Chapter Summaries

Lu Zhou supported building a space station in Lunar Orbit as officials and experts debated whether to begin in Low Earth Orbit or take a more ambitious route. He argued that Hua Nation had outgrown following others and then publicly opposed the Low Earth Orbit plan, setting off an uproar.

• Lu Zhou agreed with Academician Yuan Huanmin that Hua Nation should focus on the Moon rather than race the Americans to Mars.
• Director Li announced plans for a space station and asked whether it should be built in Low Earth Orbit or Lunar Orbit, prompting heated debate.
• Lu Zhou told Yuan Huanmin that Hua Nation had become a pioneer and could set standards for others to follow.
• An Aerospace Group expert argued for building in Low Earth Orbit first, citing the International Space Station as a model and a way to gain experience.
• Lu Zhou stood up, objected to the Low Earth Orbit proposal, and recommended building the station directly in Lunar Orbit, igniting the conference hall.

Lu Zhou argued that Hua Nation should build its space station in lunar orbit before the United States claimed the strategic opportunity, and his case shifted the meeting toward the Lunar Faction. Afterward, Zheng Xiangdong tried to recruit Academician Yuan against Lu Zhou, but Yuan defended Lu Zhou and refused to help oppose the plan.

• Lu Zhou argued that lunar resources and the approaching American station program made a lunar-orbit station the better choice, even though he could not guarantee success.
• Director Li adjourned the meeting after the debate, while Academician Yuan remained silent and left the Low Earth Orbit supporters without a prominent ally.
• Zheng Xiangdong confronted Academician Yuan after the meeting and accused Lu Zhou of favoring lunar orbit to monopolize the lucrative transport contracts.
• Academician Yuan rejected Zheng Xiangdong's accusation, citing Lu Zhou's willingness to risk his life aboard the unproven Auspicious as proof of his sincerity.
• Academician Yuan told Zheng Xiangdong to give up trying to oppose Lu Zhou, then walked away.

After Hua Nation selected a Lunar Orbital Space Station as its next space objective, Lu Zhou left Shangjing for Jinling and learned Starry Sky Technology might be the only company able to bid on the full spacecraft transport project. On the train, he read about Johnson & Johnson’s cryogenic hibernation breakthrough and wondered what the world would become in fifty years.

• Lu Zhou shared a meal with Academician Wang Zengguang, who praised his willingness to speak openly despite offending people.
• Lu Zhou said goodbye to Wang Zengguang, packed his things, and boarded a train bound for Jinling with Wang Peng.
• Chen Yushan told Lu Zhou that Hua Nation had chosen the Lunar Orbital Space Station and that Starry Sky Technology might be the only company qualified to bid on the entire spacecraft transport project.
• Lu Zhou worried that Starry Sky Technology’s position could leave rival aerospace companies resentful, but Chen Yushan laughed off his concern.
• Lu Zhou read that Johnson & Johnson had made a breakthrough in human cryogenic hibernation sustained-release technology and felt eager to see the future.

The New York Times learned that Hua Nation planned to build a lunar-orbit space station, prompting widespread ridicule in North America. Back in Jinling, Lu Zhou received test results and encouraged Xu Wenhao to pursue biochemistry, saying the institute would make it a priority.

• Camille told Duke and Anders that Hua Nation had announced plans for a lunar-orbit space station called Moon Palace.
• North American media reported on and mocked Hua Nation's plan, though outlets avoided declaring it certain to fail.
• Lu Zhou returned to Jinling and received the requested test results and remaining samples from Xu Wenhao.
• Xu Wenhao asked Lu Zhou to autograph his electrochemistry reference book and said he hoped to join the Computational Materials Research Institute.
• Lu Zhou told Xu Wenhao that the Biochemistry Research Institute would be a key development priority and encouraged him to keep working hard.

Lu Zhou reviewed analyses of the liquid food and Future brand cola, then learned that a fabric sample was woven from exceptionally strong carbon nanotube fiber. He saw the material as a valuable resource for the upcoming lunar orbital space station project.

• Lu Zhou read Xu Wenhao’s report and learned that the liquid food contained a substance that improved digestion and nutrient absorption.
• Lu Zhou learned that Future brand cola contained a non-protein amino acid that boosted athletic performance without toxic side effects.
• Lu Zhou drafted patent applications for substances identified in the two analyses.
• Lu Zhou read Yang Xu’s report and discovered that the fabric was woven from carbon nanotube fiber with outstanding strength and heat conductivity.
• Lu Zhou decided the material could greatly benefit the lunar orbital space station project.

Lu Zhou asked Yang Xu to develop a difficult-to-manufacture material and find pharmaceutical partners for two commercially promising compounds. In Arizona, Elon Musk showed NASA Director Carson a giant habitat designed to keep Mars colonists alive, while Carson questioned whether it could support them safely.

• Lu Zhou asked Yang Xu to establish a project to make the secret fabric and help find a pharmaceutical company for clinical trials and contract manufacturing.
• Yang Xu agreed that commercial partners would be easy to find for compounds with commercial value.
• Elon Musk told Director Carson that SpaceX aimed to build space transportation routes and a forward base on Mars.
• Elon Musk brought Director Carson to an egg-shaped habitat under construction in the Arizona desert.
• Elon Musk claimed the habitat could sustain colonists for at least thirty months with continued power and said SpaceX would send it to Mars using its BFR rocket.

Lu Zhou chose Hengrui Pharmaceuticals as a domestic partner to develop a newly discovered amino acid, then learned it showed promising effects in diabetes research. He named it Kea Amino Acid, leaving Professor Zhang baffled by his choice.

• After reviewing Chen Yushan’s report, Lu Zhou selected Hengrui Pharmaceuticals as his partner and arranged to send them samples of the patented material.
• Professor Zhang Jiafu visited Lu Zhou and reported that Hengrui’s tests found the amino acid worked synergistically with insulin and protected pancreatic beta cells in diabetic mice.
• Lu Zhou was surprised by the results and clarified that the amino acid could not cure diabetes.
• When Professor Zhang asked what to call the amino acid, Lu Zhou named it Kea Amino Acid, explaining that he had extracted it from cola.
• After the meeting, Professor Zhang asked a researcher whether Lu Zhou had unusual taste in names, and the researcher replied that he would get used to it.

The United States launched the BFR carrying a Life-Support Unit toward Mars, while Elon Musk revealed plans to use the Heart of Gold for the crewed mission. Lu Zhou advanced plans for transporting the Lunar Orbital Space Station’s modules and learned that the Americans had launched their rocket.

• The BFR lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying the Life-Support Unit, and Elon Musk told Director Carson that the Heart of Gold would carry three astronauts to Mars.
• NASA reported that the launch had succeeded, and Space-X’s stock rose as Chinese public criticism of the Lunar Orbital Space Station intensified.
• Lu Zhou told the lunar project team that it needed to deliver at least five hundred tonnes to lunar orbit and proposed a dedicated spacecraft for the Earth-Moon transfer leg.
• Hou Guang said the plan was theoretically feasible but required further study, and he promised Lu Zhou a detailed report by the following evening.
• Director Li called Lu Zhou and told him that the Americans had launched their BFR rocket.

After the United States launched a BFR cargo vessel carrying life-support units, Director Li asked Lu Zhou whether Hua Nation could rapidly build and send an artificial biosphere to Mars, but Lu Zhou said the technology was not ready. Lu Zhou confirmed the Moon Palace core module could launch by the end of the month, then learned he had been appointed chief designer of the new Lunar Orbital Construction Committee as Hua Nation prepared to build its lunar space station.

• Director Li told Lu Zhou that the United States had launched a BFR cargo vessel carrying life-support units and asked about the progress of the Spark Plan.
• Director Li raised the possibility of funding a Mars-bound artificial biosphere, but Lu Zhou said Hua Nation lacked the necessary technology and should proceed step by step.
• Lu Zhou told Director Li that the Moon Palace core module could launch by the end of the month, and Director Li promised to arrange its final testing and delivery to the Jinling Launch Center.
• Director Li informed Lu Zhou that the central leadership had established the Lunar Orbital Construction Committee and appointed him its chief designer.
• Hua Nation scheduled Auspicious's next launch for the end of the month, while foreign observers and many domestic aerospace workers doubted the lunar station project could succeed.

Engineers at Tianjin Space City discovered that the Moon Palace core module’s cooling system could not handle the heat generated during operation. With launch scheduled for the end of the month, Academician Yuan and Zheng Xiangdong faced a major problem that could delay the space station program.

• Sun Yuanpei and Zhao Xianpu discussed Professor Lu’s move from controlled fusion to aerospace while inspecting the core module.
• Academician Yuan ordered a vacuum-chamber test after Sun Yuanpei reported that the circuits had passed inspection.
• The core module’s internal temperature began rising during the test, and Academician Yuan ordered the engineers to terminate it and fill the chamber with protective gas.
• Academician Yuan identified a likely failure in the loop heat pipes and explained that redesigning the cooling system or removing equipment could disrupt the program.
• Zheng Xiangdong realized that the core module failure threatened the end-of-month launch and could postpone the 2021 schedule.

Lu Zhou and Yang Xu discussed how to lengthen their nitrogen-modified Carbon Nanotubes, named the sample N-1, and planned its patent and paper. A call from Director Li then revealed that a heat dissipation problem in the core module’s loop heat pipes could delay the launch and require a redesign.

• Lu Zhou examined the Carbon Nanotube samples, and Yang Xu explained that improving the catalyst might help the nanotubes grow longer.
• Lu Zhou told Yang Xu to pursue the catalyst approach, patent the Carbon Nanotube sample, and submit a paper that excluded the preparation process.
• Lu Zhou named the new material N-1, prompting Yang Xu to remark that the name was very much Lu Zhou’s style.
• Director Li told Lu Zhou that the core module’s heat dissipation system was inadequate and the launch might be postponed.
• Lu Zhou learned that faulty loop heat pipes could require the system to be redesigned.

Lu Zhou rushed to Jinmen to inspect the space station core module’s faulty loop heat pipes and considered a possible repair using N-1 material. The chapter ended with him and Yang Xu preparing to try electroless copper plating as a remedy.

• Lu Zhou decided to travel to Jinmen after Director Li told him the core module problem could delay the launch.
• Lu Zhou brought Yang Xu along after learning that the available Carbon Nanotube Fiber samples were only one to two millimeters long.
• At the aerospace facility, Sun Yuanpei told Lu Zhou that the loop heat pipes could not dissipate heat and that rebuilding them seemed like the only option.
• Lu Zhou inspected the core module and learned that its loop heat pipes were made of copper-aluminum alloy.
• Lu Zhou asked Yang Xu whether N-1 material could be plated with copper, and Yang Xu said electroless plating was feasible.
• Lu Zhou told Zhang that they had found a possible remedy, then left the factory with Yang Xu.

Lu Zhou proposed using N-1 Material to repair the Moon Palace spacecraft’s faulty heat-dissipation system and arranged for the materials to be prepared. He left the Aerospace Science Group’s leaders to decide whether to accept the risky repair, offering to pay for any damage.

• Zhang arranged accommodations for Lu Zhou and Yang Xu after Lu Zhou said he had a possible solution to the loop heat pipe problem.
• Lu Zhou asked Senior Brother Qian at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study to prepare N-1 Material, which he planned to copper-plate and apply to the heat pipe connections.
• The Fifth Academy welcomed Lu Zhou’s proposed fix, while Yang Xu questioned whether it would work and warned that the spacecraft was expensive.
• Academician Yuan and Deputy General Manager Zheng confronted Lu Zhou about his plan, and Zheng objected to risking further damage.
• Lu Zhou told them the repair was the only remedy he saw for avoiding a launch delay and offered to compensate the Aerospace Science Group if the attempt damaged the spacecraft.

Lu Zhou arranged for Chief Engineer Yang Zhongquan to cold-weld carbon nanotube powder onto the Moon Palace spacecraft’s overheated capillary structures. The repair was complete, and the Fifth Academy prepared to test whether it had worked.

• Lu Zhou promised Academician Yuan Huanmin a result within three days and contacted Yang Zhongquan to find an experienced cold-welding technician.
• Three days later, Yang Zhongquan arrived at the Aerospace Science Group workshop, where engineers gathered to watch the repair.
• Lu Zhou showed Yang Zhongquan the overheating locations and instructed him to weld carbon nanotube powder between the capillary structures and heat-generating components.
• Yang Zhongquan completed the welds, and Academician Yuan ordered the Fifth Academy to prepare the vacuum chamber for a test.

Lu Zhou oversaw the Moon Palace core module’s vacuum-chamber test and predicted its temperature despite the erratic readings. The experiment succeeded, confirming that the cooling system worked, while Lu Zhou had already left before the results were announced.

• Academician Yuan Huanmin began the test, and the engineers activated the core module’s systems inside the vacuum chamber.
• Vice President Zheng Xiangdong questioned Yuan about the fluctuating temperature curve, and Yuan explained that the module had not been precooled.
• Lu Zhou predicted the module would reach about 13.5 degrees Celsius at thirty minutes, but Yang Xu declined to bet against him.
• Lu Zhou left the laboratory, saying he had already seen the result, while Yang Xu stayed to watch the test.
• At thirty minutes, the module’s temperature reached 286.69 K, matching Lu Zhou’s prediction and prompting the engineers to celebrate the successful test.
• Sun Yuanpei and Zhao Xianpu praised Professor Lu, while Academician Yuan searched the laboratory for Lu Zhou and wondered how he had improved the cooling system.

Lu Zhou explained how his N-1 Carbon Nanotube material had solved the spacecraft core module’s heat-dissipation problem, impressing the engineers with its thermal conductivity and potential industrial uses. The group left eager to explore the material’s applications, while Zheng Xiangdong’s concern about removing the welded components was dismissed.

• Yang Xu told Academician Yuan that Lu Zhou had returned to the hotel, and Yuan left the laboratory to find him after ordering the experiment completed.
• Lu Zhou explained to Wang Peng that he had resolved the heat-dissipation problem so the Moon Palace spacecraft could depart safely.
• At the hotel, Academician Yuan confirmed that the experiment had worked exceptionally well, and Lu Zhou described how he had applied copper-plated N-1 Carbon Nanotubes to improve heat transfer.
• Academician Yang Zhongquan learned that the material had a thermal conductivity of around 2000 W/(m) and asked about its cost and industrial potential.
• Lu Zhou said the material was still experimental and that pricing would wait until mass production was possible.
• Vice President Zheng asked how the welded components could be removed, and Lu Zhou pointed out that no one would need to dismantle them in orbit.

Deep Space chairman Xu Gui and Sea Breeze Capital investor He Yi discussed the company’s worsening prospects after the Moon Palace program displaced the Tiangong program. He Yi proposed leaking news of a serious technical failure in the Moon Palace core module through North American media to stir public scandal, and Xu Gui realized He Yi had also arranged an earlier critical article about Professor Lu.

• Xu Gui reviewed Deep Space’s falling prospects after the Moon Palace program reduced demand for its launch services and cost the company share value.
• He Yi warned Xu Gui that investors might lose patience as Deep Space’s share price and cash flow came under pressure.
• He Yi told Xu Gui that the Moon Palace spacecraft core module had suffered a serious heat-dissipation failure that might delay its launch.
• Xu Gui celebrated the setback, hoping it would weaken Professor Lu’s plans, but He Yi cautioned that the failure alone would not affect Lu Zhou.
• He Yi urged Xu Gui to leak the failure to North American media so the news could spread back into Hua Nation as a scandal.
• Xu Gui recognized that He Yi had arranged the article “We're Losing This Race,” and He Yi argued that public opinion could support other tactics against Professor Lu.

At The New York Times, Camille brought Duke a report claiming that serious cooling-system flaws in Hua Nation’s Moon Palace spacecraft could delay its lunar orbital space station program. Duke decided to make the story a headline, while Camille secured his support for a private office and an assistant.

• Duke celebrated rising newspaper sales driven by coverage of NASA’s Ares Program and the Life-Support Unit.
• Camille gave Duke a report from her source in Hua Nation about design flaws in the Moon Palace spacecraft and a possible program delay.
• Duke confirmed Camille’s source was the same person who had supplied their earlier Moon Palace space station story and agreed to put the new report on the front page.
• Camille asked Duke for a private office and an assistant, and he agreed to recommend both to the boss.
• Duke called Anderson back from vacation and ordered him to prepare the report for the next day’s headline.

A report claimed that a serious cooling-system flaw in the Moon Palace spacecraft could delay the Hua Nation’s lunar orbital construction plan, igniting debate and attacks on Lu Zhou and the project. The Aerospace Science Group answered that the launch would proceed as planned and showed the core module being loaded aboard the Auspicious, leaving the mission aimed at lunar orbit.

• The New York Times reported a design flaw in the Moon Palace spacecraft’s core module, and NASA confirmed it had heard related reports.
• North American audiences mocked the Hua Nation’s setback while NASA expressed regret, and investors in low Earth orbit launch projects celebrated.
• An anonymous writer published a widely shared article blaming the Moon Palace spacecraft’s failure on rushed planning and Lu Zhou’s influence.
• The Hua Academy of Sciences, the national Space Administration, and the Aerospace Science Group posted official responses after three days of silence.
• The Aerospace Science Group declared that the launch would proceed as planned and showed the core module being loaded onto the Auspicious at the Jinling Aerospace Launch Center.

Lu Zhou reflected on his hopes for Hua Nation’s aerospace industry and spoke with Xiao Ai about his future, while Wang Peng extended his leave. In Shanghai, Wang Peng prepared to arrest a confirmed target.

• A committee elder called Lu Zhou about the Moon Palace problem, and Lu Zhou assured him it had been resolved.
• Lu Zhou explained that he wanted to encourage private aerospace companies in Hua Nation and spoke with Xiao Ai about feeling tired and eventually teaching mathematics.
• Lu Zhou answered Wang Peng’s call and agreed to extend his leave for two days.
• In Shanghai, an officer told Wang Peng that the target was inside the building and the arrest team was ready.
• Wang Peng nodded and ordered them to close the net.