The photo released by the Mars Exploration Project Team was published on the front page of major media, and netizens also rushed to repost it.
As this news spread, everyone's vision and focus suddenly turned to looking up at the stars.
Many netizens lamented that the disputes on the earth are so insignificant in the vast universe. At this moment, it seems that it is rare for various human groups to substitute themselves into a whole called "humanity"
among.
But that's all, the dispute will still continue.
At this time, the "Survey Space Telescope" is about to be officially launched.
This hugely expensive space exploration project can be regarded as a big gamble, because it is different from the "Hubble Telescope" in the West. As soon as it is launched into space, it is basically left to fate and can only rely on remote control. It cannot be used near Earth at all.
The Hubble Telescope, which orbits 600 kilometers above the ground, can still send people up to repair and perform regular maintenance.
As for the "Survey Telescope", as long as it is launched, maintenance, repairs, etc. are all out of the question.
Because it has to be sent to the Lagrangian L2 point, which is 1.5 million kilometers away from the earth. The moon is 380,000 kilometers away from the earth. The distance to the L2 point is equivalent to about 4 times the distance between the earth and the moon. There is basically no possibility of later maintenance.
At least it can't be done with the current technical level.
If something goes wrong after launch, more than 70 billion will be wasted.
It is worth mentioning that Fang Hong gave this project an exaggerated budget of close to 100 billion, which is almost the most funded space project except for the "Daily Project".
If you can't spend it all, you can't spend it all. In the end, you saved nearly 30 billion in budget funds.
But having said that, even if the survey telescope fails to launch, it will not be completely in vain because the industry and technology will remain.
Even though it is just a telescope, it involves a lot of cutting-edge, high-precision technologies, and these technological achievements will be extended to many other fields, such as integrated circuits, optical electronics, etc.
Another strategic purpose of Fang Hong at the beginning was to launch this kind of super space engineering project to drive innovation in high-end industries and cutting-edge technologies, as well as reserve talents, so the worst outcome was barely acceptable.
Why, now that technology is available, industries have also developed, and they are all high-end technology industries.
…
Three days later.
The "Survey Space Telescope" that the astronomical community has been waiting for for many years will finally be officially launched today. This matter did not attract so much attention originally, but because the news of the discovery of ancient fossils on Mars shocked the world, it also attracted more people's attention.
Focusing on a series of space exploration activities of the great Eastern countries.
At 7:22 in the morning, the "LJ-7C" recyclable rocket owned by Kyushu Blue Arrow was launched into space carrying the "Survey Telescope", and the launch was live broadcast. Thousands of melon-eating netizens were in the live broadcast room
Witness this launch.
As time went by, the rocket successfully took off and was recovered, and the "Survey Telescope" was successfully sent out of the atmosphere and into space.
However, being sent into space by a rocket is just the beginning. During the flight to Lagrange Point No. 2, the follow-up work of the "Sky Survey Telescope" is the biggest challenge of this mission.
Moreover, for this space mission, the scientific research team has no previous experience to refer to and cannot cross the river by feeling the stones. It is already at the forefront of mankind in this field.
The Western Hubble Telescope only operates at a high altitude of 600 kilometers in a low-Earth orbit, and does not have much reference value.
There are not many real-life shots of the launch live broadcast, and most of them are unfolded in the form of CG animation.
After separating from the second-stage rocket, the camera showed the real picture of the "Sky Survey Telescope", which was taken with the rocket's built-in camera.
Viewers on Earth can also see through the live broadcast room that the "Survey Telescope" has successfully separated from the rocket, and the solar panels are also being deployed.
Both the netizens who watched the live broadcast and the staff on site were very excited and excited. After so many years of preparation and such a huge cost, we finally set off.
Astronomers at home and abroad are looking forward to it. Even foreign astronomers hope that the "Survey Telescope" will succeed, because this telescope adheres to the principle of openness and can be used by astronomers or astronomical institutions around the world.
Of course, domestic scientists and scientific research institutions must have the best resources and the largest proportion, but they will still allocate about 35% to 45% of the resources of this telescope to foreigners. After all, you are now holding high the slogan of "a community with a shared future for mankind"
With a big banner, you have to take a series of practical actions to make the world more aware of your values.
Foreign scientists or scientific research institutions need to apply to use this telescope, and they have already been queuing up to apply for it several years ago.
There is a way to decide whether to use it or not. This is not a simple academic issue. There must be more or less political factors involved.
Of course, scientists or research institutions in the West will also give them some resources, about 10%, and you can’t grin at me, otherwise you will not be allowed to pass. The rest will be given to non-Western brothers to play with.
Son.
Science has no borders? Technology has no borders? What nonsense? After spending so much money and taking such huge risks, not everyone can come and have it for free.
…
With the deployment of solar panels, the "Sky Survey Telescope" officially launched its planned nearly one-month mission, and its destination is the Lagrange L2 point 1.5 million kilometers away.
Time passed by, 11 and a half hours after launch, the main rocket of the survey telescope was ignited for 60 minutes, which was the first orbit correction in the established plan.
On the second day, the "Sky Survey Telescope" began to deploy a high-gain antenna. This antenna can transmit a large amount of data, three times a day, at least 45 GB of data.
At this time, the automatic deployment work has been completed, and the next step is for professional staff on the ground to start manual operations.
Computer AI is still not as stable as manual operation. After all, compared to the distance of Mars, the "Survey Telescope" is still very close to the earth, and delays and the like are not serious. Manual operation is safer.
In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, all subsequent operations of the "Survey Telescope" will be manually controlled remotely by professionals at the ground control center.
As time came to the third day, 60 hours after launch, the "Sky Survey Telescope" ignited for more than 10 minutes.
"Second orbit correction, completed."
The sound of announcements came from the lobby of the control center. All ground staff were concentrating on their work and being meticulous.
At this time, the "Sky Survey Telescope" made a second orbit correction. Each orbit correction was made to keep it flying to its destination at the pre-calculated speed as much as possible.
Not too fast, not too slow.
If the speed is too fast, it will waste fuel by decelerating and braking; if the speed is too slow, it will still waste fuel if it cannot fly to the intended location.
Every bit of fuel carried is the key to determining how long the "Survey Telescope" can be used in the future, so it must be as accurate as possible to allow the telescope to operate longer in the future.
