The Tiannian space plane is 125 meters long and has a wingspan of 110 meters.

And you need to know that even the An-225 has a fuselage length of 84 meters and a wingspan of 88.4 meters.

So it can be said that the Tiannian aerospace plane is a veritable behemoth, and can even be called an air cruise ship. After all, a small cruise ship is generally only more than a hundred meters long.

However, what is different from other aircraft is that the Tiannian does not have a streamlined fuselage that looks comfortable. On the contrary, the Tiannian can be called "fat".

The diameter of its fuselage is several times larger than that of other passenger aircraft. The most important thing is that the middle part is still a little protruding, as if a flying saucer is embedded in the middle of the streamlined fuselage, and this "flying saucer" is still

Connected to the wings on both sides.

Of course, this embedded "disk" is the controllable nuclear fusion reactor. The heart of this behemoth is the energy core that drives the Tiannian to fly.

This controllable nuclear fusion reactor uses a new type of device similar to a tokamak. It is not the conch-type device designed by Lin Xiao before. This is mainly because of the use of YB-1 material - Lin Xiao later found out the end

Liao Cheng named this material YB-1 instead of Yuebei-1 as he named it at the time.

All in all, after using YB-1, you no longer have to worry too much about the service life issue. At least, the Tiannian's controllable nuclear fusion reactor can be used for at least more than 20 years.

As for the construction cost of the entire Tiannian, it is as high as more than 9 billion.

Of course, in fact, it is more than 9 billion, which is very cheap.

After all, you must know that the cost of the Long March 9 rocket is as high as 5 billion, and the most important thing is that the Long March 9 rocket can be said to be disposable.

But the Tiannian can be reused. Even if the cost of a single ship is as high as more than 9 billion, in the end, on average, calculated over 20 years, it will only be about 450 million per year. If it is divided into installments, it will cost more than 9 billion per day.

Just over a million.

Although today's rockets have actually mastered recyclable technology, recyclable rockets can only recycle the first-stage rocket, while other parts of the second-stage rocket, third-stage rocket, etc. are not recyclable.

.

So no matter what, as a rocket, it is inherently far behind aerospace planes by several levels.

"It's so spectacular!"

In the hangar, everyone present could not help but be shocked by this thing.

Although the people present are basically staff members, and they basically watched this giant thing being painted from the frame to the exterior, and finally formed into this appearance, yet every time they see it, it still gives them a spiritual feeling.

Shocking.

And the three characters on it, ‘Tian Nian Hao’, were even said to have been inscribed by the leaders above.

At this time, a voice sounded from the hangar's broadcast: "Attention all units, starting from now on, preparations for the Tiannian's takeoff will begin. The first test flight of the Tiannian is expected to begin in four hours!"

"

After hearing the words on the radio, these staff members were heartened, and then started their work again. Everyone had only one idea in their mind, that is, to do all their work well, and then witness the Tianxian's ascent.

sky!

…

At the same time, in an office on the upper floor of the hangar.

"My dear, Chief Lin, what did you build? A space carrier? Even if Hydra comes, you are not as awesome as you."

Ma Gaoliang, who hadn't seen him for a long time, looked at the huge thing outside the window. The shock on his face had never stopped since he came in just now.

He really didn't expect that Lin Xiao would create such a man-made wonder so quietly. It was simply outrageous.

"That's it. It's not a space carrier. Of course, it is indeed a mothership." Lin Xiao said with a smile.

Ma Gaoliang was stunned and asked: "Is it still a mothership? Why?"

"Because it can be used to transport satellites, if we want to launch satellites in the future, we can just let Tian Nian fly directly to the predetermined orbit, and then open the satellite cabin at the back and release the satellites."

Lin Xiao said.

The Tiannian has a maximum take-off weight of 2,900 tons, of which the maximum fuel load is 700 tons, which is equivalent to the maximum take-off weight of an An-225.

Of course, this fuel capacity is mainly aviation fuel. If you want such a behemoth to fly from the ground, you need to have enough aviation fuel. According to calculations, these 700 tons of aviation fuel are enough for the Tiannian to fly into the sky.

Then cruise for thousands of kilometers in the sky.

In addition, the maximum cargo weight it can carry is 500 tons, including 10 satellite cargo bays with a load capacity of 10 tons.

In other words, Tiannian can carry satellites with a total weight of 100 tons into space at one time. As for the number of satellites, there is basically no limit, as long as the satellite cargo compartment can accommodate their size.

Therefore, it is equivalent to spaceX's Starlink plan. They can now easily implement it at a lower cost and can carry more satellites at one time.

After listening to Lin Xiao's words, Ma Gaoliang couldn't help but marveled: "This is really... tsk, tsk, it's so awesome."

"Is it going to take off soon?"

"Well, it's about to take off." Lin Xiao said: "Let it go to say hello to the astronauts on our space station first, then make a few turns in the orbit, and then come back."

"Then I have to witness it." Ma Gaodian nodded, but then he asked: "Oh, by the way, where is our pilot? Oh, no, it should be the astronaut."

Lin Xiao smiled and said: "The Tiannian is equipped with intelligent assisted driving, so this time, artificial intelligence will conduct the test flight."

"Oh, that's it, I understand..."

Hearing Lin Xiao's words, Ma Gaoliang nodded at first. After all, ordinary launch vehicles are like this, unmanned and controlled by ground bases.

However, he reacted after a while. He was stunned for a moment, and then he was shocked. The Tiannian was not a rocket!

This is an airplane!

Although it is called an aerospace plane, it is still an airplane, and it even has the function of carrying people. Nowadays, no manned aircraft uses unmanned pilots!

What's more, this thing is so valuable!

He quickly asked: "You want artificial intelligence to conduct the test flight? Are you sure?"

"OK." Lin Xiao nodded slightly, looked at the Tiannian outside, and said, "I know what you are thinking, but just trust me, I am sure."

"But...this is something worth ten billion."

Ma Gaoliang still finds it hard to believe that such an expensive thing can be driven by a driverless person?

This is too...confident, right?

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the office door, and six people barged in, four men and two women, all of whom looked very capable.

In addition, they all wear special uniforms. This uniform represents the six astronauts who have been receiving aerospace aircraft driving training here for more than a year.

They were all outstanding pilots in the Air Force, and then they were selected and came here to receive training. They will become the next batch of Chinese astronauts to enter space.

Seeing them coming in, Lin Xiao said: "Why are you here? There is no training today?"

The male astronaut in the lead said to Lin Xiao anxiously: "Chief Lin, what's going on? Why is the Tiannian about to conduct a test flight? We didn't receive a notice!

"

This man is called Zhu Xiong, and he is the captain of these six people.

Their training period was originally eighteen months, and as of now, there were still a few months until the end of the eighteen-month training period. However, they never expected that they suddenly received news today that Tiannian

The number is about to undergo a test flight!

This really surprised them.

Lin Xiao smiled and said: "Don't worry, didn't I tell you before? The test flight is to use artificial intelligence, and your training period is not over yet, so you should wait until the eighteen months of training is completed.

, and after passing the assessment, you will be the driver."

The six future aerospace plane pilots were all stunned. Lin Xiao really wanted to use artificial intelligence?

"But didn't you say at that time that we would wait and see what happens later?" Zhu Xiong said, "So Chief Lin, let us go first. In this case, we can have a guarantee."

"Although we haven't completely finished the training, there are only three months left until it ends, so I think we can be up to the task!"

"We will definitely be able to ensure the safety of the Tiannian!"

The other five people also said in unison: "We must ensure the safety of the Tiannian!"

"absurd!"

However, after they finished speaking, Lin Xiao said sternly: "I won't let you conduct test flights just to ensure your safety. When will you be needed to ensure the safety of an aircraft?"

"All your previous training was in vain?"

Lin Xiao snorted coldly: "Otherwise, what would be the use of the self-driving artificial intelligence that I worked so hard to develop? Isn't it just to better protect your safety?"

Hearing Lin Xiao's scolding, the six future astronauts were stunned for a moment, and then they felt moved in their hearts.

They did not expect that Lin Xiao actually thought this way.

After all, you must know that the Tiannian is worth more than nine billion.

"But……"

"Nothing but."

Zhu Xiong wanted to say something else, but Lin Xiao interrupted him directly and said: "Okay, don't say anything else. Go back and continue your training. When we take off in four hours, you can come and visit.

.”

"The test flight is just to test the most basic performance. If there is a problem, even if you go up, it will be in vain. If danger occurs, your leader will probably come to trouble me."

Seeing this, Zhu Xiong and the others could only give up. Of course, they were also grateful because of Lin Xiao's words, just like when they first entered the Air Force for training, the coach told them that they were worth more than
To be continued...