Chapter 2871 A manned aircraft traveling between heaven and earth
"How low can it go?" The person asking was Wu Tong, who was obviously very interested in this question.
Upon hearing Wu Tong's inquiry, Wu Hao said with a smile: "Under ideal conditions in the future, the price of our tickets to space will probably be more expensive than the price of our international flights, which may cost around 100,000 US dollars."
Wouldn't it be better to pay six to seven hundred thousand? Can ordinary families really afford it? Wu Tong couldn't help but ask.
In response, Wu Hao smiled and said: "If you can't bear it, then don't go. This thing is not a necessity. To be honest, it is still a tourist project. Naturally, everyone has to do what they can."
Wu Jianhua nodded when he heard this: "This price is not expensive. For example, some of our expensive group tours cost hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands, and a ticket for a round-the-world voyage costs tens of thousands of dollars."
If the price can really drop to this low, then space travel will definitely become popular in the future, and no one can resist the temptation to travel in space."
Speaking of this, Wu Jianhua couldn't help but look at Wu Hao with a suspicious expression and asked: "But, can this price really be lowered?"
Facing his father's questioning gaze, Wu Hao smiled and nodded: "Of course the current manned space technology cannot do it, but the next generation of manned technology can achieve it. Its structure and principle are probably like Musk's.
The starship is almost the same.
In fact, we are also carrying out research work in this area, but there is still a big difference between our starship, or space shuttle, and Musk's starship."
Hearing what Wu Hao said, everyone here became interested. They also wanted to know what Wu Hao and his future manned aircraft would look like.
Seeing everyone's expectant looks, Wu Hao smiled and introduced: "Actually, our next-generation manned space shuttle is expected to be called a starship or a spaceship. It is better to be called a space shuttle."
Wasn't the space shuttle eliminated? Wu Jianhua couldn't help but ask.
Wu Hao smiled and said: "Actually, the space shuttle is a very ideal space shuttle. The reason why it was eliminated is, on the one hand, its frequent accidents and poor reliability, and on the other hand, its development and use costs.
, the launch success or failure is relatively high. That’s why the United States chose to retire and give up.
But we must also note that in recent years, small sounding shuttle vehicles similar to the space shuttle, such as Laomi's X37B, our Shenlong aerospace vehicle, etc.
The appearance of these aircraft is very similar to that of the space shuttle, and the principles of launch and return are the same. They are first launched by a rocket, then enter space and orbit, and then glide back from space in exactly the same way as the space shuttle.
ground.
As for our next-generation manned space shuttle, its structure is similar to Musk's starship. It is divided into two stages. The first-stage rocket is a core-stage reusable launch vehicle composed of dozens of high-thrust rocket engines.
It is the same as the core first stage of our current return-type launch vehicle, which can achieve return, landing and reuse.
In this way, its launch cost can be greatly reduced. If such a core-stage rocket is designed to be used more than twenty times, its development costs can be allocated to each launch.
Its launch costs will also be greatly reduced.
As for the secondary part, it is very different from a starship. The secondary part of a starship is actually a rocket, or a manned rocket. And our secondary part is actually a space shuttle.
In the past, space shuttles were launched using bundled rockets and huge fuel tanks. Now, we only need to load them onto the rocket. This has a lot to do with the development of technology and materials.
Of course, if necessary, retractable boosters can be bundled around the first-stage rocket. Different numbers of boosters can be bundled according to weight, either two or four.
The core first-stage rocket and booster will rely on the huge thrust to transport the second-stage manned round-trip vehicle to an altitude of tens of kilometers. At this time, the space shuttle ignites, and it will push itself out of the earth with its own powerful thrust, arriving at
Low Earth Orbit.
This manned round-trip vehicle will orbit the space orbit for a corresponding period of time based on the needs of the mission, and then return to Earth.
It will glide and land in the dense atmosphere like water, and then use the lift of the wings to slowly glide to the airport runway and land."
How many people can such a space shuttle carry? Wu Jianhua then asked.
Wu Hao replied: "Depending on the mission, the number of people it carries varies. According to our current design plan, the number of people carried by such a space-to-earth manned aircraft is about 25 to 30 people.
"
"so much?"
"so little?"
Two voices popped out at the same time. Speaking of many things, Wu Jianhua, as someone with a certain understanding of aerospace, naturally knew what this quantity represented.
Currently, the traditional first-generation manned spacecraft can carry about three to four people, while the new generation of manned spacecraft can carry about six to seven people, and the maximum number may be seven to eight people.
Basically they are all at this level.
The space-to-earth manned spacecraft that Wu Hao mentioned can actually carry 25 to 30 people. This manned capacity is more than four times that of the new generation manned spacecraft. This is definitely an excellent achievement.
The one who said it was less was Wu Tong. She obviously felt that the number Wu Hao said was a bit small. In her opinion, since they are all space shuttles, why can't they carry more people, just like airplanes?
More than a hundred people
In response, Wu Hao smiled and said: "At present, this crew capacity is relatively appropriate. If it is too small, it will be uneconomical and the gap with the new generation of manned spacecraft will not be widened. If the number is too large,
The corresponding cost will also increase and the economic benefits will become worse, so this should be considered a more appropriate range."
After hearing Wu Hao's words, several people present nodded.
At this time, Zhang Xiaoman, who had been silent, asked: "When will such a manned aircraft be successfully developed?"
hehe……
Hearing this question and facing everyone's expectant gazes, Wu Hao smiled and shook his head: "We don't know yet, it depends on the follow-up development and actual needs.
It is impossible for us to build such a manned spacecraft just for space travel. This is unrealistic. Any of our projects are closely based on our actual development needs and will not be launched blindly.
Of course, I believe that with the development of the global aerospace industry, it will not be too late."