Orbital Mass Accelerator

Of course, Yue Yuan also left plenty of his serum samples at the Beijing Laboratory for research.

He didn't mind this. Since the unknown substance was now extinct, they could start by studying the beneficiaries, which might lead to some discoveries.

It could be said that Yue Yuan and the other six were now rarer than pandas, so it was no wonder Zhu Pete had been so cautious.

Frankly, for safety's sake, Yue Yuan should have stayed in Beijing. However, firstly, the seven of them showed the same characteristics; secondly, Callisto Base really couldn't do without him; and thirdly, Yue Yuan himself was used to working at Callisto Base. So, in the end, he chose to return to Callisto.

Yue Yuan took a shower and then comfortably read the documents Zhu Pete had given him, which contained basic information about the experts at Yinghuo Base.

This time, when he went to Callisto Base, Yue Yuan not only had to "borrow" an expert from Guanghan Palace Base (Moon Base), but also had to get one from Yinghuo Base. After all, the five capable experts had stayed on Earth, and if he didn't replenish his staff, it would be difficult to get the work done.

The higher-ups readily approved Yue Yuan's reasonable request. Not only that, but they also sent Callisto Base a set of the most advanced equipment for research.

It goes without saying what they were researching: genetics. The implication was clear: they wanted Yue Yuan to take charge of the project there as well, so they could compare it with the experimental data from Earth's environment.

Although Yue Yuan wasn't a research specialist, he had a scientific background; otherwise, he wouldn't be in his position. He knew a lot but wasn't an expert in any one field. It was fair to say he was a leader who truly understood the theoretical technology.

The equipment had already been shipped to Callisto and was probably past Mars Orbit by now.

Putting down the documents, Yue Yuan drifted off to sleep.

Han Hai was about a thousand kilometers from east to west. At the speed of a cruise ship, it would take about 28 hours, or a little over a day, to get there.

Waking up in the morning, he cleaned up, did his usual workout, and had breakfast. Before he knew it, it was noon.

The cruise ship docked, and Yue Yuan packed his personal belongings before heading to the pier. Other luggage and items would be taken care of by the relevant personnel.

This time, Yue Yuan was bringing back a lot of Earth specialties to Callisto, such as various rare fruits, vegetables, and meats, which were very popular at Callisto Base.

Having made a rare trip back to Earth, Yue Yuan wasn't about to miss the opportunity.

The cruise ship slowly docked at the pier, and the tourists disembarked one after another. Although Yue Yuan wasn't a regular tourist, he followed the large group of tourists in an orderly manner. After all, why would he take a boat to Tibet when he had a private plane?

"Hey, what a coincidence! Isn't that Yue something-yuan?"

Just as he stepped off the ship, Yue Yuan heard someone calling him. Looking around, he saw a woman waving at him from among the bustling tourists on the pier.

Yue Yuan had excellent eyesight. Although she was far away, he could see the faint dimples that appeared on the woman's cheeks when she smiled. It was Xu Yanshi, whom he had met on the bow of the ship yesterday.

Yue Yuan noticed that there was a slightly taller girl with glasses next to Xu Yanshi, presumably the classmate she had mentioned.

"What a coincidence!" Yue Yuan carried his small suitcase horizontally, walked up to the two of them in a few steps, greeted them, and then smiled, "Are you two waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, we're waiting for you, handsome!" Xu Yanshi's eyes darted around as she replied, but as soon as she finished speaking, she immediately chuckled, "Ahaha, just kidding, just kidding. We're waiting for a classmate."

That's not a joke you should be making.

Feeling Zhu Pete, who was not far to his right, pull down his hat, Yue Yuan complained inwardly.

The two exchanged a few more trivial words, and then Yue Yuan said goodbye to the enthusiastic girl, using the excuse of needing to get on his way.

If it were any other time, Yue Yuan wouldn't have minded chatting with such a congenial girl. Unfortunately, his current situation was a bit special, and there were many things he couldn't say. Moreover, choosing to take a cruise ship had already put a lot of pressure on Zhu Pete and the other bodyguards.

Yue Yuan was the kind of person who could empathize with his subordinates, which was one of the reasons why so many people trusted him.

Without incident, Yue Yuan and his party of four got into a car that Zhu Pete had already arranged, switching from water to land transportation, and headed towards the Orbital Mass Accelerator.

The Orbital Mass Accelerator is essentially a large electromagnetic catapult, or a large electromagnetic railgun.

The principle of the Orbital Mass Accelerator is to use electromagnetic interaction to accelerate spacecraft to the first cosmic velocity and launch them into space. However, due to air resistance, it is difficult to accelerate to the first cosmic velocity in orbit. So, in reality, after the spacecraft leaves the electromagnetic rail, it uses its own fuel to assist in acceleration to escape Earth's gravity. After reaching space, it also uses its own fuel system to adjust its orbital attitude and dock with the Tiangong Space Station.

Compared to traditional chemical rockets, the Orbital Mass Accelerator has almost all advantages. First, the launch cost is greatly reduced, since once the Orbital Mass Accelerator is built, it is a one-time investment.

Second, spacecraft can be reused; not the traditional manned rocket launch capsule, but a spaceplane. Compared to traditional return capsules, spaceplanes can achieve gliding recovery. After successfully entering the atmosphere, a spaceplane is just a very large airplane.

The combination of the Orbital Mass Accelerator and the spaceplane drastically reduces the cost of manned space travel, and even allows for flight-like launches, providing convenient transportation for personnel traveling between the ground and the Tiangong Space Station.

It also allows humans to build larger space stations in low Earth orbit.

In fact, the Zhonghua Family (Zhonghua = China) had considered building a space elevator, but due to limitations in materials technology, they had to settle for building a fully mature Orbital Mass Accelerator.

After all, since the beginning of the last century, the Zhonghua Family's electromagnetic gun technology has been the best in the world, and in the field of orbital materials, they have also gained significant technological accumulation due to the development of high-speed rail.

It can be said that the Zhonghua Family's ability to build an Orbital Mass Accelerator is not accidental, nor is it alien black technology, but a solid accumulation of technology.

Therefore, what is surprising is the location of the Orbital Mass Accelerator. The initial plan was to build it in a low-latitude area, since low-latitude areas can better utilize Earth's rotation to save energy, and the conditions for material transportation and construction are better than in high-altitude areas.

However, due to the Orbital Mass Accelerator's massive power consumption, it was ultimately decided to place it in the snow region.

The reason is simple: there's plenty of electricity there.

The ten hydroelectric power stations built along the Han Hai Project, with their huge elevation drop, provide strong power generation capacity for the hydroelectric power stations. In addition, the snow region is rich in solar and wind energy resources, which can provide sufficient energy security for the Orbital Mass Accelerator.

Compared to other regions that need to allocate national electricity and build long-distance power transmission systems, this is undoubtedly the best choice. Another advantage is that the altitude is high, the air is thin, and the air resistance is lower than in low-altitude areas.

Moreover, because of the Han Hai Project, large areas of desert basins will be transformed into waterways suitable for water transport, allowing bulk cargo to be transported into Tibet by ship. In other words, it also reduces the cost of transporting goods to the Orbital Mass Accelerator.

In addition, the Zhonghua Family's experience and technological accumulation in building in high-altitude areas have allowed the location of the Mass Accelerator to be finalized.

Of course, building such a huge Orbital Mass Accelerator is not just the Zhonghua Family's business. After all, once this thing is built, it will be used by more than just the Zhonghua Family.

Therefore, compared to the Han Hai Project's go-it-alone approach, the Orbital Mass Accelerator project has become an international cooperation project. America, Europe, Russia, and other traditional space powers or regions have invested huge amounts of money through cooperation. India, Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Egypt, and many Middle Eastern Countries have not missed this opportunity and have joined this great project.

The Zhonghua Family naturally welcomes all comers. After all, the Orbital Mass Accelerator, a milestone project related to human space exploration, cannot be used alone. Moreover, with so many partners squeezing in to join the cooperation, there's no need to worry about funding. It's a win-win, or rather, a multi-win situation.

Arriving at the Orbital Mass Accelerator site, Yue Yuan once again saw the immensity of this project.

Among a scattering of supporting buildings, the skyward electromagnetic rail, like a slide, was particularly eye-catching.

From Yue Yuan's position, he could see that the ground part of the Orbital Mass Accelerator was disc-shaped. The ground electromagnetic rail spiraled around like a coiled mosquito coil, with the inner and outer rings totaling about 220 kilometers in length.

This part occupies the largest area of the entire Orbital Mass Accelerator.