The group of people soon arrived at the space shuttle assembly center.
The factory building in the middle of the assembly center was the birthplace of Skyglow. It was also the cradle of a series of spacecraft produced by Star Sky Technology.
At this moment, in this huge factory, there was a long metal hull lying horizontally. The reason why it was called a hull was because its huge size made it look like a nuclear submarine, not a spacecraft sailing in outer space.
Because the long and narrow hull could not withstand its own gravity, the entire hull was divided into three sections, which were suspended in the air by a strong mechanical skeleton.
From the moment they walked into the factory, the Russian delegation looked around curiously like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
Mr. Georgiev and a group of bureaucrats from the Ministry of Economic and Development were fine, but the aerospace experts who went to France with the Ministry of Economic and Development delegation couldn't help but stare at the Magpie Bridge.
Especially Professor Kaufman, an expert from the Russian Aerospace Corporation and academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering, who had been following Georgiev, his jaw almost dropped to the ground.
The Russian delegation stood next to this behemoth for a full five minutes. Georgiev spoke emotionally.
"I can't believe it … Is this your spacecraft?"
"Magpie Bridge." Lu Zhou smiled and said, "You can call it a spacecraft. Sometimes when I look at this thing, I feel like it's more like a ship than a spacecraft."
Academician Kaufman, who was standing next to Georgiev, couldn't help but speak.
"Such a big spacecraft … How do you plan on sending it into space?"
As soon as this question came out, many of the Chinese people standing at the side suddenly became nervous.
They were just visiting, but when it came to the technical aspects, everyone had to keep their mouths shut.
Minister Yang was about to step forward and change the topic, but when he saw Lu Zhou's reassuring look, he immediately stopped talking.
Lu Zhou looked at Academician Kaufman and smiled as he said, "We will launch the spacecraft in three stages. First, the command module, then the cargo bay, and finally the engine. After that, we will dock and assemble in outer space."
Although it was just an understatement, after hearing it, the Russian experts were shocked.
Spacecraft docking had always been a difficult problem in space technology. The more components needed to be docked, the higher the risk of the entire launch process. At present, the more mature international docking technology could only be used to separate the spacecraft into two parts and launch it into outer space for docking.
However, Lu Zhou's words told them that China could now disassemble a spacecraft into three parts, launch it into outer space, and assemble it together. Even Minister Georgiev couldn't help but look shocked.
"I didn't expect your launch technology to reach this level …" Georgiev looked at the Magpie Bridge with a complicated expression on his face. He then asked, "Is it using an ion thruster propulsion system?"
Lu Zhou: "Ion thruster propulsion system is the future. It doesn't require a lot of thrust in outer space. The advantage of the propulsion system of chemical rockets doesn't exist in outer space."
Georgiev and Academician Kaufman, who was standing next to him, looked at each other in shock.
Minister Yang of the Ministry of Commerce coughed lightly, smiled in a friendly manner, and said.
"Let's end the tour of the space shuttle assembly center here. There are many excellent companies in our aerospace industrial park looking forward to working with you."
"You're right, I've been at Star Sky Technology for a bit too long." Georgiev smiled and said, "Then, Minister Yang, please show us some other excellent companies in your country."
For the rest of the journey, Georgiev seemed to lack interest. The Russian experts behind him also began to look at Georgiev in a picky manner.
Even though there were many excellent aerospace companies in the aerospace industrial park, none of them were as good as Star Sky Technology. Some of them were huge, several times larger than Star Sky Technology's factory. However, they lacked technology. Whether it was the production equipment or the products they produced, they weren't very advanced. Although some of them had some groundbreaking or even eye-catching technologies, the company itself was not big. At most, they could only be part suppliers, and they could not make much of a difference.
However, after realizing this, Georgiev sighed in relief.
Fortunately, there was only one Star Sky Technology.
If there was another aerospace company that had both research and development capabilities and a strong production capacity, then the strength of China's aerospace industry would be terrifying …
Lu Zhou didn't accompany the Russian delegation for the rest of the trip. However, as the chief designer of the Lunar Orbit Committee, Lu Zhou still had to attend the diplomatic banquet held at the Purple Mountain Hotel in the evening.
The banquet was in a Chinese style.
Even though Lu Zhou sat at the same table as Georgiev and Minister Yang, he didn't say much during the banquet.
He wasn't very good at these kinds of particularly formal banquets. Unless someone took the initiative to talk to him, he generally wouldn't take the initiative to speak. Instead, he focused most of his attention on the delicious food on the table.
However, Minister Georgiev, who was shocked by Star Sky Technology's technology in the morning, obviously didn't plan on letting him go so easily. He kept talking to him during the banquet.
"Actually, I've always been curious. The aerospace industry isn't a strong field in China, but it has developed so rapidly in recent years. Can you tell me how you did it?"
Lu Zhou didn't avoid this question. He smiled and said, "Find a direction, then do it to the best of your ability."
Georgiev made a helpless expression and raised the wine glass in his hand.
"That sounds too abstract."
"It depends on how you understand it." Lu Zhou clinked glasses with Minister Georgiev and took a sip. He said, "Finding the right direction is also finding a way to achieve our goals. This is the work of scientific researchers. Fortunately, the experts who work with us are all excellent scholars. With their help, I've solved a lot of problems. "
Georgiev asked with interest, "What do you mean by doing the best?"
"Enough funding, or more specifically, this is the country's execution." Lu Zhou continued, "Or to put it more simply, it's concentrating on doing big things and allocating limited resources to the right places. The main problems facing the aerospace industry are commercialization and scale. The former determines the future, while the latter determines the cost. By concentrating on doing big things, we have solved the problem of scale. Next is commercialization. How to cooperate with other countries and how to guide private capital into this field will be our main task. "
"First scale, then commercialization?" Georgiev asked with a smile, "But doesn't this violate the objective laws of the market economy?"
"This is a matter of opinion." Lu Zhou smiled and asked, "When the Queen of Spain funded Columbus' voyage, he successfully discovered the New World. I want to ask Mr. Georgiev, does this conform to the objective laws of the market economy?"
Georgiev replied, "This is an interesting question. Maybe it doesn't conform … But is there a connection?"
"Of course there is a connection. The ultimate goal of the aerospace industry is to go out of our home and expand our living space. This is essentially the same thing as discovering the New World." Lu Zhou raised his glass and gently clinked it with Minister Georgiev again. He then said, "The market is the catalyst for social development, but not everything develops in accordance with the law of the market. At least not in mathematics."
"Hahaha, your point of view is very interesting." Minister Georgiev drank the wine in his glass and smiled. He looked at Lu Zhou and sincerely said, "If there is a chance, I sincerely invite you to visit Russia. The scholars in Moscow will definitely be willing to discuss this issue with you."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "There will be a chance. If everything goes well, I may go to St. Petersburg next year to participate in the International Congress of Mathematicians."
Minister Georgiev solemnly promised, "If you really come, we will definitely hold a grand welcome ceremony for you to witness the friendship between two scholars!"
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