While talking, Wang Guanghai asked a key question:
Lao Ma, how much power do you need to project one kilogram of matter to 94 kilometers?
Academician Ma touched his chin:
When projected in the air, our space capsule weighs about 34 tons and consumes 1.30 to 1.35 million kilowatt-hours of electrical energy. One kilogram consumes almost 40 kilowatt-hours.
If there is a 60-kilometer vacuum pipeline, the space capsule can be projected to more than 200 kilometers at once. Assuming that half of the space capsule is fuel and dead weight, it means that 1 kilogram of material consumes about 100 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy. Wang Guanghai calculated.
The current electricity price is 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is equivalent to about 50 Chinese yuan per kilogram. Li Zhongting interjected.
Academician Ma shook his head and explained:
You forgot to calculate the maintenance power of the vacuum pipeline and the cost sharing of the mass projector.
Even if the electricity cost is 100 yuan per kilogram, it is still very cost-effective. In addition, the cost of the mass projector will be shared. If there are too many launches, the cost will naturally be amortized. Li Zhongting is already very satisfied with this cost.
In fact, if you compare the current launch costs of various countries, you will know the difference.
Milijia NASA's space shuttle has a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 22.7 tons, a launch cost of US$19,824 per kilogram, and the cost of each launch is as high as US$450 million.
However, after Atlantis completed its last mission on July 21, 2011, all space shuttles were officially retired.
The latest model of the Western Space Agency's Ariane 5 rocket in low-Earth orbit has a payload of 21 tons. The launch cost per kilogram is US$10,313. Each launch of this rocket costs at least US$165 million.
Mao Xiong’s Alliance FG/Fregate launch vehicle has a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 6.9 tons, a cost per kilogram of US$7,246, and a cost of US$50 million per launch.
The H2B rocket used by the Sunland Aerospace Research and Development Agency has a payload of 19 tons and a transportation cost of US$7,104 per kilogram. The cost of each launch of this rocket is US$135 million.
In addition, public information shows that before Dongtang's new-generation launch vehicles such as the Fat 5 were put into service, the Chang-3b rocket was Dongtang's rocket with the largest low-Earth orbit carrying capacity, with a payload of 12 tons.
Chang'e-3b is Dongtang's main force in launching large communication satellites, and it is also the only rocket that launched the 3.5-ton Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4 soft-landing lunar probes into lunar orbit.
The transportation cost per kilogram is US$5,833, and the cost per launch is US$70 million.
Tianzhu's largest launch vehicle (I don't know its name) is known as one of the four heavy-lift rockets currently in service in the world.
However, the low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of this type of rocket lags far behind Dongtang's Chang 3b, which is only 3.8 tons. The transportation cost per kilogram is US$3,947, and the cost of each launch of this type of rocket is US$15 million.
Does it feel very cheap? The problem is that this launch vehicle can only be digested internally by Tianzhu people.
Because others don’t dare to use it, and with Third Brother’s poor temperament, the reliability of this launch vehicle is a big question mark. Not to mention the launch failure, it would be ridiculous if the satellite was accidentally sent to the International Space Station.
Don't think that this kind of thing is impossible. After all, nothing is impossible for the magical third brother. They are so ruthless that they can even bring down their own plane. Just ask if you are afraid.
Currently considered to be the rocket with the lowest launch cost, it is the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX, a space exploration technology company.
The Falcon 9 rocket has a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 22.8 tons; a geostationary transfer orbit carrying capacity of 8.3 tons; and a launch capacity of 4.02 tons to Mars.
In the early days, the cost of each launch of this type of rocket was US$62 million. After the first-stage rocket is recyclable and reusable, the cost of each launch will be approximately US$44 million.
The transportation cost of launching to low-Earth orbit is only US$1,930 per kilogram; the transportation cost of launching to geostationary transfer orbit is US$5,300 per kilogram.
Assuming that the overall cost of the mass projection system is 300 billion yuan, and 15,000 tons of matter are projected into outer space per year, the cost per kilogram is 20,000 yuan.
If it lasts two years, it will be 10,000 Chinese yuan per kilogram, three years will be 6,666 Chinese yuan per kilogram, four years will be 5,000 Chinese yuan per kilogram, and five years will be 2,500 Chinese yuan per kilogram.
In other words, as time goes by, the cost of mass projectors will become lower and lower, and even if maintenance fees are added by then, it will become very cost-effective.
What's more, this mass projection system is estimated to cost less than 300 billion yuan.
After all, the most difficult vacuum pipeline can be completed using magnetic vacuum film, and the cost should not be too high.
In the dead of night, the four of them went back to rest with unfinished business.
January 6, 2019.
Zhao Hongxing, Li Zhongting, and Wang Guanghai got up early in the morning to wash up, and then ate the breakfast provided by the guest house.
Then he led the people from the space agency to the 2017 Building of Galaxy Technology.
Although the north wind is howling outside, the winter in the south is hot in the hearts of Zhao Hongxing and others.
Under the warm sunshine, they arrived at the unpretentious 2017 Building.
Academician Ma also arrived and was waiting at the door for Zhao Hongxing and the others to arrive.
Good morning, Lao Ma! Have you eaten? Li Zhongting greeted with a smile.
Eat, come with me!
Academician Ma led a group of people into the large conference room.
In the large conference room, no one was there anymore.
Most of these people are from the Galaxy Science and Technology Research Institute, including the Materials Research Institute, the Battery Research Institute, the Electromagnetic Ejection Research Institute, the Vacuum Engineering Research Institute, the Atmospheric Movement Research Institute, the Airship Research Institute, the Astrophysics Research Institute, the Outer Space Research Institute, the Space Engineering Research Institute, etc.
All research institutes involved in building a mass projection system this time were all present to participate in the meeting.
In addition, Galaxy Group, which is responsible for building the supercomputing center and supplying raw materials, sent several representatives to observe.
Galaxy Technology has so many research institutes! Li Zhongting looked at the signs on the desks of a large group of researchers or engineers. There were various research institutes.
Not many, just over two hundred! Academician Ma also has a rough understanding of the research institute of Galaxy Technology.
After all, he often has to deal with the institute's management committee and knows something about it.
Li Zhongting couldn't help but complain in his heart. There were less than two hundred.
The research institutions of Dongtang Aerospace System are those large-scale scientific research and production complexes, including Dongtang Launch Vehicle Technology Institute, Aerospace Power Technology Institute, Dongtang Space Technology Institute, Aerospace Propulsion Technology Institute, Shu Province Aerospace Technology Institute, and Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute.
Dongtang Aerospace Electronic Technology Research Institute, Dongtang Aerospace Aerodynamic Technology Research Institute, etc.
Galaxy Technology also has large research institutes that are comparable to their research institutes, such as the Materials Research Institute, the Semiconductor Research Institute, the Software Research Institute, etc.
After taking over part of the power of the Rockefeller Foundation, coupled with the semiconductor power of Dongdao, the scientific research power of Sanxin Group and Sydney Company, Galaxy Technology's scientific research power can be said to be unprecedentedly strong.
Before the meeting started, Academician Ma took Zhao Hongxing, Li Zhongting and Wang Guanghai to get to know the researchers of Galaxy Technology.
This is Mr. Li Xiang, the general director of the Institute of Materials. Academician Ma introduced it to Zhao Hongxing and others.
The three of them also hurriedly said hello, but Li Xiang seemed lukewarm, and Zhao Hongxing and the other three were not surprised. There are always some weirdos among those scientific researchers.
Especially for researchers in companies like Galaxy Technology, they speak based on their strength, unlike those in a company where they can work through seniority and accept favors.
And the Li Xiang in front of him is thirty years old at most, and he is already the head of a large research institute. It is impossible without two brushes.
After walking around, Li Zhongting and Wang Guanghai also saw that Galaxy Technology has a large number of talents and is young and energetic. There are very few researchers over fifty years old. Except for a few external experts like Academician Ma, most of the researchers are