Please Believe Me
"Suppose that, due to some kind of misoperation, equipment failure, or system malfunction, the high-intensity sunlight reflected by the reflecting satellite in the sky is deflected, and the light, which is 400 times Natural Light Intensity, is not focused on the ground receiving device, that is, the battery pack covering 120 square kilometers, then... Oh my god... Academician Shen, you must have considered this situation, right?" Wu Xinping expressed his concerns with great worry.
Shen Qi said seriously, "Then it will cause a huge disaster in the area where the light is distorted."
Wu Xinping's heart raced. "I study the environment, and my understanding of satellite systems is very limited. I believe it's almost impossible for our satellite system to malfunction, but what if... even a one in ten thousand chance of a problem occurs? How would we respond?"
Shen Qi became even more serious. "Besides evacuating in time, there is no better solution for the time being."
"Actually, we can all imagine that without specific ground-based equipment to receive extremely high-intensity sunlight, all life living on the ground in that area would face annihilation... Yes, if such a disaster really occurs, we will have no choice but to evacuate in time." Wu Xinping felt a chill run down his spine. He asked, "Academician Shen, there's something I'm not sure if I should say?"
"Speaking."
"Assuming our 120 reflector satellites are successfully launched and operational, is it possible to deliberately manipulate the system so that the light reflected by the Satellite Cluster, 400 times Natural Light Intensity, precisely illuminates a specific area outside the Northwest Base? For example, Japan, the United States, and several European countries at the same latitude as the Northwest Base?"
"That's a possibility. I mean, it's technically possible, but we would never do it."
"This..." Wu Xinping broke out in a cold sweat. He said, "Legend has it that in ancient Greece, Archimedes used a huge and special mirror to reflect sunlight and burn the invaders' warships from a distance. So, can I interpret this to mean that, under some extreme circumstances, the 120 reflective satellites of Project Starlight will become an optical weapon with extremely high destructive power? With the current level of human defense, apart from running away, there are no effective active defense methods to resist optical attacks from space. Unless, the reflective Satellite Cluster in the sky is destroyed first."
"Old Wu, your idea is very dangerous. Project Starlight is a public welfare project, not a weapon of war." Shen Qi firmly denied the dangerous notion that Project Starlight was intended to strike the enemy.
"Academician Shen, do you know that even when the Three Gorges Dam was built, such a large and well-equipped military force was not used..."
"Old Wu, I think you should focus your energy on refining the various emergency plans mentioned at the meeting. Of course, if the reflected light goes astray, then an emergency plan should also be developed, mainly considering how to evacuate personnel from the affected area in the shortest possible time."
"Then I would like to ask Academician Shen, when the reflected light deviates, how much time do we have to evacuate personnel from the area receiving the light?"
"Seven minutes, at most seven minutes." Shen Qi gave a figure, clearly having done in-depth research and calculations on this kind of extremely low-probability but theoretically possible sudden event.
Before Shen Qi, hadn't anyone else done this research?
Of course, Academician Han's calculation result is 24 minutes.
Shen Qi shortened the time by 17 minutes, based on Academician Han's work.
Wu Xinping frowned. He said, "The battery packs used to receive reflected light at the Northwest base cover an area of 120 square kilometers, which is slightly larger than the combined area of the capital's DC and XC zones. If this 120 square kilometer area is not equipped with high-tech battery packs that meet the standards, then it will be affected by the disaster."
"If we assume that 120 square kilometers is a circular area, then its radius is 6.2 kilometers. The distance from the center to the outside of the circle is the longest. That is, when a disaster occurs, the person at the center is in the most danger, and he has a maximum of 7 minutes to run to a safe area. This is almost impossible, because the world record for the men's 5000-meter race is over 10 minutes."
"Therefore, we must ensure that potentially affected areas have a sufficient number of vehicles to safely evacuate everyone. But the problem is, we cannot accurately predict where the light will drift."
"Therefore, every inhabited area in China should be equipped with sufficient escape transportation and dedicated escape routes to prevent congestion during evacuations. Alternatively, underground shelters could be built in every inhabited area of China. Regardless of which emergency plan is adopted, the cost will be astronomical..."
As a rigorous scholar, Wu Xinping's concerns are justified.
He said more than a decade ago that the "Project Starlight" was not going to happen.
Shen Qi had considered all the concerns Wu Xinping had.
Shen Qi's attitude was. "Old Wu, please trust me. I will use a completely new technological method to ensure that the problems you are worried about will not occur. This new technological method is currently under research. The prerequisite for the reflector satellite to be launched is that the new technological method completes research and verification, ensuring 100% safety. Whether in the sky or on the ground, in outer space or on earth, the fundamental principle we must always abide by is: safety first."
Regardless of whether Old Wu believes Shen Qi or not, everyone has to keep working.
Shen Qi returned to the capital after concluding his trip to the Northwest. He had a lot of work to do, and every single task was extremely important.
The core of the "Project Starlight" is located in Geostationary Orbit, and the successful operation of the ground power station depends on the Satellite Cluster in orbit.
One hundred and twenty reflector satellites will form a giant space reflector in Synchronous Orbit. As the curvature of the Earth's rotation changes, the reflector Satellite Cluster will precisely focus the reflected light onto a 120-square-kilometer solar panel area on the ground, enabling a 50-million-kilowatt Solar Energy plant to generate electricity to ensure the economic development and people's livelihood needs in the Northwest region.
Wu Xinping's concern is: what if the light reflected from the Satellite Cluster goes astray?
Even a one-degree deviation in latitude and longitude can cause enormous and irreparable damage.
Therefore, the error prevention mechanism of the satellite control system is especially important, even more so than power generation.
Shen Qi finally understood why Academician Han, the Chief Scientist of the project, had suffered Myocardial Infarction.
If the "Project Starlight" operates safely for a hundred or several hundred years, until a new energy source more efficient and environmentally friendly than Solar Energy emerges and the "Project Starlight" is terminated, then the core designers and commanders of this project will undoubtedly be national heroes who have made great contributions.
If "Project Starlight" causes a major disaster during its operation, then forget about any achievements; just wait to be sanctioned.
The satellite control system of the "Project Starlight" is equipped with a fault-prevention mechanism, which embodies the wisdom of China's top scientists.
If the system security score of China's four major banks is 100 points, then the security score of the satellite control system of the "Project Starlight" is over 10,000 points.
In theory, the satellite control system of the "Project Starlight" is incapable of making mistakes.
Wu Xinping was an important person in this plan, but his rank was not high enough, so he had little access to the top-level secrets of "Project Starlight".
Shen Qi was able to calculate "7 minutes," shortening it by 17 minutes from Academician Han's "24 minutes," because Shen Qi had access to the most critical and confidential data.
Shen Qi still had a slight concern: was the error-proofing mechanism of the "Project Starlight" satellite control system truly absolutely secure in essence?
After all, Shen Qi did not participate in the design of the "Project Starlight" satellite control system.
The 120 reflector satellites have not yet been launched, but Shen Qi has the opportunity to verify the error prevention mechanism of the satellite control system in his own way, a completely new way.