After the last piece of alloy plate was welded, the robotic arm from the Moon Palace finally retracted inside. The true appearance of the Xu Fu colonial ship was finally revealed to the world.
On the outside, it looked like a top-heavy dumbbell.
The larger end was located at the front, which was the core area of the entire colonial ship, the part of the colony cabin that had not yet been deployed. The smaller end was located at the back and was mainly composed of a series of complex and precise aerospace components such as the power system, interplanetary communication system, and energy unit.
When the colonial ship entered Mars orbit, the bulky front structure would be separated from the entire colonial ship. With the help of chemical thrusters, it would head toward the surface of Mars.
The remaining parts would remain in the orbit around Mars as a communication satellite and weather observation satellite. This would provide the land colonists with interplanetary communication, weather observation, and positioning and navigation services for at least two decades.
Although this design was not aerodynamic, there was no such thing as air resistance in space. This unique design had a cyberpunk vibe.
Professor Pearson looked at the majestic spaceship. He was standing next to the porthole and was at a loss for words. It took a while before he muttered to himself.
“How many tons is that…”
“I don’t know…” Professor Yan Xinjue’s face was also full of shock. He gulped before speaking, “But judging by the volume, it is already twice the size of the Magpie Bridge, so the weight should at least be twice as much, right? Whatever, we don’t need to guess… We’ll see it in tomorrow’s news.”
The staff on the Moon Palace weren’t the only ones who were shocked.
There were also astronomical observers at the Arizona astronomical observatory, as well as astronomical observatories located in other countries that were ordered to track the Chinese people’s Mars landing project.
Ever since the establishment of the Guanghan Special Economic Zone, in order to learn from the success of the lunar landing project from China, most countries and organizations that were involved in the aerospace field had upgraded their optical observation satellites.
Even though they couldn’t achieve the same results, they could at least learn something from the Guanghan City or Moon Palace.
Because of this, the movements on the Moon Palace did not escape their eyes.
Whether it was the flexible robotic arms or the huge ship named Xu Fu, everything deeply shocked their hearts.
This was probably the largest spacecraft capable of long-distance navigation in human history. If the Apollo spacecraft and the BFS spacecraft were sailing warships of the great voyage period, then Xu Fu was an aircraft carrier sailing in space.
If prior to this there were people who doubted the success of this Mars landing plan…
After this, no one would have any doubts about the possibility of failure during this tens of millions of kilometers expedition.
While the foreign space agencies who were lucky enough to witness the scene were shocked by the amazing operations at the Moon Palace, the atmosphere at the Jinling launch site was also full of enthusiasm.
As soon as news of the successful “launch” of the Xu Fu colonial ship appeared, excited cheers erupted in the ground command center.
Whether it was the staff standing in front of the console or the CTV and media reporters waiting at the scene, everyone’s faces were filled with excitement and joy.
Many people waved their fists excitedly, unable to control the excitement in their hearts, some even took off their hats and threw them at the ceiling.
The colonial ship “Xu Fu” was successfully assembled!
The first phase of the Mars landing plan was successfully completed!
Although this was only a small step toward Mars, it was also the most difficult step. After this, they only needed to transport the astronauts and the materials needed for living on to the colonial ship, then ignite the engine. After that, they could wait for the good news that would come from tens of millions of kilometers away.
“Everything is going according to plan.”
With a pleased smile on his face, Lu Zhou looked at the towering spacecraft on the large screen in the command room. He smiled and nodded and said, “The next step is to send our astronauts.”
Director Li stared intently at the majestic starship on the screen. He had an expression of disbelief, and he couldn’t help but ask, “How heavy is this thing?”
“Around five hundred tons.”
Director Li took a deep breath and spoke.
“Five hundred tons… This is almost heavier than all of our Long March series rockets in low-Earth orbit combined!”
“The weight doesn’t mean anything; we can’t compare chemical rockets and fusion starships. For the Xu Fu spacecraft, 500 tons is just the net weight. When our astronauts and other supplies are loaded onto the ship, the total weight should exceed 1000 tons.”
Lu Zhou smiled and looked at the screen in the command room. He spoke with a fascinating tone.
“… But shortly in the future, thousand-ton spacecraft will be the norm.”
“Future spacecraft will be split into two categories; one is an aerodynamically designed spacecraft that sails between low-Earth orbit and ground, whereas the other will be large and medium-sized spacecrafts that only shuttle outside the atmosphere.
“The Jinling high-tech zone has already taken the lead in the former spacecraft. And after our Guanghan Special Zone is fully developed, forget about a thousand tons, even a 10,000 ton, million-ton spacecraft will be no problem!”
10,000 tons of spacecraft…
When Director Li heard this, his mouth was wide open.
Even the Saturn V, which was known as the largest rocket in human history, weighed only three thousand tons. When it stood upright, its volume was comparable to a 100-meter-tall building!
A 1000-ton spacecraft was beyond the boundary of his imagination. And for a spacecraft weighing tens of thousands of tons, he couldn’t imagine what it would look like.
As for the million-ton spacecraft Lu Zhou mentioned…
Forget about it.
Lu Zhou looked at the ground command center that had fallen into a celebration. He looked at Director Chang and spoke.
“We can begin preparations for the last launch mission.
“If a CTV reporter wants to interview me, help me deal with them, or tell them to wait at my office.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
After that, Lu Zhou turned around and left the ground command center.
However, when he walked to the first floor and was about to enter the bathroom, he saw Director Li chasing him.
Lu Zhou didn’t think much of it; he thought the old man had to take care of business as well.
However, after he came out of the bathroom, he saw that the old man was following him.
Lu Zhou stopped walking, turned around, and asked, “Can I help you?”
Director Li didn’t realize how obvious he was being.
Director Li, who was caught red-handed, pretended to act stupid.
“What? I’m just walking around…”
“You’ve been following me this whole time, how are you walking around?”
Director Li finally gave up his and coughed.
“Um, Academician Lu…”
“What?”
“Your life is going well, right?”
“As well as it can be.”
“What about your relationship? There are no conflicts… right?”
“Nope.”
“What about emotionally? Is there anything bothering you?”
Lu Zhou’s face suddenly became serious.
“I’m actually in a bad mood because you’re following me.”
Director Li seemed to finally realize how weird his behavior was. He spoke awkwardly.
“I don’t want anything… But some time ago, I heard Director Chang say that you adjusted the number of the Mars landing colonists from three to five?”
“… Is there a problem?”
Director Li waved his hand quickly and spoke with a smile.
“No, no, no problem! I am definitely supporting you! It’s just that… The conditions on Mars are harsh, and the most important thing is safety. You know that only astronauts who have undergone strict screening and training are competent for this dangerous task. My advice is to wait until the time is right.”
The old man changed his tone.
“How about… you go to the Moon instead?”
Lu Zhou: “…?”
What the hell?