Chapter 935: Rocket Recyclable Technology with Our Own Characteristics
There is still some time before the launch, Wu Hao can't let these two people stay here, so he still has to accompany them to visit the base. Of course, this is also an important part of Lao Ma and Xiao Ma's trip.
How could Wu Hao, as the host, not satisfy the goal or wish?
First they went to the rocket launch site. It was still some time before the rocket launch, so the site had not been closed and cleared yet.
Therefore, I took the two of them to visit the site before it was closed and cleared. Once the launch site is closed, no one else can enter, not even Wu Hao.
After leaving the base, the vehicle began to drive smoothly on the straight and wide asphalt road. The figure of the rocket standing in the distance had already appeared in everyone's eyes.
In this vast desert next door, the tall rocket stood like this, which must be said to be very shocking.
The closer you get, the bigger the rocket becomes, even giving people a sense of oppression. The height of more than thirty meters may not sound high, but the actual feeling is very shocking, especially when a person stands at its feet
, looking up, one can’t help but be amazed by the huge body.
The vehicle stopped in the open space in front of the launch site. Everyone got out of the vehicle with shock on their faces, their eyes never crossed the rocket.
The staff on the side immediately gave them white safety helmets, and everyone took them and carried them on.
"Mr. Wu!" Zhou Xiangming came over with a few people.
"Xiang Ming, I'm bringing two Mr. Ma here for a visit." After saying that, Wu Hao smiled at Lao Ma and Xiao Ma and introduced: "This is Zhou Xiangming, the deputy chief engineer of our entire project. What we have in front of us is Zhou Xiangming.
He presided over the design and development of this reusable launch vehicle."
"You are really young and promising." Lao Ma couldn't help but admired the very young Zhou Xiangming in front of him.
"amazing!"
Haha, Zhou Xiangming smiled and shook his head and said: "This is the result of the joint efforts of the entire team, and Mr. Wu also gave us a lot of help. Otherwise, the progress of this project would not be so fast."
Xiao Ma, who was on the side, kept looking at the rocket and asked with a smile: "Can you give us a general introduction to this rocket?"
"Of course, everyone, please come this way." Zhou Xiangming said, leading everyone to introduce, smiling at everyone.
“This is the second commercial launch vehicle developed by our Aerospace Science and Technology R&D Laboratory under Haoyu Technology Company, and it is also the first retractable commercial launch vehicle developed by ourselves.
This rocket is 36.8 meters in length, 3.52 meters in diameter, and has a take-off mass of 225.4 tons. Its carrying capacity can reach 4.2 tons in low-Earth orbit and 2.3 tons in sun-synchronous orbit. This capability can basically satisfy the vast majority of commercial satellites and
Orbital entry requirements for some spacecraft.
This rocket consists of a total of two stages, a first-stage recyclable rocket and a second-stage rocket.
After the rocket is launched, the first stage part will automatically fall off after sending the rocket to a certain height. The parachute cabin located at the top of the first stage part will first throw out the guide parachute, and then throw out the three main parachutes. These main parachutes will be greatly
The deceleration will control the rocket's landing speed within a more appropriate range.
The grid plate and directional engine on the rocket will continuously control the direction of the rocket's descent, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the landing point of the first-stage rocket.
When the rocket is about to land on the ground, the launcher is opened. Generally, this distance is between 200 meters and 100 meters. The rocket's main engine will ignite, further decelerating and allowing the rocket to land smoothly. The entire first-stage rocket
The recycling task is completed.
As for the two-stage rocket, the rocket body is smaller, the cost is relatively small, and the recycling cost is high and difficult to recycle. It has no recycling value, so we usually let it fall at a fixed point.
For a retractable launch vehicle like this, the first-stage rocket body accounts for about 80% of the entire launch cost. If it can be recovered, it will greatly reduce the launch cost.
According to our current quotation, we can generally recover the cost and make a profit in two launches. The designed service life of the first-stage rocket body of our retractable rocket is five to eight times.
Of course, the number of launches will be appropriately extended or reduced based on the recovery status of the first-stage rocket body."
After hearing Zhou Xiangming's introduction, everyone nodded and had a general understanding of the rocket. Although they had seen relevant information before, it was far less impressive than the on-site explanation.
Brother Ma, who listened to the whole process very carefully, then asked: "Is this rocket reliable? What advantages does it have compared to the Falcon rocket?"
Zhou Xiangming nodded and responded: "Of course it is reliable. The biggest condition that determines whether a launch vehicle is good or bad is reliability.
If a launch vehicle is unreliable, then it will have no value no matter how excellent it is in other aspects.
Therefore, when we develop and manufacture rockets, we put reliability first. In addition to borrowing some international advanced and mature technologies, the technology on this retractable rocket also includes many of our innovative designs and technologies.
application.
For example, the fuel used in rockets is independently developed by us. Currently, this new hybrid fuel has been recognized by experts in the aerospace sector and has been partially used in some rockets to replace some toxic fuels.
The second is the rocket's flight control system and its newly designed return method. We have designed an 'intelligent control brain' for this rocket. This 'brain' can control the rocket's flight attitude and process the rocket launch process in real time.
some problems that arise.
Compared with traditional passive solutions, this proactive effort to deal with problems can greatly improve the reliability of the rocket.
The second is our self-designed return method, which is different from the Falcon rocket that requires engine ignition for the entire flight to land. Our first-stage rocket body uses a parachute to decelerate at mid-to-high altitudes, and only at low altitudes will the engine ignition be turned on to decelerate and land.
The advantage of this is that on the one hand, it can increase the carrying capacity of the rocket and save more fuel, which can be used in the rocket's carrying capacity.
On the other hand, this method of reducing engine working time can extend the life of the engine and even the first-stage rocket body, increase the number of launches, and further reduce costs.
Finally, in terms of cost, the parachute thrown by the first-stage rocket body can be reused. It only needs to be recycled, cleaned, and then refolded, and then it can be reloaded and used.
Moreover, this parachute deceleration method can reduce the working intensity of the rocket engine, extend its life, and reduce fuel consumption, thereby reducing launch costs.
Of course, this also has another advantage, that is, the manufacturing difficulty and manufacturing cost of our engine have been further reduced, and it is not as demanding as that of the Falcon."
