Chapter 996: The complete design plan of the space carrier
"What's this?"
With some curiosity, Xu Chuan took the brown paper bag from Chang Huaxiang's hand, opened the coil, and took out the documents inside.
After sitting down again with a smile, Chang Huaxiang picked up the kettle, added some hot water to both of their porcelain cups, and said.
"The 'Space Carrier' plan conceived by the Aerospace Group."
Taking a sip of hot tea, he continued: "Based on national defense deterrence and various factors, we are planning to build one or more large space carriers."
"On the one hand, it can be used to enhance national defense capabilities. The aerospace carrier will cruise in low-Earth orbit all year round."
"On the other hand, large space carriers can also perform scientific research tasks, replacing traditional space stations, which is more convenient."
"At the same time, it can also serve as a transfer station between the earth and the moon, the earth and Mars and other planets, and even undertake large-scale immigration or material transportation."
"After all, thanks to our breakthroughs in space shuttle technology and the construction of the Yuehuatai Outpost Research Station on the moon, theoretically, we already have the ability to immigrate to other planets in deep space."
"So the aerospace group has put forward related ideas. They plan to build one or more 'large' deep space spacecrafts specifically for immigration activities between the earth, the moon, Mars and other planets."
"Of course, this also includes enhancing national defense and deterrence."
"The space agency wants us to help with reference. When director Wu Yuankang and Wu came here, you happened to be busy with carbon-based chips, so you left this document."
Xu Chuan nodded, his eyes fell on the report document in his hand, and he said, "Let me take a look first."
In fact, this is not the first time he has seen such a proposal to build a super aircraft such as an aerospace carrier.
As early as when the controllable nuclear fusion technology was completed, the superiors discussed with him whether it was possible to build a large space carrier in low-Earth orbit based on the controllable nuclear fusion technology.
Later, when breakthroughs were made in miniaturized fusion reactors and aerospace engines, he went to the capital for a meeting, where he also put forward relevant feasibility discussions and suggestions.
Although traditional aircraft carriers can sail freely in vast sea areas, their operating radius is ultimately limited by the atmosphere, and the range and endurance of fighter aircraft are also limited.
The space carrier can cruise in space for a long time, even maintain continuous coverage of the earth's orbit, and be ready to launch strikes or defend at any time.
In terms of weapon system, the aerospace carrier is not only equipped with advanced carrier-based aircraft, but also equipped with high-tech equipment such as kinetic energy weapons and laser weapons, forming a multi-layered firepower network that can cope with various complex and changeable battlefield environments.
In terms of defense, except for theoretical laser weapons, there are currently no other weapons and equipment that can directly threaten objects in low-Earth orbit.
Even weapons like intercontinental missiles that can break through the atmosphere and then re-enter the atmosphere cannot directly attack satellites.
Therefore, for any country, the attraction of this large mothership that can sail in outer space and possess unprecedented air supremacy is fatal.
After all, with the development of the times, especially today with the rapid development of aerospace technology, in the future battle for space, whoever can make the first breakthrough in the space field will win strategic opportunities and dominate the direction of the future battlefield.
Space, especially the Earth's low-Earth orbit, will also become a core area where countries will compete for every inch of land in the future.
But the design of an aerospace carrier involves many cutting-edge technological fields.
Including but not limited to materials science, propulsion technology, energy management, life support systems, automation control, etc.
Each of these technologies is crucial, and even many of them require further breakthroughs before they can be achieved.
It is a huge challenge to integrate these technologies to create a fully functional and stable space carrier.
Even today with the realization of new space shuttle technology, it is extremely difficult for them to build a large space carrier.
Of course, once this kind of aerospace carrier is successfully developed, it will directly have a subversive impact on the existing war pattern, leading the war space to extend from the surface of the earth to the vast universe, ushering in a new era of war mode.
After all, it can not only respond quickly to crises in any corner of the earth, but also establish an absolute advantage in space. By controlling key space infrastructure such as communication hubs and navigation networks, it can even become the vanguard of space colonization and development.
Although Xu Chuan was not very interested in the military field, he still carefully read through the documents in his hand.
The design plan for a large space carrier proposed by the Aerospace Group this time adopts a shape similar to a 'fingertip top'.
In other words, you can think of it as an oversized bearing, with the main control room in the center as the inner ring of the axis, and it is designed to be the area where the main power engine system is located.
The outer ring is the personnel living room, material storage room, auxiliary power engine, weapons defense system and other structures.
It can be clearly seen from the introduction in the report that this is not just a space carrier dedicated to national defense and deterrence, the aerospace group also considers space immigration.
The outer ring of this space carrier is a full 532 meters in diameter. It is fixed on the inner ring structure through high-strength tensile materials and can rotate!
Yes, although the outer ring and inner ring structures are integrated, they are independent from another angle.
The rotation of the outer ring can cause the spacecraft to generate centrifugal force to simulate gravity.
According to the calculations of the aerospace group, when the outer ring of this space carrier rotates at an angular speed of two revolutions per minute, it is enough to ensure that humans can survive in the universe normally without suffering from space sickness.
In fact, the 532-meter diameter of this outer space spacecraft carrier was not designed casually.
As we all know, many mechanical instruments of manned spacecraft cannot be used normally in the near-gravity state of space.
For example, ball bearings, pendulum clocks and other equipment that rely on gravity to work.
More importantly, long-term weightlessness will pose a major threat to the life and health of astronauts.
On the one hand, weightlessness will cause excessive blood flow to and retention in the brain, which can easily form blood clots and endanger life.
On the other hand, bones will gradually loosen and muscles will gradually atrophy in this environment.
In a certain transnational health survey, 37 astronauts who worked long-term on the International Space Station were found to have muscle atrophy ranging from 8% to 17%.
You must know that these professional astronauts have undergone rigorous training on the ground for a long time and can use simple fitness equipment on the space station, but they still cannot prevent negative changes in physiological functions.
Therefore, we often see that astronauts need to be carried out by rescuers after returning to Earth. This is precisely for their health and safety.
A former Hongsu astronaut once fell down and was injured because he stood to accept flowers after leaving the cabin.
In addition, the nearly gravity-free living environment will also have many negative effects on the physiological functions of astronauts, such as reduced sleep quality, loss of appetite, degradation of taste, interference with concentration and judgment, etc.
More than one astronaut has revealed that even if he is fixed in space, the feeling of floating still forces him to often wake up from his dreams.
Similar situations will inevitably become more obvious as the time spent in space increases, thus hindering the work and life of astronauts.
It can be said that artificial gravity is the long-awaited "protector" for astronauts.
It is expected to solve the "weightlessness disease" once and for all and help mankind move towards the deeper universe with a more vigorous pace and a more fit body.
For the current human science and technology, the simplest method of artificial gravity is to simulate gravity through centrifugal force.
Anyone who has ever played a merry-go-round knows that if the merry-go-round spins very fast, it will feel a strong centrifugal force.
When I was a kid, watching Tom and Jerry cartoons, I saw the scene of Tom being thrown out of the rotating amusement ride and falling to the ground more than once.
In fact, humans have known for a long time that this is the centrifugal force at work.
This virtual force causes rotating objects to tend to move away from the center of rotation. This space carrier is built based on this principle.
However, it is easy to create a rotating system, but if you want to successfully simulate a gravity equal to that of the Earth, you must consider a problem.
That's the speed.
If the radius of the rotating system is shorter, the higher the rotational speed required to create the same centrifugal force as gravity.
Take the "Tianhe" core module of the Tiangong Space Station that they launched into space as an example.
Its diameter is 4.2 meters. If it wants to simulate the earth's gravity, the rotation speed must reach twenty or thirty revolutions per minute.
In such a high-speed space, people cannot move normally.
Because of the ‘Coriolis effect’.
Perhaps many people have never heard of this term and don’t know what it is.
But if you put it another way, everyone can understand it.
It also has another name, called 'geostrophic deflection phenomenon'.
To put it simply, for an object moving in a rotating coordinate system, the movement route will deflect. The faster the rotation speed, the more obvious this deflection will be.
For example, in a system that rotates twenty or thirty times per minute, if we just try to stand up from a chair, we will fall to the ground. This is caused by the Coriolis effect.
There is no way to completely eliminate the Coriolis effect. Even in a huge rotating system like the earth, the movement of objects will still be deflected.
Therefore, the fluids in the Northern Hemisphere will shift to the right, and the fluids in the Southern Hemisphere will shift to the left. Both the atmosphere and ocean circulation will be affected by this.
The reason why this space carrier is designed with an outer diameter of 520 meters is to consider the Coriolis effect and the impact on the health of astronauts.
Through a combination of experiments and calculations by experts in the medical field, as long as the angular speed of the outer ring structure of the mothership does not exceed two revolutions per minute when rotating, the health and normal activities of the personnel on the spacecraft can be guaranteed.
According to the calculation formula of centrifugal force [RCF=1.118*10ˉ?*N2*R], it can be concluded that if the gravity acceleration of the earth's surface is to be reached, the required centrifugal radius is about 224 meters, which is a diameter of nearly 500 meters.
This is the core reason why the outer ring structure of this space carrier reaches 520 meters.
Only when this level is reached can the people living above be able to carry out relatively normal activities.
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Of course, in addition to these designs that ensure the health and safety of the people living inside, the design of this space carrier for military purposes should not be underestimated.
First is the inner circle!
In addition to serving as the core cabin to provide energy and power for the entire space carrier, the inner ring is also designed with two powerful power cannons!
The design scheme adopted is almost identical to the electromagnetic railgun that Xu Chuan participated in before.
The group of experts from the Equipment Department who had previously mentioned that they were "crazy" about building a "super-high-speed precision strike electromagnetic rail gun" in space, finally designed it into this space carrier in another form.
The controllable nuclear fusion reactor in the main core of the inner ring provides endless energy, using normal temperature superconducting material as the track, and the accelerating barrel is a full 68 meters long...
You know, the total length of the 'Thor Electromagnetic Railgun' he saw in the test laboratory of the National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Energy Technology in Jiang Chu was only fifteen meters, and the accelerating barrel was only 13.8 meters.
To be honest, Xu Chuan didn't even know what these people wanted to do with this.
Kill the little days with one shot?
Ahem...
Although this is not possible, with such an exaggerated acceleration trajectory, theoretically speaking, this thing is no weaker than the two nuclear bombs that I had in my childhood.
The empty space between the outer ring and the inner ring is used to supply aircraft such as space shuttles and aerospace fighters.
The high-strength tensile-resistant materials used to connect the inner and outer rings are designed into a pipe-like structure, and can even efficiently replenish supplies to the aircraft through automated equipment.
On the outermost ring of the space carrier, high-strength alloy materials are used as protective walls. Judging from the report documents, this is mainly to deal with the impact of fine dust and micro-meteorites during space navigation.
After all, the space carrier flies extremely fast in space, and any dust or meteorite hitting the spacecraft at ultra-high speed will cause great kinetic energy damage.
Moreover, on the outer ring structure, at regular intervals, different types of weapons and equipment such as kinetic energy weapons, electromagnetic weapons and laser weapons are synchronously designed and deployed.
The weapons on these outer ring structures mainly serve as interception and protection functions to deal with attacks from enemy artillery shells and missiles.
Although there are currently no other weapons except laser weapons that can attack equipment in low-Earth orbit.
But if long-range missiles like intercontinental missiles are modified, they still have this capability.
Moreover, the United States has now followed their footsteps and restarted the space shuttle, although its current size and performance are far from comparable to theirs.
However, small and medium-sized space shuttles are not without the ability to carry offensive weapons and equipment to space.
It has to be said that in the design of this space carrier, the Aerospace Group has incorporated everything they can think of.
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