You were told to build a tractor, but you're building a rocket? Chapter 120 - 116 Cloud Palace Launch1

Basic Trainer CJ-01 (Colorful Cloud): A magic-modified electric transmission-enhanced version of the Initial Teaching 6;

Interdiate Trainer ZJ-11 (Flying Dragon): A modernized refurbished version of the Westland Flying Dragon;

Advanced Trainer GJ-21 (teor): Equipped with a single XW-9, a replica of the Yak-130.

Although it was said to be entirely self-researched, since the most optimal configurations for these types of trainers had almost all been used by others, Wang Xun just went ahead and copied, and in the end, Lin Ju could only do the sa, considering it a way to save so research and developnt ti.

There were fifty units of each of the three types of trainers, with forty of each type being used for training at any given ti and ten available as reserves.

The plan was to allocate 2 billion US dollars to prepare these 150 aircraft, of which 1.7 billion was for constructing the teor-type advanced trainers.

The first batch of ten Colorful Clouds would be completed in 20 days, the Flying Dragon would need 60 days, and the teor would need 90 days.

Chairman Lin Ju would serve as the honorary chief designer for the first batch of the Colorful Cloud initial teaching machines, and he was responsible for the design of the cockpit’s throttle lever.

At the sa ti, Lin Ju announced that all employees within the company, from security and cafeteria chefs to the chairman himself, as long as they passed the physical examination, would have to take four hours every Sunday to learn flying techniques by participating in the company’s internal flight school, rotating through training, and those who qualified would also serve as future pilots; those who did not qualify still needed to master basic aerospace knowledge to beco payload specialists.

Based on the level of flying skills attained, employees could receive a different amount of allowance each month, starting from 1000.

The whole company was deeply shocked by Lin Ju’s crazy decision to squeeze them on weekends, but considering the allowance, there were no objections from top to bottom.

Although New Yuan implented a two-day weekend system, due to the crazy work over the past year, there was actually a lot of overti work, so it would be pretty nice to fly a plane on the weekend...

On November 11th, the first batch of Colorful Clouds had not yet co off the assembly line, but a New Yuan-2 was erected again at the Qiongzhou Launch Site.

This New Yuan-2 rocket was different from the previous ones, with a shroud on the rocket head that was nearly 8 ters wider than the rocket body, and it wrapped a clearly elongated payload, making this 6-ter diater heavy rocket seem sowhat slender.

The Yungong Space Station model XS-62 had completed assembly and testing five days ago, transported to Qiongzhou by an Il-76, and was ready for launch today, to dock with Tiangong No.2 tomorrow.

This was the sixth launch of the New Yuan-2 since the end of May, setting a record for the number of launches of a heavy rocket in a short period of ti.

The aerospace agency’s desire for a reusable rocket beca even more urgent; New Yuan had two New Yuan-2 rockets set up at Qiongzhou, with one in the factory, and using just those two in a recovery rotation could easily enable continuous rapid launches of mass into space in a short ti.

A rocket that weighs 1300 tons - manufacturing one would take more than two months, but if it were reusable, it would only need about 10 days of maintenance, mounting a new second stage for a rapid relaunch, which would be cost-effective and efficient.

Although the New Yuan-2 had beco a regular at Qiongzhou, the number of people coming to watch the rocket launch had not decreased at all.

How many people across the country wanted to witness a rocket launch in person? Unknown, but even if it’s just twenty million, at two hundred thousand a pop that’s a hundred tis over.

The Qiongzhou Governnt made a rough estimate that the tourists brought in by the rocket launches alone had led to a 30% increase in the annual tourism economy compared to last year, an unbelievable amount.

This ti, the launch of the Yungong Space Station Core Module also attracted many people, including many foreigners like the Russian Space Agency Director Yuri seated in the VIP section.

The last accident with the Union TMA-17M dealt a heavy blow to the entire Russian aerospace industry; internationally, dissatisfaction with Russia grew, as many sought support from other space agencies or private space ventures, disinclined to sit in Russia’s tin cans any longer.

Luckily, Yuri kept his position and, looking to make ands, ca to China to seek cooperation.

The cooperation involved two aspects: one was the large space station program being pushed by the Aerospace Developnt Committee, and the other was the manned Moon mission.

However, China’s National Space Administration seed not very enthusiastic, perhaps because they were too busy or perhaps they felt that Russia’s aerospace technology didn’t have much left that they needed.

Even if there was indeed technology they coveted, why not go to New Yuan?

Yuri was aware of this as well, so even though he was sent to the Qiongzhou Launch Site to watch the rocket launch, he still clung on and didn’t leave.

Fortunately, Director Huang of the Launch Control Agency received him quite politely and they got along well.

Yuri pointed at the fairing of the New Yuan-2 Weiyuan VI:

"Huang, this space station is second only to Arica’s Sky Lab in size but it’s technically much more advanced and has much more space. It would be a luxury to use it rely for tourism.

If we say our astronauts are squeezed into single-person tents, then yours are like luxury estates with swimming pools."

Director Huang: "The Cloud Palace Core Module is actually of a comrcial nature, so this is normal. Next year’s Sky and Earth Space Station, which will be launched, will be completely scientific in nature. Then, the Cloud Palace Core Module will be operated completely externally."

Yuri: "The Tiangong Space Station will also be open for international cooperation, right?"

Director Huang: "I think so, but I’m sorry, I have no involvent in that, I’m just a launch center director... Look, the rocket is about to launch."

The seven thane engines of the New Yuan-2 Weiyuan VI rocket ignited. The thane fuel engines emitted hardly any visible color after leaving the ground, only the engine nozzles at the bottom glowed with a faint blue light, but the roaring sound was not diminished at all, and it could be felt even inside the launch control room.

"Oh my, New Yuan’s high-frequency launches, in a few days there will be another launch of the New Yuan-5, sending up our astronauts too, five of them, which is even one more than the Shenzhou Spaceship."

Indeed, the number of astronauts for the first crew to reside in the space station was also set: four from the astronaut corps with one veteran leading three rookies, and New Yuan with one veteran and one rookie.

"Veteran" refers to Zhou Rui, who would go up with a professional pilot recruited by New Yuan who only had five months of training.

Zhao Xiaowen was originally scheduled to go, but New Yuan seed to have launched a laser project, which was exactly Zhao Xiaowen’s field of expertise; he’s probably assembling a team right now.

So Professor Zhou could only fill a slot after just two months of instructing new recruits, serving as the mission’s only payload specialist.

This mission was held by Liu Ming, the commander of the astronaut corps, also doubling as the pilot of Unity, sending a total of six astronauts to space in one go, second only to Arica’s 7-person space shuttle.

Yuri could only feel imnse envy. On the surface, Russia had been the sole provider of manned missions for the International Space Station, but in reality, it was all about working for US dollars for Arica, and they were still being sidelined everywhere.

They had hardly sent any payload specialists up because modern-day Russia no longer had the economic strength to conduct such space experints.

He thought back to Putin’s request before coming to China: to try to join China’s manned Moon mission and help build the research station together, to send Russians to the Moon, and if nothing else, to finalize the deal for the Tiangong Space Station this ti.

Although the ISS was only considered fully completed in 2011, due to its older technology and high usage intensity in its initial modules, its lifespan is at most another five years. NACA is currently not in a position to organize the construction of a new ISS, so finding a successor in advance is crucial.

However, Russia isn’t the only one with this idea; Italy has already been taking action.