Military Technology

Encouraged by Wu Hao, everyone started working again. Zhou Xiangming also immediately went to the launch site of the No. 2 rocket to make the final preparations before the launch.

The second retractable experimental rocket is different from the low-cost rocket with 3D printing materials just launched. In addition to the different technology and methods, the shape of this rocket is also very different from the former.

Because it is an experimental rocket, this retractable rocket has only one stage, so it looks like a long log.

As mentioned earlier, the main recovery of this kind of retractable rocket is the first-level part of the rocket. The second-level part is too difficult and has no recycling value. Therefore, this test also mainly tests its first-level part.

Different from the first-stage body of ordinary rockets, the first-stage part of this retractable rocket is mainly composed of three parts.

The first is the rocket body, which is basically the same shape as the first-stage rocket body of a normal rocket, except that it is different at the top and end.

On this experimental rocket, it is also marked with color. On the top of the rocket's first-stage body, there is a dark blue painted area about one meter away.

This area is not only painted in a different color, but also has a different internal structure from other rockets. This is the parachute recovery device designed and developed by the research and development team for this retractable rocket.

The reason why it takes up so much space is that the parachute takes up more space. Yu Chengwu and the others equipped the rocket with three large parachutes, the shape and material of which are similar to those of the Shenzhou series spacecraft in terms of shape and structure.

At the tail end of the rocket, on the body of the rocket, there are three sets of black prismatic devices similar to the tail fins. This is the ground support frame of the rocket. When it is launched, it is folded and close to the rocket body, so as to reduce air resistance as much as possible.

When landing, the ground support frame is opened to support the entire rocket body and play a role of cushioning and shock absorption when landing. This point is originally the same style and structure as the landing gear of the Falcon rocket.

Why not use the same technology as the Falcon rocket and use the rocket motor to land smoothly. To be honest, it's not that they don't want to, but that their technology is not yet available. The main reason is the gap in the material and manufacturing process of the engine, which Wu Hao can't solve at present.

That's why they use this kind of parachute relaxation to replace the engine reverse thrust when the rocket lands, and they can even use this technology to reduce the engine's lack of craftsmanship and materials, shorten the engine's use time, reduce costs, and so on.

In this way, although Zhang Jun said earlier that this is the beggar version of the Falcon Rocket, he is right.

While Zhou Xiangming and his team were making final preparations before the launch, Yu Chengwu was also introducing the basic situation of the rocket to Wu Hao, Zhang Jun and other guests in the control center.

"...the total height of the first-stage body of this recoverable rocket is 10.2 meters, and the weight is 725.7 kilograms. The height of this test launch is 20 kilometers, or 20,000 meters.

After reaching this altitude, the rocket engine will be temporarily shut down. When the rocket falls, the leading parachute of the main parachute will be thrown out from the top first, and the guiding parachute will take out the main parachute, thereby reducing the rocket's descent speed.

At the same time, the three landing supports at the bottom of the rocket will also be opened, waiting for landing, and the ranging radar at the bottom of the rocket will also be turned on. And turn on the main engine of the rocket at a position about ten meters above the ground to provide a strong reverse thrust, thereby further reducing the falling speed of the rocket.

And the moment the rocket hits the ground, the engine shuts down, and the parachute at the top will automatically disengage,

Avoid accidents such as the rocket being pulled down by the parachute or being towed away due to the wind speed on the ground. "

Speaking of this, Yu Chengwu paused for a moment and then continued: "In theory, the landing site of this rocket can be controlled through the grid plate on the rocket, and the landing error can be controlled within a small range.

However, the actual situation is more complicated. Because we use the parachute recovery landing method, it is easy to be affected by the wind direction in the air, which makes the landing site worse.

This deviation can be large or small, so in order to make up for the recycling problem caused by this problem, we specially prepared a transport truck and a crane.

After the rocket lands, our ground recovery team will rush to the landing site as soon as possible, hoist the rocket onto a transport vehicle and transport it away. "

Hearing Yu Chengwu's explanation, everyone nodded, as they had a general understanding of the rocket's first-stage recyclable technology.

After Zhang Jun finished listening, he quickly raised the question he was concerned about: "How much can the cost of this kind of receivable rocket be reduced?"

"It depends on how many times the rocket can be reused."

Yu Chengwu explained with a smile: "According to our preliminary design requirements, the first-stage part of this rocket will be reused more than five times. Although some maintenance costs, fuel filling costs, etc. will be added to this, but five times on average , its launch cost is only one-third of the previous rocket, which can be said to be very low.

Of course, this price is only a conservative estimate, and it may continue to decrease in the future. "

After hearing Yu Chengwu's words, Wu Hao shook his head. His expectation was still a little too optimistic. In fact, as long as it can be reduced by half, it will be considered a great success.

"The countdown is 30 minutes, and all personnel in the launch site are evacuated."

"Start charging, and start the self-inspection procedure of the rocket body system before the test flight."

With the instructions issued one by one, the rocket has also entered the final preparation stage of the launcher. Seeing this, Wu Hao patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder, and then walked outside.

"Why, don't you want to watch it?" Zhang Jun chased after him.

Wu Hao said with a smile: "Isn't it more intuitive to see from the outside?"

"That's right." Zhang Jun nodded, and then came to a second-floor viewing platform with him.

At this moment, many people gathered on the viewing platform, and when they saw them coming up, they all greeted him.

Wu Hao greeted everyone with a smile, and then came to the front of the viewing platform. Some observation mirrors were set up on the side of the railing, and some people set up some cameras, and they were all closely watching the situation at the rocket launch site a kilometer away.

Seeing him coming, someone took the initiative to give up the observation mirror. Seeing this, Zhang Jun hurriedly went up to observe.

Wu Hao looked at the dark blue pure sky above his head, he couldn't help but raised his head and closed his eyes against the afterglow of the setting sun, feeling the slightest breeze.

"Count down one minute and get ready!"

"Ten, nine, eight... two, one, light the fire, take off!"

Boom!

I saw fierce flames from the bottom of the rocket erected on the launch site in the distance, and bursts of smoke and dust were rolled up.

The rocket broke through the smoke and dust, added slowly, and hit the sky directly!

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