Chapter 316: Cute Tengyun Type 1, two options, Zhang Shuo: Neither works!
Along the way, Liu Zhiwen talked about a lot of shortcomings of small spacecraft.

“That’s a lot to ask…”

Zhang Shuo secretly sighed, “The planning is fast. The small spaceship prototype has just been built and hasn’t even passed the test flight, but they are already preparing for the large spaceship plan.”

In the Air Force’s aircraft research, the speed is indeed normal.

For example, fighter jets.

The previous generation of fighter jets is still under development, while the next generation of fighter jets has already begun designing.

This is normal.

Whether it is the aerospace field or the military field, every technology is like this. The plan must be started as early as possible so that it can be updated from generation to generation.

But in reality, the performance of the small spacecraft is already very good.

The Tengyun-1 can carry 14 missiles. Liu Zhiwen said that was a small number, but Zhang Shuo knew that the number of missiles was just due to design reasons.

The bomb-carrying capacity of an aircraft is not determined by the number of missiles but by the total weight.

Zhang Shuo doesn’t know much about the Tengyun-1, but based on the research of Meng Zhilin’s team, the total weight of the Tengyun-1 should be between 40 and 70 tons.

This bomb-hanging capacity is already quite exaggerated.

For example, the B2 bomber only has a bomb load of more than tons.

The Tengyun-1 is only slightly wider than the B2 bomber in terms of wingspan, but has two or three times the bomb-carrying capacity, which is absolutely amazing.

The so-called ‘can carry 14 missiles’ is just a design reason, and missiles are different from each other.

The weight of a super-explosive bomb can reach several tons, and some even reach more than ten tons; the weight of a hydrogen bomb is about thirty tons; ordinary nuclear bombs, air-to-air missiles, and air-to-ground missiles weigh between 1 and 2 tons.

Fighter planes and bombers carry various types of missiles.

The Tengyun-1 will certainly carry various types of missiles to deal with various situations. For example, nuclear cruise missiles and air-to-ground missiles will definitely be included in the design.

Judging from the high-altitude performance of the Tengyun-1, it must be carrying ultra-high-end missiles.

The higher-end the missile, generally speaking, the heavier it will be.

There is a huge difference between ’14 high-end missiles’ and ’14 ordinary missiles’. Perhaps there are hypersonic missiles among them.

Of course, the problems Liu Zhiwen mentioned do exist.

Small spacecraft do have many shortcomings, the two most important of which are lack of space.

Insufficient space makes it impossible to install extra-large equipment, such as ultra-high precision radar equipment.

The cockpit of a spacecraft also requires high-end equipment to maintain operation. When space is limited, the equipment to maintain the operation of the cockpit will be inferior.

Another more important point is acceleration, which is the flexibility of the spacecraft.

The Tengyun-1 is still propelled by the fan blades of an electric motor. The thrust generated by the fan blades pushing the air is limited. In addition, the small spacecraft weighs more than 100 tons, so the sensitivity of the spacecraft naturally needs to be improved.

Slow acceleration means poor sensitivity.

Sensitivity is not just a matter of acceleration, it also represents safety.

If the sensitivity is high enough, that is, the speed is fast enough, it can fly at low altitude for a short period of time. Otherwise, it can only hover at high altitude for a long time. In addition, the time it can stay at high altitude is limited, so its combat capability is greatly restricted.

In addition, low sensitivity also affects one’s own safety.

The anti-aircraft missiles of some fighter jets may pose a threat, especially missiles with tracking functions. If the spacecraft does not accelerate enough, it will be a sitting target and can only be protected by the weapons it carries. However, the number of protective weapons is limited, so absolute safety cannot be guaranteed.

As they talked, they arrived at the assembly room of the small spacecraft.

As soon as Zhang Shuo entered the door, he saw a very shocking scene. An oversized silver-white ring-shaped pipe appeared in front of him. There were many supports underneath the ring-shaped pipe. In the center was a silver-white hemisphere. Six spider-leg-like supports extended from the surroundings of the hemisphere. There were also several blades extending from the bottom, which were the electric thrusters below.

This scene looks very shocking and full of science fiction.

At the same time, there are some… cute ones.

Zhang Shuo took an overall look and felt that the main problem was that the central ring-shaped pipe was too thick. Including the radar on the top, the spacecraft was only a dozen meters high, and the diameter of the central ring-shaped pipe was more than four meters. The huge volume seemed to occupy most of the space, as if it was a “fat” flying saucer.

He told Liu Zhiwen about it.

Liu Zhiwen pondered and smiled, “A fat flying saucer? This description… is really very vivid.”

“Let’s go up together!”

They walked along the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor is more than ten meters high and is already above the replacement pipes.

Looking from above, you can clearly see the ellipsoidal cockpit. The radar and other facilities are installed behind the cockpit close to the annular pipe.

From this, we can see that the Tengyun-1 type still has a clear direction, rather than being circular and having no fixed direction.

The cockpit is ellipsoidal in shape as a whole, but the design also takes aesthetics into consideration, and when paired with the oversized annular pipe, it feels very coordinated.

“What a great design!”

“amazing……”

Zhang Shuo looked at it for a long time and gave a positive evaluation.

Liu Zhiwen was also somewhat proud, “This was designed by many experts, and it was revised more than a dozen times.”

“Every position has been modified. For example, look at the cockpit hatch.” He pointed in the direction of the cockpit and said, “It was originally designed as a sphere, in the center. This is the most perfect design, and it can form a whole with the spacecraft.”

“But then I thought that the driver couldn’t sit so far back, it would be better to sit in the front and put the equipment in the back.”

“Later, we changed it to an ellipsoid design, but the problem was that the ellipsoid didn’t match the spacecraft, so we changed it several times before it looked better.”

He continued, “The initial idea of ​​the entire spacecraft design was also very advanced.”

“Professor Zhou Peng from the Design Institute proposed a very innovative solution. He said that everything should be designed in a ring shape, and the gravity system and the battery system should be separated, so that the outside can rotate continuously and quickly.”

“By then, the entire spacecraft will be able to rotate continuously, just like the legendary flying saucer.”

“If we add a few flaps to the outside of the tube in the ring, we can change the direction during the rotation. Then we only need a thrust in a fixed direction, and the whole spacecraft can fly freely and become very flexible.”

Liu Zhiwen said, shaking his head with regret, “We considered this design, but eventually gave up.”

Zhang Shuo interjected, “Is there too many problems to be solved?”

“Academician Zhang, you can see it!”

Liu Zhiwen said, “That design sounds perfect, but it is too demanding and too advanced.”

“There are many problems with the balance system, the electronic system, and even the rotation of the ring pipe itself. We calculated that even the electricity cannot support it. The ring pipe is too heavy.”

“From this perspective, a flying saucer that can rotate… might be a lie…”

“Maybe the technology hasn’t reached that level yet.”

Zhang Shuo smiled and said, “This design is indeed very interesting. It will make the spacecraft very flexible. When turning, the orbit is related to the rotation speed and altitude, which cannot be measured or calculated by radar. In addition, the one-way thrust will make the spacecraft more flexible.”

“The biggest problem is that the anti-gravity system is too large. If the technology improves in the future, maybe it will be able to support it.”

“I hope to see that day.”

Liu Zhiwen suddenly reacted and looked at Zhang Shuo and said, “Academician Zhang, gravity technology is your research. Do you think the technology can be improved?”

“Of course it can.” Zhang Shuo said with certainty, “Gravity technology has only been around for a few years. Whether it’s basic theory or technical research, it’s just the beginning. The technology will definitely improve in the future.”

“Then I’m really looking forward to it.”

Liu Zhiwen smiled and said, “The current Tengyun 1 is definitely not going to work, but maybe Tengyun 2 or Tengyun 3 will have hope.”

After visiting the Tengyun-1 spacecraft, Liu Zhiwen took Zhang Shuo out of the assembly room and went to the base one kilometer away. On the way, they continued to talk about the design issues of the large spacecraft.

“For the Tengyun-1 model, there are many problems to be solved, and flexibility is a big issue.”

“We definitely hope that a gravity ship, such a high-end thing, will never be shot down.” He added, “At least it will not be shot down by conventional weapons, and new physics technology is not one of them.”

He thought of the ion cannon.

Ordinary people know about ion anti-aircraft weapons, and Liu Zhiwen knows more.

After the ion cannon is fired, it can hit the satellite in just a few seconds.

If it were at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters, one second would definitely be enough.

In such a short time, it is impossible for any aircraft to react. Before the pilot realizes the danger, the aircraft has been hit.

Therefore, it cannot be shot down and can only be targeted by conventional weapons.

He continued, “Large spacecraft can be equipped with high-power air compressor motors, which can make the spacecraft more flexible.”

“At the same time, it can also be equipped with high-end radar facilities and complete protective combat facilities, such as laser weapons.”

“As far as flexibility is concerned, (the spacecraft) is too heavy and certainly cannot catch up with fighter jets, but the altitude of tens of thousands of meters is enough to ensure safety.”

As they were talking, they had already arrived at the base.

It is called a base, but in fact it is just a few rows of houses against the mountain, among which there is a two-story office building, which also looks very simple.

There are many people coming in and out of the base.

Many people greeted Liu Zhiwen when they saw him, and then noticed Zhang Shuo, and immediately shouted in surprise, “Academician Zhang Shuo!”

“It really is……”

“Academician Zhang Shuo, welcome! Welcome to visit and inspect us!”

Everyone was very enthusiastic.

In many people’s minds, Zhang Shuo is a legendary figure.

Zhang Shuo also responded enthusiastically, and then went into a larger room with Liu Zhiwen and several other researchers.

Liu Zhiwen took out several documents and handed them to Zhang Shuo, and then gave a brief explanation with others.

The information on the table is all related to the design of large spacecraft.

They have already done research on the design of large flywheels, and there are two main design options.

One is to design an extra-large spherical spacecraft.

To put it simply, it means making the Tengyun-1 larger and building a large gravity device, with a large hydrogen bomb battery or several hydrogen bomb batteries operating together at the bottom.

The second option is a long spacecraft design.

The long design can be understood as connecting several consecutive Tengyun-1 types in a straight line.

For example, five.

If five Tengyun-1 spacecraft are connected, they will be powered by five hydrogen bomb batteries, and the space above and below will become much larger.

Several large air compressor motors can be installed on both sides of the hydrogen bomb battery.

Liu Zhiwen explained, “We have studied both options.”

“Five hydrogen bomb batteries are enough to support the operation of the air compressor motor. The space above is also enough to install high-end radar equipment and meet various other needs.”

“The weapon system will also be improved, with a bomb carrying capacity of more than 200 tons.”

“There is enough space above, even to carry a large number of drones. Drones can be dropped from high altitudes, which will also enrich future combat methods…”

He said a lot in succession.

Others followed suit and thought that large spaceships were perfect.

It will be like a sky fortress.

Zhang Shuo listened and nodded continuously. Finally, after thinking for a while, he said, “You are more inclined to the second option, right?”

“Correct.”

Everyone else nodded.

Liu Zhiwen said, “So I want to ask whether gravitational technology is supported. We mainly consider the stability and coordination of the gravitational field.”

“Even if the gravitational fields are created with the same strength, will there be any inconsistency issues? For example, if there is a slight difference in strength? Or will superposition cause problems?”

“We are not very clear about these…”

After Liu Zhiwen finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Shuo with burning eyes, hoping to get a positive answer.

He was disappointed.

“No.”

Zhang Shuo shook his head clearly, “At least not for now. The research in this area is not thorough enough.”

He noticed the disappointed looks from the others and explained, “There is still little research on gravitational field superposition, but I can clearly say that such a design will have problems.”

“Why?” Liu Chengwen asked immediately.

Zhang Shuo stood up and said, “Our research found that there is a membrane at the edge of the gravitational field. This membrane is where gravity rises rapidly.”

“This membrane has an effect on matter, and for metals, I mean, metals that are at the edge of a gravitational field for a long time may fatigue quickly.”

“This has not been experimentally proven yet, but some teams are already studying it.”

“So at the moment, this design is definitely not feasible and has great risks.”

Liu Chengwen frowned, and the others were also thinking with depressed looks.

They prefer the second option.

The second long spaceship design looks safe and reliable, and there are many technologies and designs that can be used as reference for long spaceships.

Result, no?
So the only option is the first one?

“The first option doesn’t work either!”

Zhang Shuo continued to deny, “Tengyun-1 amplification, that is, the amplification of the gravity device, has problems in theory and technology.”

“Increasing the size of the pipeline will increase the range of the magnetic field, but this cannot create a gravitational field with the same coverage.”

“The design of enlarging Tengyun-1 is simply impossible to achieve for the time being.”

“Unless gravity technology improves in the future…”

(End of this chapter)