Chapter 943: Inestimable Value
Translator: Min Editor: Caron_
Was this really just a s.p.a.ce station?
It wasn’t just Liu Zhusheng who was shocked.
When the netizens around the world saw the video Celestial Trade released and the photos taken by the first pa.s.sengers to the city, they were stunned by this magnificent s.p.a.ce station.
In an aviation fan forum in Hua, a member reposted the pictures on Celestial Trade’s official website onto the forum. The entire forum then boiled and instantly filled up with countless discussions on this topic. The members who originally just lurked on the forum all engaged in heated discussion about the photos that looked like they were taken from movies.
“…My G.o.d, did I walk into Star Trek’s studio?”
“Star Trek’s studio? Are special effects and real-life comparable?!”
Other than pointless comments, some people discussed the pictures published by Celestial Trade from a technical perspective. For example, someone who claimed to be an expert in the relevant field jumped out and posted a somewhat technical piece.
“Using the ring as the counterweight, the counterweight operates around the axis at an extremely fast speed. The tension is applied to the cable-like track by centrifugation to ensure that the track is tight. The ‘balance hammer’ itself is used as a living s.p.a.ce, using centrifugation to provide gravity… the person who proposed this design is a genius!”
Like this discussion post, when the number of clicks and replies reached to a certain point, naturally “industry experts” began to share their opinions. Apart from those new members, there was usually no shortage of technical experts actually in the aeros.p.a.ce field.
For example, a senior member named “Aeros.p.a.ce Private” not only had countless certification badges hanging under his ID, but it also stated he was working at Hua Aeros.p.a.ce Science and Industry Group! He was a member of the forum for quite some time. In an era when the s.p.a.ce enthusiast forum was still discussing Microsoft’s “Freelancer”, he was already active on the forum.
“A genius made this design possible. Every time you transport materials to the s.p.a.ce station, the position of the center of gravity will change. If the weight of the counterweight is increased to offset the speed of the cantilever, the amount of calculation involved will be an astronomical number. It’s estimated that even Tianhe No. 1 would have to calculate for half a day in order to obtain the optimized result!”
When the expert spoke, it immediately attracted countless attention.
“My G.o.d, then is the main control computer that controls the s.p.a.ce elevator balance system even more powerful than Tianhe No. 1?”
“Aeros.p.a.ce Private” scoffed when he saw the countless amateur comments. As an avid fan of Future Technology, he replied with a few lines
“Is this difficult for them? You might not know, but the supercomputer chip used by Tianhe No. 2 is designed by Future Technology and manufactured by Future Heavy Industries. It’s known as Dragon Cavalry X1 supercomputer chip. Using new lix architecture, graphene material, and 7nm processing, even the industry leader Intel envied at this technological masterpiece!”
“I tell you every year the amount of patent fees Intel pays to Future Group is enough to buy several public companies!”
When he mentioned patent fees, Aeros.p.a.ce Private couldn’t stop his praise.
Since joining the WTO, when it came to the high-tech field, especially the electronics industry, Hua must pay tens of billions of patent fees to the electronic giants Intel and Qualcomm every year. Although he wasn’t in the semiconductor industry, he still felt proud.
What?
Future Group isn’t a Hua-based company?
Why does that matter?! It’s a company created in Hua, and it’s a company started by someone was born in Hua!
Of course, the technological details were always discussed by a small group of people, and most people focused on other, more explosive elements of the news. The news was posted on the official website along with pictures, drawing the attention of every viewer.
[Celestial City signed a contract with Hilton Hotel for a total area of 30,000 square meters to create the world’s first s.p.a.ce-themed hotel.]
Earlier, Celestial Trade announced the fare of the s.p.a.ce elevator on the official website. The pre-tax base price of an adult fare was only 1,500 Xin New Dollars! The economy cla.s.s fare was even cheaper than some airfare!
People without money saw an opportunity to tour outer s.p.a.ce, and people with money saw an opportunity for s.p.a.ce tourism!
Hilton went all the way up to build up a hotel, so why can’t I go up and sell a biscuit?
Although Celestial Trade’s ticket sales had yet to open, everyone’s hearts had already flown to the beautiful Coro Island.
Almost all the famous and influential travelers were all astonished by the ridiculously cheap s.p.a.ce tour. Many of them had already traveled the world, but none of them visited s.p.a.ce before! When they heard Celestial Trade released ticket information, their pa.s.sion to explore was immediately ignited.
The best course of action was to wait on Coro Island.
While countless people were planning to travel to Xin, something even crazier happened.
A certain popular figure in Hua commented and scoffed Southern Airlines, not because of the quality of service, but because the tickets were completely sold out!
“This is insane! I just went to Southern Airlines’ official website to look at tickets. All the tickets to Xin were sold out! Yes, they were all sold out! Even the first cla.s.s. The innocent me thought I could buy a ticket. I didn’t expect the tickets for the next month to already be sold out!”
A stone cast a thousand ripples, and countless fans replied.
“Really? Why doesn’t Southern Airlines offer more flights?”
“Are you stupid?! There are only two airports on Coro Island in total. The third airport is still constructing its runway. There is a high demand here, so there is low demand everywhere else? It takes time to construct a runway! Plus, fights can’t be easily added.”
“Now it’s possible to go to Xin through a cruise. Fly to Xiangjiang or w.a.n.ghai or Guangdong or Guangxi, then take a cruise to Ange island. However, if not limited by finances, I recommend flying to Australia first before taking a cruise there, it will be faster.”
“…”
In addition to those well-known influencers, the 1,500 dollars s.p.a.ce tour also became widespread among ordinary people. After reading some blogs, some “aspiring young women” inexplicably thought going to s.p.a.ce would be a spiritual journey for the soul. (1)
However, the s.p.a.ce elevator wasn’t a Sichuan-Tibet line, and they couldn’t hitch a ride from a “good-hearted person.”
So someone asked for help.
“Sisters, where are the lucky travel guides of Celestial Trade? This is very urgent.”
There was also a selfie attached.
In this age filled with good-hearted people, someone would help, naturally.
For example, a netizen with a wide range of ideas replied.
“You can buy a ticket to Xin first, then try to see if you can get a free ride from Mr. Jiang. If you can get on his limited-edition Lamborghini, he definitely won’t mind sending you to heaven.”
“…”
It wasn’t just the netizens around the world who were stunned, but also the governments that just partic.i.p.ated in the United Nations Outer s.p.a.ce Summit. However, they didn’t show their shock through official channels, but they worked overtime to re-examine whether they underestimated the true value of the s.p.a.ce elevator.
(1) This refers to the phenomenon of young women traveling to Tibet with a budget. They hitch a ride with people along the highway in exchange for s.e.xual favors.