Topic

Heavenly Gate Space Station.

Docks 7 and 8.

After further refinements and modifications, the two previously built Zhurong-class spacecraft had reached their final configuration: large spacecraft with a fully loaded mass of 13,700 tons.

Zhurong-class spacecraft.

Fully loaded mass: 13,700 tons. Empty mass: 10,500 tons. Payload: 3,200 tons.

Fuel capacity: 7,500 tons of N30 Fuel. Main engines: six Storm 16 Engines. Auxiliary engines: twelve Storm 7 Engines.

Its cruising speed in a near-vacuum environment was 12 kilometers per second, its maximum speed was 18 kilometers per second, and its maximum range was 260 million kilometers.

The range and payload could be adjusted to a certain extent based on the distance to the destination.

After all, the positions of planets were not fixed, especially relative to one another. The major planets of the Solar System all had different orbital speeds and periods, as well as different distances from the Sun.

For example, during Venus's opposition, the distance between Venus and Blue Star was roughly 38 to 42 million kilometers.

During that period, if the Zhurong was fully fueled, it would still have more than half its fuel remaining even after making a round trip. That was somewhat wasteful of its transport capacity.

Therefore, developing dedicated navigation plans based on real-time changes in the distance between two planets had become extremely important work.

This work was handled by the Interstellar Navigation Traffic Bureau under the Ministry of Aerospace.

As the end of the year approached, the Interstellar Navigation Traffic Bureau had also arranged a series of flights, including the six Vanguard-class spacecraft already entering service and the two Zhurong-class spacecraft currently being outfitted.

Starting next year, flights from Blue Star to Mars, Venus, and the Asteroid Belt would increase substantially.

Under the revised arrangements, the two Zhurong-class spacecraft and three Vanguard-class spacecraft