Preparations for the Maiden Launch!

The days passed one by one.

As the end of the year drew closer, both the pilots and engineers worked tensely at their posts like tightly wound gears.

As for Lu Zhou, the closer the project came to completion, the more thoroughly everything had been arranged. There was actually less for him, the project leader, to handle.

The shuttle's design was overseen by Hou Guang, who had once participated in the 863 Program. Xiao Ai could flawlessly machine the required parts using five-axis CNC machine tools, then flexibly assemble them with logistics vehicles, robotic arms, and all manner of networked engineering equipment. The entire Auspicious shuttle was visibly transforming from a blueprint into reality.

As long as Lu Zhou could keep the funding chain stable, completing the aircraft was practically a certainty.

Of course, that was no simple matter either.

Although Xiao Ai's performance in industry was impressive enough to defy the heavens, despite possessing a full set of processing equipment, there were still many things Lu Zhou could not produce himself. For example, the flight control system had been purchased from Aerospace Science Group. Then there was the surface coating. Although it had been designed by the Computational Materials Research Institute, production had been outsourced to a specialized chemical company.

There were also cutting-edge materials such as the high-temperature surface insulation tiles, the reinforced C-C composite material on the wing's leading edges, and even the specialty steel used in the aircraft's main structure. None of those were ordinary goods. While keeping the materials relatively lightweight, their tensile strength, fracture toughness, corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistance, and numerous other properties all had to remain at a very high standard.

Matching that exceptional performance were manufacturing processes so complicated they were downright horrifying.

It was no exaggeration to say that the cost