Interstellar Industrial Age

Dragon Nest Space Factory.

Scientists and engineers are also excited as the asteroid is smelted into steel and has a large monolithic casting, because it means they can directly use the casting to machine large parts.

The huge steel ball was hauled by the Qinglong spacecraft. Here in the huge dock, the robotic arms are constantly busy, and scientists are going to use it to build a more powerful spacecraft.

Because of the first second-generation anti-gravity spacecraft, the 'Qinglong' spacecraft was not mature in construction technology, and more importantly, there was no way to directly transport large-scale whole castings into space at that time.

Therefore, whether the Qinglong spacecraft is the core second-generation antigravity engine or the overall structure of the spacecraft, it is composed of numerous components.

Such a structure naturally has no problems when the power is not too strong, but the second-generation anti-gravity technology uses the strong gravitational force of stars, and the power is extremely powerful.

Without a strong enough structure, there is no way to release the powerful power of the second-generation anti-gravity engine. Once the power is too great, it will tear the entire spacecraft apart.

Although the Qinglong universe is very powerful, it can only exert less than 20% of the power of the second-generation antigravity engine, and it only dares to haul asteroids of 150 million tons.

Now it is different with a monolithic casting. Scientists can use this monolithic casting to directly machine it into the most important and core supporting components.

Especially the second-generation anti-gravity engine, its power is too huge, and it must have a strong support. The stronger the support, the greater the power that can be exerted, and the more powerful the spaceship it can create.

"Tsk tsk, the Xuelong spacecraft, its engine is awesome. If it is equipped with a powerful keel, the Xuelong universe should be able to drag an asteroid with a mass of more than 500 million tons."

Yang Hongyan looked very excited when he saw the huge second-generation anti-gravity engine in front of him.

The second-generation anti-gravity engine built from a single piece of casting can already exert 50% of the power of the second-generation anti-gravity engine. Such a huge force is enough to drag an asteroid with a mass of 500 million tons.

"There are still too few asteroids recovered from mining. In-depth research on asteroid smelting technology should also be continued. Don't make a large iron ball. It is too troublesome to process and wastes materials."

Zhang Jian on the side also nodded and said that space smelting technology is just emerging, and many aspects are not mature enough. Because there is no gravity, in space, liquids are in the form of balls, so this asteroid smelting has become Steel, directly turned into a big iron ball.

"Take your time, it always takes some time to research and improve."

Qin Yi smiled. Whether it is space smelting technology or the manufacture of this spacecraft, it has only just begun. With the advancement of technology and technology, the future will really shine.

"How is our second-generation anti-gravity technology research?"

"The research on the miniaturization of this second-generation anti-gravity technology cannot be slackened. This spacecraft can easily be in the trillions of dollars, and only really big capital can run it."

"The general public has no way to enjoy the real benefits brought by interstellar mining. We need to develop a small spaceship, which does not require much power, and can pull a million-ton asteroid at one time."

"Such a spacecraft that we can sell to individuals, small companies, to fuel their passion for interstellar space."

Then Qin Yi thought about it and asked Yang Hongyan.

The second-generation anti-gravity engine is too large in size and extremely expensive to manufacture. It is similar to the aircraft carrier on the ocean. It is the best for building space battleships and large spaceships. It is absolutely powerful and powerful.

But because it's too expensive and too big,

Therefore, there are very few people who can afford it, and only real big capital and big conglomerates can play it together, or it can be purchased by the power of the state.

Qin Yi is very clear that with the arrival of an era, it is definitely not just the superstructure, but the substructure is what it needs most.

If you want to turn the solar system into the back garden of the Chinese nation, you need not only a large spaceship like the Qinglong, but also countless small spaceships.

Only by involving more people and allowing more people to benefit from the interstellar space age can we greatly stimulate the entire country to develop into the interstellar space age, and allow more people to share the benefits brought about by the development of science and technology. dividend.

In fact, from the very beginning, Qin Yi wanted to study a small second-generation anti-gravity engine, but because the second-generation anti-gravity technology was not mature, it was easier to make it bigger than to make it smaller. Such a behemoth as the Qinglong.

However, the second generation of anti-gravity technology has just begun, and its prospects are also very broad.

One direction is to develop in the direction of greater and powerful power, and to create a larger second-generation anti-gravity engine with a powerful thrust of 10 billion tons, even hundreds of billions of tons, and trillions of tons.

Once it can be researched, the space battleships and spaceships that sail in the interstellar universe will be truly manufactured, and the era of interstellar colonization will follow.

The current Qinglong spacecraft is still too small and its power is too weak. It belongs to a small boat and a small sail. It can only be king and hegemony in small rivers and ditches like the solar system. There is no way to gallop in the sea of ​​the interstellar universe. .

If you want interstellar colonization and interstellar immigration, it must have a more powerful engine, because the interstellar universe is too vast, and the distance is calculated in light years. Without a powerful engine, sailing alone is enough to make you sail to old age.

The Centaurus galaxy, which is the closest to the solar system, is also 4.2 light-years away. That is to say, it takes more than 4 years to travel at the speed of light. It is conceivable how far this distance is.

Without a powerful spaceship and fast enough speed, don't even think about galloping across the interstellar universe, because you may not even be able to reach the galaxy next door.

The other direction of development is just the opposite. If you want to develop in a smaller and more flexible direction, and create small spacecraft, it may only be a small spacecraft such as a kiloton or a hundred tons.

There are many small spaceships everywhere. As the saying goes, a small ship can turn around. Small spaceships not only allow more people to participate in interstellar space, but more importantly, they can also develop towards military power.

A large spaceship is like an aircraft carrier. This small spaceship is a fighter to protect the aircraft carrier and attack the enemy. Without the protection of the fighter, a large aircraft carrier is a moving target and cannot withstand several rounds of attacks.

Colonization in the interstellar universe requires not only powerful space warships, but also a huge number of small space fighters and combat spaceships.

Interstellar warfare is not only the bombardment between giant swords and cannons, but also the fighting between small fighter groups. Both are indispensable. Without large space battleships, small fighter groups simply do not have the ability to fight long-distance. , cannot be delivered.

Without a small group of aircraft, large space battleships are also very dangerous. Without the power to protect and attack, the two complement each other to form a powerful force.

"The progress is very good. It is estimated that by next year, we will almost be able to develop a small second-generation antigravity engine. At that time, we will be able to manufacture a small spacecraft, a small spacecraft that can navigate in the solar system."

Hearing Qin Yi's words, Yang Hongliang smiled and nodded and said, he is an expert in this field, and he has always been in charge of this field. He naturally took the things that Qin Yi focused on explaining.

"Next year will be fine too. We will build more and more spaceships and have more and more types. We need to come up with a classification plan as soon as possible."

Qin Yi nodded with satisfaction, and then said after thinking about it.

"I think this classification scheme is very simple. You can refer to the classification of ships on the ground. Ships on the ground are classified by displacement. For example, aircraft carriers are divided into 10,000-ton Langley-class aircraft carriers, 30,000 tons. The Lexington-class aircraft carrier, the 100,000-ton Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.”

"Our spacecraft can also refer to this design. For example, a spacecraft of the same level as the Qinglong has a mass of one million tons. In the future, we will call it the Qinglong spacecraft for the one million-ton spacecraft. "

"Or we can divide it according to the maximum thrust. For example, the Qinglong spacecraft, the second-generation antigravity engine it uses has a theoretical maximum thrust of 1 billion tons. In the future, we can use 100 million tons to 1 billion tons. Thrust spacecraft are classified as Qinglong-class spacecraft."

When Zhang Jian heard this, he rolled his eyes and said with a smile.

"This plan is possible, but whether it is classified according to the mass of the spacecraft itself or the thrust of the spacecraft is a more reasonable and accurate classification method."

Qin Yi thought about it and nodded.

"Our next task is to create more Qinglong-class spacecraft, and at the same time develop small spacecraft with a thrust lower than 100 million tons. I think this type of spacecraft is called Miron-class spacecraft."

"It's still too much for us to build a spacecraft with a thrust of more than 1 billion tons. We can put it aside for a while, and seize the time to occupy the resources in the solar system."

"People from other countries are all busy now, trying their best to build big spaceships."

"Haha~ Their spaceships can also be called spaceships. They use traditional rocket thrust and don't know if the fuel they carry is enough to burn."