Chapter 1307: Orbital Habitat Blueprint
Director Li was finally able to see Lu Zhou the next day.
“You’re quite a special one. Didn’t even reply to my messages.”
Lu Zhou smiled awkwardly, but he didn’t give an explanation. He just pretended not to hear him and gestured at the teacup on the coffee table.
“You must be tired after driving so far. Let’s drink some tea first.”
Seeing how Lu Zhou had no remorse, Director Li sighed and said, “I’m not trying to offend you, but this is such a big thing, and you left without saying a word. Isn’t that a bit unreasonable? Of course, I am not here to blame you, I’m just saying. The whole world is waiting for you to come out and say something, even just a few words. Surely you can manage that.”
Lu Zhou: “Luo Wenxuan has already said what I wanted to say. I have watched the video of his report and he said it very well. I will just end up repeating what he said, so there’s no point.”
“Professor Luo is Professor Luo. Why don’t you understand? Everyone wants to hear your voice, not his or someone else’s.”
Why does that matter?
Lu Zhou looked at how sincere Director Li was. He sighed and asked, “What do you want to know?”
Director Li immediately said, “How likely is it to achieve faster than light navigation using hypers.p.a.ce technology? And if it is possible, how long will it take?”
Lu Zhou took a sip of the coffee on the table. He spoke after contemplating for a while.
“Using hypers.p.a.ce technology to achieve stellar navigation is very promising. My intuition tells me that this path is probably feasible. However, if you want to make this a reality, you would have to wait at least a century.”
“A century…?”
“That’s right.” Lu Zhou nodded while looking at Director Li, who had a disappointed look on his face. He said, “The transition from theory to reality is slow. It takes time for any theory to transition toward technology. Moreover, I don’t think faster than light travel is an optimal strategic goal.”
Director Li: “Why is that?”
“Because it doesn’t make sense.”
Lu Zhou put down the coffee cup in his hand and said, “It is more realistic to achieve interplanetary faster than light communication using hypers.p.a.ce technology first. This research will inspire faster than light travel. Before sending a ma.s.sive s.p.a.cecraft to farther places, we must first figure out how to deal with photons, electrons, muons, Tau particles, etc.”
Lu Zhou saw Director Li take out his notebook and began taking notes seriously. Lu Zhou paused for a second and spoke with a smile.
“There’s no use writing this down. Even if you write them down, they are useless. No one knows what will happen in fifty years.”
“How is it useless? I remember everything you said!”
Lu Zhou shook his head. He was about to say something, but the old man, who had finished taking notes, looked at him and spoke seriously.
“What you said is very important. The CTV is planning to do a program regarding this topic. If you have time… Would you like to talk about it?”
“I’ll think about the show.” Lu Zhou changed the subject and said, “Speaking of which, now that you’re here, I also have one thing I want to discuss with you.”
When Director Li heard that Lu Zhou had something to discuss with him, he immediately said, “Go ahead!”
“No need to be so nervous.” Lu Zhou smiled and said, “From a long-term perspective, I suggest launching the Mars Project.”
When Director Li heard this, he was stunned.
Lu Zhou knew Director Li would react this way, so he continued, “Also, I’m not just talking about a symbolic launch. It should be implemented as part of the long-term development strategy of our country’s s.p.a.ce program.”
Seeing how Lu Zhou didn’t seem to be joking, Director Li gradually reduced the surprised look on his face. His expression gradually became serious.
“Did you find something?”
“… Find what?”
Director Li sat up straight and stared at Lu Zhou’s eyes. He continued eagerly, “For example, the hypers.p.a.ce channel… Have you found a stable way to open it?”
Seeing how Director Li seemed to have misunderstood his words, Lu Zhou sighed and explained patiently.
“You are overestimating my ability. This kind of problem needs the focus of the entire civilization and dozens or even hundreds of years to solve. However, speaking of hypers.p.a.ce channels, it is actually relevant.”
Director Li: “How?”
“Think about why there is no high-speed rail in Singapore.”
“What kind of high-speed rail does Singapore want?” Director Li said with a smile, “They’re tiny, they can walk from one side of the country to another. Unless it is an international high-speed rail, there is no need to build such a thing.”
“That’s it.” Lu Zhou snapped his fingers and said, “Many people don’t understand the logic of technological development. It is not because of hypers.p.a.ce channels that we expand to a more distant world. It’s because we want to extend our boundaries that we develop technologies that can achieve our wishes.
“Science is pure, but technology is created to solve problems. When we have a real need for faster than light navigation and communication, only then can the technology be created. If we stay on Earth, there is a high probability that this problem will never be solved.”
Director Li frowned and said, “So… in your opinion, we should also plan a place on Mars similar to the Guanghan Special Zone? And create a demand for solving this problem?”
“No need to hurry, one step at a time.” Lu Zhou smiled faintly and continued in a serious tone, “But like I said, regardless of whether or not the hypers.p.a.ce channel can be opened stably, Mars is an indispensable part of our s.p.a.ce strategy. We can first consider establis.h.i.+ng a settlement on Mars similar to the lunar scientific research station, and after that, we can slowly advance our plan.”
Director Li asked seriously, “How long is this long-term period?”
“A hundred years.”
“Hm…” Director Li took in a deep breath and said, “One hundred years… That is quite long.”
“That’s why I have a corresponding medium-term plan.” Lu Zhou said with a smile, “So far, it is difficult for us to plan stable flights to Mars due to the changes in its...o...b..t, and it is also difficult to ensure the safety of the Mars colonists. As a medium-term goal, we don’t need to focus directly on Mars. Instead, we can focus on the Lagrange point.”
Director Li frowned and said, “Lagrange point?”
Lu Zhou nodded. “That’s right.”
“The Lagrange point, also known as the translational point, is a special solution to the restricted three-body problem in celestial mechanics. Point L2 is the hot spot for international deep-s.p.a.ce exploration and is located at the far point on the line connecting the sun and the earth. But what I am talking about here is not L2, but instead, I’m talking about the L4 and L5.
“As a medium-term plan, my idea is to build a permanent s.p.a.ce station on L4 or L5 to undertake the tasks of material transfer, mineral resource processing, s.h.i.+p docking, repair, and even manufacturing.
“If the Moon Palace is our outpost for controlling Earth and the moon, then the base at the Lagrange point will become our outpost for controlling the solar system. Not only can it be our transit station to Mars, but it can also help us reach out to Mars. It will become our factory in s.p.a.ce.”
As Director Li listened to Lu Zhou’s description, he was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth involuntarily and tried to say something. But he didn’t know how to describe the feeling in his heart.
After a while, he spoke.
“This is…”
Lu Zhou: “Too ridiculous?”
Director Li did not say anything.
“I admit that this plan sounds a bit extreme, but from a long-term perspective, it is definitely possible to be achieved. As I said before, we don’t need to make it a three-year and five-year goal. Instead, it can be regarded as a long-term plan with a 50-year or 100-year engineering cycle.
“In the short term, this project might be at a loss, but I believe that all losses will be able to show its value in the future. This wealth will bring huge benefits to our descendants, even if it looks unprofitable now.”
After a pause, Lu Zhou said, “It is not totally unprofitable. At least our aeros.p.a.ce industry will prosper because of this century-old plan.”
Director Li was touched by Lu Zhou’s words.
Director Li nodded solemnly after thinking about it for a long time.
“I will pa.s.s your words to Chang’an Avenue. I can’t guarantee whether it will be successful… In fact, I am afraid that the higher-ups cannot decide this kind of thing. I can only give you a result after a meeting.”
Lu Zhou nodded his head.
“Thank you very much.”
Director Li asked tentatively, “Do you have anything like a plan? If you do, please make a copy for me. After all, if there is a visible plan, it will be better and more convincing.”
“I knew you would say that, so I already prepared it.”
Lu Zhou smiled and took out a file bag from under the coffee table. He put it on the coffee table and gently pushed it in front of Director Li.
Director Li looked at the doc.u.ment on the table. He picked it up from the coffee table, unwrapped the cotton thread, and casually pulled a piece of paper out of it.
“What’s this…”
He suddenly froze.
Director Li looked at the content on the paper in disbelief. His eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe what he saw before his eyes.
“… An orbital habitat with a Stanford torus configuration. Every engineering parameter on the blueprint has been rigorously calculated. If the conditions are met, we can even begin construction tomorrow.”
Lu Zhou picked up the coffee cup on the coffee table. He took a sip and continued happily, “Even though it is not a plan, this… should be enough, right?”