The group of people soon arrived at the space shuttle assembly center.
The center of the factory was the birthplace of the Skyglow spacecraft. This was also the birthplace for a series of spacecraft components produced by Star Sky Technology.
A giant metal “hull” was lying horizontally in the factory. The metal hull looked more like a nuclear submarine instead of an outer-space spacecraft.
Because the narrow hull could not support its own weight, the entire hull was divided into three parts, which were suspended by a mechanical skeleton.
The second the Russians went into the factory, they began staring at this object.
Mr. Georgiev and the bureaucrats from the Ministry of Economic Development didn’t react too much. However, aerospace experts who accompanied the Ministry of Economic Development group had their eyes wide open.
Professor Kaufman, who was an expert from Roscosmos and an academician from the Russian Academy of Engineering, was so surprised that his chin fell to the ground.
After looking at this behemoth for a couple of seconds, Mr. Georgiev sighed.
“I can’t believe it… Is this your spacecraft?”
“It’s the Magpie Bridge.” Lu Zhou smiled and said, “You can call it a spacecraft, but I think it’s more like a boat.”
Academician Kaufman, who was standing next to Georgiev, couldn’t help but speak.
“Such a large spacecraft… How are you going to get it into space?”
Suddenly, some of the Chinese personnel became nervous.
Because this involved sensitive information.
Minister Yang planned on diverting the conversation, but Lu Zhou gave him an assuring look.
Lu Zhou looked at the enthusiastic Academician Kaufman and said, “We’ll separate it into three launches, first the command module, then the storage module, and finally, the engine. They will be docked together in outer space.”
The Russian expert was shocked.
The most difficult part of aerospace was spacecraft docking. The more components one had to connect, the more risk there was. So far, the technology only allowed for two-piece outer space docking.
However, Lu Zhou was now telling him that China had the technology for three-piece docking. Even Mr. Georgiev was shocked.
“I can’t believe your launch technology is so far ahead…” Georgiev looked at the Magpie Bridge and said, “Can I ask if this is using an ion thruster propulsion system?”
Lu Zhou: “Ion thruster propulsion system is the future. Outer-space voyages don’t need a ton of thrust, and the only advantage of chemical rockets is the initial launch thrust.”
Georgiev and Academician Kaufman looked at each other in awe.
Minister Yang from the Ministry of Commerce coughed and smiled.
“Well, that’s the end of the assembly center tour. There are many outstanding companies in the high-tech aerospace industrial area that are looking forward to meeting you guys.”
“Yeah, we did spend quite a long time on Star Sky Technology.” Georgiev smiled and said, “Then, Minister Yang, will you please give us a tour of the other companies?”
For the rest of the visit, Georgiev seemed to be uninterested. The expert behind him also seemed to be unamused.
Even though there were many excellent companies in the high-tech aerospace industrial area, none of them were at the level of Star Sky Technology. Some of them had huge factories, but they were lacking in the technical department. Even though some of them had groundbreaking technology, the company’s capital restricted them toward only supplying accessories.
However, Georgiev was relieved to see this.
Fortunately, Star Sky Technology was one-of-kind.
If there were two companies that had state of the art research and development capabilities, then China’s aerospace industry would be too scary…
For the rest of the visit, Lu Zhou didn’t accompany the Russian visiting group. However, there was a banquet held at the Purple Mountain Hotel in the evening. As the chief designer of the Lunar Orbit Committee, Lu Zhou decided to show up.
It was a Chinese style banquet.
Even though Lu Zhou sat at the same table as Mr. Georgiev and Minister Yang, he didn’t talk a lot during the meal.
He wasn’t good at socializing at formal occasions. Unless someone took the initiative to talk to him, he wouldn’t speak. Instead, he placed the majority of his attention on the delicious food in front of him.
Mr. Georgiev, who toured Star Sky Technology’s factory in the morning, tried to talk to him.
“Actually, I’ve always been curious. Aerospace has never been China’s strong suit, but you guys have been rapidly advancing in recent years. Can you tell us how you did it?”
Lu Zhou didn’t try to avoid the question. He said, “Pick a direction, then do your best.”
Georgiev made a helpless gesture and raised his wine glass.
“That’s a little abstract, can you specify?”
“Depends on how you interpret it.” Lu Zhou tapped his wine glass with Georgiev and said, “By direction, I mean finding a realistic goal, this is done by the scientific researchers. Fortunately, the experts working with us are good scholars, and they helped us solve a lot of problems.”
Georgiev said, “Then what do you mean by doing your best?”
“It means to have sufficient funding, and this is the state’s responsibility,” Lu Zhou said. “Roughly speaking, it is to focus on important tasks and allocate resources properly. Right now, the main problems of aerospace are the commercialization as well as the production scale. We have already solved the production scale problem, so the next step is commercialization. We have to collaborate with other companies and try to guide private equity into the industry.”
“Commercialization and production scale?” Georgiev smiled and said, “But doesn’t that violate the objective laws of market economics?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “The Queen of Spain funded Columbus’ voyage, Mr. Georgiev. Was that a violation of the objective laws of market economics?”
Georgiev said, “Interesting, but that’s a different story… Are they similar?”
“Of course they’re similar. The ultimate goal of the aerospace industry is to step out of our homeland and expand our living space, which is essentially the same thing as discovering a new continent.” Lu Zhou drank some wine and said, “The market is a catalyst for economic development, but not everything is developed in accordance with the laws of the market. At least not in the mathematics world.”
“Hahaha, your opinion is very interesting.” Minister Georgiev took a sip of red wine and smiled. He looked sincerely at Lu Zhou and said, “If you ever have the time, I’d like to sincerely invite you to visit Russia, I’m certain the Russian scholars will be glad to discuss this issue in depth with you.
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I definitely will have the time. I plan on attending the International Congress of Mathematicians next year.”
Georgiev said, “If you do come, we’ll give you a grand welcoming ceremony!”