It was past four in the morning.
Chen Yi completed the final coating process.
It was a 0.34-millimeter layer of beryllium oxide ceramic.
Thanks to the ceramic material's excellent heat resistance, the drone could easily insulate itself from the temperatures of the hypersonic thermal barrier.
At the same time, the transparent, lightweight beryllium oxide would not affect the solar cell film's absorption of sunlight.
"The solar cell film's high-temperature performance is far stronger than the resin in carbon fiber materials."
"This thermal barrier protective coating reduced the thickness by 0.28 millimeters."
Chen Yi looked at the new drone he had spent more than ten hours building, from three in the afternoon until the following morning, and a trace of delight appeared in his eyes.
[Item: Beyond Endurance—Photon-Powered Ghost Drone!] [Attributes: Energy x49.1, Speed x10.3, Mass x29, Stability x43, Strength x21, Communications x31.7, Radar Imaging x36.6, Avionics x34.5, Appearance x11.8, Endurance Replenishment x69.6] [Note: This is a drone with endurance beyond imagination. Its energy does not come from the ground, but from the blazing sun 150 million kilometers away. With more than 70 kilowatt-hours of endurance replenishment over ten daylight hours, as long as its speed and consumption are controlled a little, it can become an almost permanent aerial fortress. Of course, its light conversion rate is nearly at the physical limits of materials, while its concentrating structure unpredictably distorts the angles at which light enters and reflects. This grants it optical camouflage, allowing it to conceal most of its form. Whether detected by radar or observed by the naked eye, it is as indistinct as a ghost.]
"That's absolutely insane."
Chen Yi looked at the drone's evaluation notes and took off his immersive AR Glasses, which were sunglasses today.
The drone, which had originally been clear,
suddenly became blurred and flickering.
The overall effect was like a mass of pixels constantly flashing and shifting, completely losing all its original details.
One could easily imagine it.
Even if radar swept over a drone like this,
it would naturally filter it out as environmental clutter and never detect the slightest signal.
After all, radar detection systems were not veteran Artificial Intelligence drivers. They were nowhere near the supreme realm of seeing uncensored images in their minds.
"When I have more drones in the future, I'll definitely build a museum specifically to store every drone I've designed over the years."
"From low altitude to high altitude to space, from supersonic to hypersonic to near-light speed, from planets to interstellar space to the universe. I won't leave out a single one—I want them all!"
Chen Yi put his AR Glasses back on and held the drone as he conducted tests.
After a series of tests, Chen Yi confirmed the drone's basic parameters.
Thanks to its flattened manta ray shape, along with its somewhat improved mass attribute,
after the thermal barrier protective coating had been applied, with fully loaded batteries and a full tank of xenon propellant,
the drone's total weight was only 42.8 kilograms, less than three kilograms heavier than the previous ion-propulsion drone.
If the increased battery weight, which had reached eighteen kilograms, was excluded,
this drone's airframe was actually slightly lighter than the previous drone's.
As for engine performance, because the engine had become larger and its structure had been optimized and improved, its overall thrust was 23 percent higher than the previous drone's ion thruster, while energy efficiency had increased by 6.3 percentage points.
As for the battery parameters, because the energy attribute had risen to 49.1, approaching the limit of silicon-carbon lithium batteries,
its energy density had already surpassed 5900 Wh/kg, reaching 5980 Wh/kg.
The eighteen-kilogram battery had a staggering total capacity of 107 kWh.
Combined with its stronger aerodynamic layout, flight efficiency had increased by 4 percentage points, while the flattened manta ray airframe was better suited for high-altitude gliding.
Chen Yi made a rough estimate.
With the efficiency improvements to the aerodynamic layout, the engine's increased efficiency, and the larger battery capacity,
based on a combined profile of 30 percent low-speed flight, 30 percent subsonic flight, and the remaining 40 percent supersonic flight,
this drone's range could easily exceed 4,000 kilometers.
Combined with unpowered gliding, its overall endurance could increase seven or eightfold, surpassing 20,000 kilometers without a problem.
Even if it flew supersonically the entire way and occasionally pushed into hypersonic speeds, its range would still be roughly 900 to 1,300 kilometers.
If gliding flight was combined with charging from the solar cell film, its endurance would soar even further. Circumnavigating the planet would no longer be a dream.
Even if it eventually landed,
it would not be because it could no longer fly, but because people could not keep up with it.
What!
The sun would set?
Given Blue Star's rotational speed of 466 meters per second, once it was fully charged, it could chase the setting sun at supersonic speed in minutes, then glide to recharge, then speed up to chase the sun again, then glide...
After confirming the performance of this latest Sun Never Sets Drone, Chen Yi took out a multirotor aircraft that he had used for test flights when he had previously run a drone business.
A multirotor aircraft
was a drone with multiple connected arms, each arm equipped with a propeller.
Every model made by the well-known company DJI belonged to this type of multirotor aircraft.
Chen Yi dismantled the multirotor aircraft's casing, replaced the communications module inside, and installed a silicon-carbon lithium battery.
He then adjusted and optimized the structure, upgraded the avionics program and stability, and finally installed a positioning chip.
In less than half an hour,
an aerial signal relay drone was freshly completed.
Compared with the fixed-wing model aircraft used as a signal relay during the Lunar Lander Drone mission,
this multirotor aircraft, which could hover in the air and last longer, was undoubtedly more suitable as a signal relay.
"Let's go!"
Seeing that the east was already beginning to brighten,
Chen Yi felt that he was in pretty good shape after staying up all night. In high spirits, he could not be bothered to rest.
He took out his phone and called the Air Traffic Control Bureau's flight filing number.
"Hello, this is Air Traffic Control 0A987. How may I assist you?"
The call was answered in under three seconds, and a woman's voice speaking standard Mandarin came through.
"Hello, I'm applying for a drone test flight. Numbers 0A01 and 0A02."
The voice on the other end sounded somewhat familiar. Chen Yi thought about it but could not recall who it was, so he ignored it and stated his situation.
"Number 0A01?"
On the other end of the call,
Lin Xiaobei froze when she heard the number, then took a deep breath and replied professionally.
"Hello, please wait a moment. I'll transfer you to the Air Force Management Center and the Space Administration."
"..."
This time, Chen Yi was the one who could not remain calm.
Was such a huge fuss really necessary?
She had immediately mentioned the Air Force Management Center and the Space Administration.
"Uh, there's no need to go through all that trouble. I've learned to keep a low profile. I'm not flying to the moon this time."
At that moment, Chen Yi finally remembered who she was.
She was the air traffic controller he had encountered while filing for the previous lunar test flight.
"Alright. May I ask for the test flight area and the destination of your planned route this time?"
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Xiaobei began recording the area and route Chen Yi wanted to apply for.
"Take off from Penghai, coordinates E114, 05, 51.17, N22, 38, 18.79.
First, ascend vertically, pass through the clouds, enter the high-altitude stratosphere, then glide westward.
Pass through Guangxi Province and Yunnan Province, enter the Hengduan Mountains and the Himalayas. Destination: Mount Everest, just to check in."
Chen Yi thought for a moment before describing his test flight plan.
To verify the Sun Never Sets Drone's performance, he could only fly from east to west, staying ahead of the sun.
On the other end of the line,
Lin Xiaobei was dumbfounded.
She knew it. She should not have believed Chen Yi's nonsense about learning to keep a low profile.
How could someone who had livestreamed a sprint into space and a lunar landing, and whom her superiors had specifically told her to monitor closely, possibly keep a low profile?
After a long silence,
Lin Xiaobei's voice carried a hint of utter resignation as she replied calmly and professionally.
"Hello, please wait a moment. Based on the route you've applied for, I'll transfer you to the Air Force Management Center."
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