Spaceship Design

During the construction of the Orbital Mass Accelerator, the first orbital satellite was also launched using traditional propulsion.

The days passed one by one, and another two years went by in the blink of an eye.

Over those two years, humanity unleashed tremendous potential. The number of smelters grew from one to ten, and all kinds of supporting factories sprang up across Callisto like mushrooms after rain. The Orbital Mass Accelerator was also completed and successfully commissioned.

Dark Callisto was ablaze with light, its various facilities standing in dense clusters. Spreading outward from the original base, they formed a brilliantly lit city of steel.

Fully automated and semi-automated robots of countless types traveled back and forth along the roads connecting the buildings. The interweaving of machinery, gears, engine oil, and lubricants added a bustling atmosphere to this steel city.

The unprecedented deployment of massive numbers of robots had indeed eased people's burdens, but it had also kept Callisto's Central Computer near full capacity at all times.

Under these circumstances, a new generation of computers was added to the future planning documents. Of course, at this stage, the next generation of computers could only remain plans; they could not be developed overnight.

It was simply part of the future plans.

There were many such plans, but none of them were the most urgent matter at present.

Because the most urgent matter was building spaceships.

For that very reason, Yue Yuan stormed into the Design Institute early that morning, visibly irritated.

He had originally gone to the Engineering Department first, but the people there told him that the design proposal had yet to be finalized. So he immediately turned around and charged straight for the Design Institute.

Upon arriving at the Design Institute, Yue Yuan's first stop was the director's office. Yet when he entered, he found no one there. Only after having Zhu Pete ask around did he learn that the institute director had gone directly to the Design Department early that morning.

Hearing that news improved Yue Yuan's mood considerably.

After all, the Design Department was where the actual blueprints were drawn. If the director had gone there, he was surely participating in the design work himself.

That made Yue Yuan abandon his original plan of having Zhu Pete summon the director to the office. He turned and headed for the Design Department across the hall.

Before he even entered, Yue Yuan heard a somewhat heated discussion coming from inside.

"This won't do. The spaceship must take the Gravity Environment into account. At this stage, medicine cannot completely solve the problem of calcium loss in the human body. Letting humans live in zero gravity for extended periods would have disastrous consequences. We may face long-term life aboard spaceships in the future. If things go badly, even the next generation may be born aboard them. Newborns raised in zero gravity would develop all sorts of problems."

"Yes, we all know that. Newborns raised in zero gravity would grow taller than people on Earth, but they would also suffer from muscular atrophy, cardiac atrophy, and other symptoms. They would have puffier faces, weaker hearts, and difficulty with spatial orientation. I know all that. But we have no Anti-Gravity Technology. What else can we do? We can only accept it—accept the fact that humanity will become New Humans.

"And with our current technological capabilities, the best solution is to build multiple Residential Spaceships. Only that can meet the living needs of more than eighty thousand people."

"What Anti-Gravity Technology? We don't need Anti-Gravity Technology. We can simulate gravity with inertial force. We only need to build the spaceship into a rotating disk."

"A Large Turntable? Easy for you to say. But people in a rotating environment would be affected by the Coriolis Effect. When the head and body move in opposite or differing ways, it can cause spatial disorientation, nausea, and other symptoms. Unless we can make the disk extremely large."

"That's exactly what I mean. We can build one enormous spaceship, so large that the Coriolis Effect on people can be ignored."

Why were they still discussing this? Shouldn't the proposals have already been written by now? Hearing this, Yue Yuan finally could not hold back. He pushed the door open and entered, frowning as he said, "What time is it already? Why haven't the proposals been written?"

As he spoke, Yue Yuan walked straight up to the two men who were discussing the matter.

One was Gao Kun, the newly appointed director of the Design Institute. The other was Yu Nanfeng, the chief designer for this spaceship construction project and currently Callisto's finest doctor of engineering.

Yue Yuan had heard their conversation clearly. Gao Kun was the one who believed the spaceship should be divided into multiple vessels, while Yu Nanfeng favored building one large ship.

Yue Yuan was somewhat angry because, even at this point, the two were still discussing the proposal rather than having several completed proposals submitted to him for review.

"Chief Yue? Why are you here?" The plump Gao Kun was the first to turn around, speaking in surprise. He had clearly not noticed Yue Yuan suddenly appearing behind him.

Yue Yuan was now the highest leader and the chief officer over every department, so many people had begun calling him Chief Yue. Military personnel, meanwhile, called him Commander Yue.

"I came to see you discuss the proposals. What? They still aren't finished after all this time? The Orbital Mass Accelerator is already ready. Time is tight." Yue Yuan once again made his meaning clear.

"They're already finished. We were preparing to submit them this afternoon," Yu Nanfeng answered.

Oh? Looks like I misunderstood.

Yue Yuan froze for a moment, then pulled over a chair and sat down. Looking at Yu Nanfeng and Gao Kun, he said, "In the future, notify me directly about important matters like this."

"Understood," the two answered in unison.

"Tell me what's going on. What were you discussing just now?" Yue Yuan leaned back in his chair, his tone noticeably more relaxed.

Oh, so he overheard our discussion and thought the proposals hadn't been finished. Hearing Yue Yuan ask that, Gao Kun and Yu Nanfeng exchanged a glance and immediately understood why Yue Yuan had entered with such a stern expression.

"Chief Yue, here's the situation."

Gao Kun, the director of the Design Institute, was the one who began answering. Although he knew Yue Yuan had heard their conversation, he pretended otherwise and explained everything again from the beginning.

As he spoke, he also gave a detailed account of the advantages of his proposal for multiple spaceships.

Once Gao Kun had more or less finished, Yu Nanfeng immediately rattled off the benefits of building one large spaceship, as though afraid Yue Yuan would immediately decide in favor of the multiple-spaceship proposal.

Listening to their detailed explanations, Yue Yuan understood.

There were two spaceship proposals. One was to build many starship-type Residential Spaceships; the other was to build one massive rotating spaceship.

Yue Yuan pinched his chin and fell silent for a long while. Then he looked up at Gao Kun and said, "A spaceship meant for long-term habitation definitely can't be without gravity."

"We can use Magnetic Boots. As long as the magnetic force is adjusted properly, people can walk aboard the spaceship exactly as they would on the ground." Before Yue Yuan could finish, Gao Kun cut in.

"That's not the same."

Yue Yuan shook his head, but he did not completely dismiss the idea of Magnetic Boots. He continued, "Magnetic Boots may not be suitable for Residential Spaceships, but they would be quite useful on future warships."

Thanks to Fish Old Monster for the reward. Thanks to readers Time Salted Fish, Half-Life Heavenly Crab, Clear Water Chinese Yam God, Kaletri, and Reader 20180722113412474. Thanks to every reader for the monthly votes... Oh yeah.