"The meaning is that the thrust is enough. If Starship wants to leave the Earth's gravity well, it needs a super-heavy booster to send the upper stage out.
The super-heavy booster is planned to install about thirty sea-level versions of Mengqin.
Thirty units times 225 tons, the total thrust is just over 7,000 tons.
Starship itself is equipped with three sea level and three vacuum versions, with a total thrust of more than 1,200 tons.
This combination can put a payload of one hundred tons into low-Earth orbit."
He stopped and moved his eyes from the Projection Screen cloth back to Zhao Chen's face.
"But the real significance of 330 bar is not in the number itself.
The premise is that it is 'reusable'.
Disposable rockets can push the combustion chamber pressure to the limit, but they are thrown away after being used once.
However, Starship must be used repeatedly, and the engine needs to be repeatedly ignited, shut down, and overhauled under extreme working conditions.
If 330 bar can be maintained stably, it means that the life of the Raptor is long enough and the overhaul period is short enough, so that the unit launch cost can be truly reduced.
Without this, the Starship is just another big rocket. With this, the Starship is something else."
Zhao Chen remembered what Elon Musk said a long time ago when Boca Chica was squatting under Raptor engine -
"As long as the cost of failure is low enough, you can fail enough times until you find the right path."
Standing in front of the stainless steel ring section of SN8 at this moment, he suddenly understood the meaning of that sentence at this stage.
330 bar is not a breakthrough, it is the repeatability achieved after "blasting and welding" again and again.
Behind this number are countless early prototypes that were blown to pieces, and countless nights spent staring at data on McGregor Test Stand.
"You said before that multi-machine integration is the next step." Zhao Chen pointed to the stainless steel ring segments.
"Yes. We have run hundreds of ignitions on a single Raptor, and the full time of the vacuum version has also passed.
But three units installed on a Starship were ignited simultaneously - this has never been done."
Elon Musk picked up a cut section of the Raptor turbine pump from the workbench and traced it on the blades with his fingers.
"Vibration coupling between the three engines, propellant supply, thrust vector control - every variable may cause the entire rocket body to fall apart.
The first three-engine static ignition will be carried out in October. If successful, SN8 will fly before the end of the year. It will fly to 60,000 feet and then somersault back."
He put the section back on the table and turned around to face Zhao Chen.
"Zhao, the last time you saw Starworm Tethered Test in Boca Chica, Starworm was just Stainless Steel Water Tower.
Now you are standing in the middle of the ring section of SN8. Do you think this speed is fast?"
"Fast. But it may still be too slow for you." Zhao Chen said.
Elon Musk looked at him for two seconds and then smiled.
That kind of smile is different from the smile before at Launch Site--
There was less exaggeration in social situations, and more of the mixture of exhaustion and satisfaction unique to engineers who have lived in a factory for several days.
"It is indeed too slow. But we are iterating. After SN8 is SN9, and after SN9 is SN10."
Every time it flies, whether it explodes or not, there is data.
With data, the next one will be welded more firmly than the last one.
This is my methodology, you heard me say it at Boca Chica two years ago."
Zhao Chen continued that sentence. "Failure must be cheap enough."
"Yes." Elon Musk closed the computer, picked up a bottle of mineral water from the workbench, opened it and took a sip.
He drank water very quickly, as if he was thirsty like a worker who had just come off the production line.
"You invest in Manhattan, and I weld stainless steel in Boca Chica.
It looks completely different, but the underlying logic is the same - find the way with the lowest failure cost, and then keep trying.
Your failure cost is a floating loss, and my failure cost is the stainless steel plate and Raptor renovation costs.
As long as the cost is low enough and you try it enough times, you will always find the right path."
Zhao Chen took Zisha Pot from Su Wantang's hand and poured two cups of tea.
Elon Musk When he took the teacup, he lowered his head and glanced at the circle of tea stains on the inside of the lid, without asking what it was.
He took a sip of tea and frowned - not in disgust, but the kind of expression someone used to drinking ice water would have when he drinks hot tea seriously for the first time.
"Zhao, what has Era Vanguard done recently on US Stocks?
I saw some comments on Twitter, but I don't pay much attention to the noise from those retail forums."
Zhao Chen held the tea cup and paused with his fingers on the edge of the cup.
The opening of GME and AMC positions is an independent operation of the special opportunity account Era Vanguard.
It is not included in the quarterly review scope of Henglong Research Institute, nor is it mentioned in any internal communications or external personnel.
Shen Zhiyi classified all relevant documents into encrypted files in New York's office. Lin Shicheng also used a completely independent SPV structure when executing transactions.
Elon Musk doesn't know about this and shouldn't know about it.
"The core holdings of Era Vanguard have not changed. Nvidia, Tesla, SpaceX.
Occasionally there are some tactical opportunities, but they are so small that they are not worth mentioning."
He put the tea cup on the workbench, his tone was as steady as usual,
"Most of the noise you see on the retail forums on Twitter is emotions, not signals."
Elon Musk shrugged and did not ask further questions.
"I never look at those. The noise on the Twitter is harder to filter out than the vibrations from a rocket engine."
He placed the tea cup on the stainless steel ring section of SN8,
Picked up the printed Starship test flight schedule from next to the computer, and drew a circle on October 20th with an oil-based pen.
"Three rounds of static ignition that day. If you are still at New York, I will send you the test video."
"I can watch."
Elon Musk put the timetable back on the table, walked a few steps deeper into the factory, stood in front of the largest ring section of SN8 and looked up.
The stainless steel welds extend from the bottom to the top, looking like silver-gray blood vessels under the light.
"Zhao, the last time you came to Boca Chica, Starworm had just finished flying Tethered Test.
You said something - 'You know that this thing in front of you is just a rough prototype, but you know that the person behind it has seen where it is going to end up.'
I'm going to show you SN8 today, and it's the same sentence.
What you see now is a pile of stainless steel ring segments and several cut-out engine sections.
But what I saw was the way it turned somersault and stood on the surface of Mars."
He turned around and faced Zhao Chen, standing in the middle of the row of huge stainless steel ring segments.
The ceiling lights of the factory stretched his shadow very long, casting it on the silver-gray metal surface.
"What you do at New York and what I do here are ultimately the same thing.
You put the chips in your pocket before others saw it, and I welded the stainless steel into a rocket before others saw it.
We are all doing the same thing - moving the future to today bit by bit."
Zhao Chen put down the tea cup, stood up and walked to Elon Musk.
The stainless steel ring section of SN8 glows cold and heavy under the light, and the texture of the weld is clearly visible.
He reached out and touched the nearest weld with his finger.
The temperature of the metal is lower than the air in the factory, and the surface is smooth and hard.
"October 20th, three rounds of static ignition."
He made a mental note of the date,
Put it on the same timetable as GME's position building progress, Silver's position distribution, and LME nickel plate purchasing rhythm.