The sa runway, the sa spaceplane for the test flight, yet this ti the spaceplane is sowhat different from the last ti.
The current spaceplane has been modified by Chen Xin. While it hasn't undergone major alterations, so issues exposed during the previous test flight have been addressed in this upgrade, and the shield device has also been installed.
This test flight not only aims to further test the extre performance of the spaceplane but also to test the shield device and see if it can operate normally at an altitude of forty thousand ters.
Since it's already flown once, this take-off is not as tense as the last ti.
"Academician Chen, what do you think about this test flight?" a researcher from Europe asked Chen Xin in English.
The European researchers have beco familiar with the working environnt in Fla Country over this period and have had much contact with Chen Xin, the general manager, gradually getting to know him better.
While waiting for the spaceplane to complete its pre-flight checks, they couldn't help but chat with Chen Xin.
"This test flight? I have no particular thoughts. The plane has flown once before, and its design is sound in all aspects. It theoretically ets design requirents. I don't think there will be any issues with this test flight unless sothing unexpected occurs," Chen Xin expressed his confidence in the test flight without saying much more.
Indeed, this is the case. After all, the spaceplane had already flown once before and had been optimized by him using a system. There is no potential for problems with its performance or quality.
Although there is still a possibility of unforeseen events, theoretically, this test flight is nearly guaranteed to succeed.
Hearing Chen Xin express such confidence, the European researcher raised his eyebrows, evidently surprised by Chen Xin's optimism regarding the test flight.
However, he didn't say much further, just nodding and saying, "Let's hope God blesses us and everything goes as smoothly as you say, Academician Chen."
"This is China, you should say may the heavens bless us," Chen Xin joked, though he didn't deride others' beliefs.
Despite the world-end level of disaster bringing trendous hardships worldwide, severely impacting religions in various countries, there remain many devout believers whose faith has only strengthened in such circumstances.
They believe this disaster is rely a trial bestowed upon humanity by the gods, urging people to discard vices and sins and purify themselves to regain divine favor.
Chen Xin always scoffed at this notion. He even had conflicts with religious groups in a European city before, eventually having to suppress them by force.
However, he respects those who are truly devout, self-disciplined, and do not impose their faith on others.
The foreign researcher before him clearly wasn't particularly devout, using "God bless" rely as a long-standing catchphrase.
So faced with Chen Xin's joke, he just shrugged, giving an indifferent expression.
As the two chatted, the spaceplane also completed its pre-flight preparations, moved onto the runway, and soared into the sky with a roar of its engines.
As he watched the spaceplane ascend, Chen Xin suddenly asked the researcher beside him, "Do you have any ideas about the weapons for the spaceplane?"
"Currently, we don't have any great ideas. Equipping missiles on the spaceplane doesn't seem very aningful, as its flight speed can reach Mach 10, faster than many missiles," the researcher shook his head, evidently having no satisfactory answer for Chen Xin's question.
Indeed, even the Fla Country's current hypersonic missile DF-17 has a maximum flight speed of Mach 10, and that's a ballistic missile, different from missiles equipped on regular fighter planes.
Thus, deciding what weaponry to equip on the spaceplane is a conundrum for the project team.
If designing missiles for hypersonic conditions, that would undoubtedly beco a new project, increasing the investnt in the spaceplane.
Yet saying not to develop them is clearly impossible, as the spaceplane is ant for combat, not rely functioning as a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft.
Developing a hypersonic air-to-air or air-to-ground missile, which previously didn't exist, is undoubtedly no easy task.
The missile's engine is a major issue since not just any missile can reach flying speeds over Mach 10.
The DF-17 is a ballistic missile; its design experience can't be directly applied to air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles.
"What about laser weapons?" Chen Xin proposed an idea.
In a hypersonic environnt, lasers are indeed more desirable than missiles, as nothing flies faster than light.
"Laser weapons are indeed feasible, but under current technological conditions, high-powered laser weapons require large optical lenses, which are prone to damage in hypersonic environnts. If this issue isn't resolved, laser weapons still can't be used on hypersonic aircraft," the researcher agreed with Chen Xin's proposal but pointed out the existing issues.
With current human technological levels, the most practical laser weapons are those designed by Chen Xin's Research Center. Even those battle-tested laser weapons still face many technical challenges to be applied to hypersonic aircraft.
In Chen Xin's absence, it's evident that humanity cannot achieve such technological breakthrough quickly.
Chen Xin knowingly nodded, as he naturally understood this, having participated in laser weapon research and developnt himself.
Yet despite the difficulty, whether it's laser weapons or hypersonic air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, they must be developed without a good solution to the issue.
Just then, another researcher suddenly interjected, "I wonder if high-energy particle beam weapons are feasible? Since we can create a magnetic beam device to constrain high-energy charged particles into a shield, can we also launch it as a weapon?"
"High-energy particle beam? Are you suggesting using magnetic fields to accelerate charged particles, and then causing damage with the kinetic energy carried by the beam?" Hearing this researcher's proposal, Chen Xin suddenly felt enlightened.
This is indeed a potentially feasible idea since the Energy Shield has been created, using similar technological principles. It's rely a matter of altering the way electromagnetic fields are utilized.
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