next launch, the China National Space Administration was in a hurry, so the examination was pushed forward.
However, Sun Yuanpei, who was the space station engineer, wasn't worried. The entire Moon Palace core module was designed with the most advanced technology from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.
Soon after, the core module was sent to the vacuum room and suspended by four cables. The gas in the vacuum room was gradually emptied, and the entire core module was in an environment similar to outer space.
The engineer in charge of the operation pressed the start button, and all of the equipment on the core module except for the solar panels were activated. The operation of the various components and various physical parameters were all reflected on the console screen.
"All components are operating normally!"
Zheng Xiangdong, the vice president of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, was standing next to Academician Yuan. He sighed in relief and smiled.
However, Academician Yuan, who was next to him, frowned.
"Something's wrong."
Zheng Xiangdong immediately looked at Academician Yuan and asked, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
Academician Yuan didn't answer directly. He went silent for a while before speaking.
"Let's see."
Zheng Xiangdong said nervously, "Don't scare me …"
The launch mission was about to begin at the end of the month. If something went wrong at this time, he wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.
Academician Yuan didn't say anything. His eyes were still locked on the screen.
Seeing how this big name didn't say anything, Zheng Xiangdong felt a little relieved.
Maybe I'm mistaken?
After comforting himself, he calmed himself down and continued to look at the screen on the console.
Ten minutes …
Twenty minutes …
Half an hour later, something strange finally happened.
The fluctuating temperature curves of the various components finally showed an obvious upward trend. According to the temperature-time function, the temperature of the entire core module was rising rapidly. It would reach a critical value in 24 hours, and the antenna control components would shut down due to overheating.
Seeing this scene, a drop of cold sweat slid down Sun Yuanpei's forehead.
A scary word popped up in his head.
Heat accumulation!
Judging from the rising temperature of the spacecraft, the total heat generated by the core module had obviously exceeded the heat dissipation load of the thermal control system.
Sun Yuanpei wasn't the only one who noticed this. The other engineers and researchers in the laboratory also noticed that something was wrong.
Academician Yuan was the first to react. He spoke decisively.
He immediately said, "Stop the experiment! Put in the protective gas. "
"Yes, sir!"
The engineers in the laboratory quickly began to work.
The airlock opened, and nitrogen gas poured into the vacuum chamber. The power of the components was turned off, and the core module's operating temperature finally dropped.
However, none of the engineers in the laboratory looked relaxed.
Especially Director Zhang, who was standing in front of the console, and Sun Yuanpei, who was responsible for the space station project. Their faces were pale.
"Oh no …"
Even though Vice President Zheng Xiangdong didn't understand the technical issues, he could tell from the atmosphere that something was wrong. He quickly looked at Academician Yuan and asked.
"What happened?!"
Academician Yuan's eyebrows furrowed. He then shook his head and spoke briefly.
"We're in big trouble."
Even though he didn't dismantle the entire spacecraft, he had a rough idea of what was going on.
Obviously, the problem was the loop heat pipe in the core module.
This type of loop heat pipe was commonly used as a spacecraft cooling system. It transported heat from the electronic equipment to the heat sink through evaporation and condensation, which was then released in the form of thermal radiation.
If there was a problem with this part, no matter how perfect the other components were, it would be useless!
There were only two ways to solve this problem. One was to remove the entire loop heat pipe and redesign it. Or, at the expense of the performance of the spacecraft, streamlining or even removing some high-heat equipment to reduce the total heat value of the entire spacecraft.
However, the problem was that this wasn't a work module, experiment module, or node module. It was the core module, the heart of the entire Moon Palace space station! It was equivalent to the "Dawn" cargo module of the International Space Station.
Even if they wanted to remove some of the high-heating equipment, there was nothing else to remove.
However, if they removed the entire loop heat pipe and redesigned the heat dissipation system, not only would it mean that billions of yuan would be wasted, but it would also mean that the entire Lunar Orbit space station project would be affected.
When Vice President Zheng heard that he was in big trouble, he felt his hands and feet go cold. Sweat began to appear on his forehead.
The next launch mission was at the end of the month.
The core module was about to go into space, but something went wrong at this critical moment.
Under normal circumstances, being able to detect the problem before ascending to the heavens could be considered a blessing in disguise.
However, this was a special time. The life support system of the Ares program had just been launched, and the entire country was looking forward to the Moon Palace project. However, the most critical part was the core module.
If anything went wrong, the entire 2021 launch plan would have to be postponed …
This wasn't a responsibility that a vice president like him could handle.
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