Chapter 218 Digestion of Blueprints

At 2:00 AM, Lin Mo stared at the line of text on the screen, his finger hovering over the mouse, hesitating to click.

【 Confirm unlocking 【 space elevator overall design plan 】? Consumes 15,000 research points 】

【 Current balance: 31,550 】

15,000 points.

This was the most expensive technology he had ever unlocked. It was equivalent to three times the cost of the successful Nuclear Fusion ignition, and two and a half times that of the Carbon Nanotubes mass production technology.

But it was worth it.

He took a deep breath and clicked "Confirm".

【 Unlocking... 】

【 Progress: 7%... 23%... 51%... 84%... 100% 】

【 space elevator overall design plan activated 】

【 You have obtained: General Design Blueprints x1, Structural Mechanics Analysis Report x1, Material Process Manual x1, Control System Plan x1, Safety Emergency Plan x1, Construction Planning Book x1 】

【 Total file size: 47.8 GB 】

Lin Mo looked at the number and gasped.

47.8 GB.

He opened the folder, which was packed with hundreds of files—blueprints, reports, plans, manuals, and planning documents. Each one was something he had never seen before.

He opened the first file—General Design Blueprints.

On the screen, a thin line extended from the Earth's surface, reaching 36,000 kilometers out into space. At the top of the line was a massive ring structure.

Next to it was marked:

Synchronous Orbit Counterweight Station

Mass: 1,000 tons

Structure: Ring + Truss

Function: Cable top anchorage, spaceport, maintenance center, transfer hub

Lin Mo stared at the text, motionless for a long time.

1,000 tons.

The International Space Station, 400 tons, took over a decade to build and dozens of launches.

1,000 tons was two and a half times that.

He continued reading:

Construction Method: Modular construction, separate launches, in-orbit assembly

Number of launches: Approximately 120 (based on a payload capacity of 10 tons/launch)

Construction cycle: 5-8 years

120 launches.

Currently, the total number of global space launches per year is only about 100. In other words, just building this space station would occupy the entire world's launch capacity for a full year.

Lin Mo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

It was too massive.

So massive that it defied comprehension.

At 8:00 AM, Lin Mo called his team for a meeting.

There weren't many people—Li Xiao, Section Chief Wu, and a few core team members. Chen Xueming joined via video, and Zhao Gang sat in to listen.

Lin Mo turned on the projector and pulled up the general design blueprint.

The meeting room instantly went quiet.

Li Xiao stared at the thin line stretching from Earth into space, unable to speak for a long time.

Section Chief Wu pushed up his reading glasses, leaned closer to the screen, and muttered, "36,000 kilometers... 1,000 tons... 120 launches..."

Chen Xueming gasped on the other end of the video call: "Old Lin, is this real?"

Lin Mo nodded: "It's real."

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said: "This is just too big."

Lin Mo said: "It is very big. That's why we need to digest it bit by bit."

He switched to the next image—the structural breakdown of the space station.

"Let's look at this first. The Synchronous Orbit Counterweight Station, with a total mass of 1,000 tons, consists of seven modules: the core module, energy module, living module, laboratory module, cargo module, docking module, and cable anchorage module. Each module must be launched separately and assembled in orbit."

Li Xiao raised her hand: "Senior Brother, what about launch capacity? How many times can we launch in a year right now?"

Lin Mo pulled up some data: "Currently, the annual launch capacity of the Long March series rockets is about 30 times. Including commercial launches, the total is less than 50. If we rely solely on domestic capabilities, it would take four years to build this space station."

Section Chief Wu frowned: "Four years? What about the cable? The ground platform? The elevator cabin?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Therefore, we cannot rely solely on domestic capabilities."

Li Xiao was stunned: "You mean... international cooperation?"

Lin Mo looked at her without saying anything.

But everyone understood.

A project of this magnitude is too difficult for a single country to handle alone. Global resources must be integrated.

The discussion lasted the entire day.

In the morning, they tackled the structural design of the space station. They went through the dimensions, weight, function, and interfaces of each of the seven modules one by one. Section Chief Wu took notes in his notebook, filling over a dozen pages.

In the afternoon, they tackled the launch plan. 120 launches—how to schedule them? What to launch first, what to launch later? How to handle in-orbit assembly? Who will handle it? Every item was a difficult problem.

In the evening, they tackled the most critical issue—the cable anchorage.

"This anchorage module," Lin Mo pointed to a structure on the blueprint, "is the core of the space station. The top end of the cable must be fixed here to withstand the tensile force of the entire elevator. What is the design tensile force?"

He pulled up the data:

Total cable weight: approx. 12 tons

Elevator cabin full load: 100 tons

Dynamic load factor: 1.5

Maximum tensile force: approx. 170 tons

Section Chief Wu gasped: "170 tons. That's equivalent to more than 30 adult elephants hanging from a rope."

Lin Mo nodded: "Yes. And this tensile force isn't just for a day or two; it's for decades. The space station structure must be able to withstand this continuous load."

Li Xiao asked: "Can the current design withstand it?"

Lin Mo pulled up the structural mechanics analysis report: "Theoretically, yes. Ring structure with truss support, a safety factor of 2.0. But—"

He paused: "This is just theoretical. In actual construction, material properties, assembly precision, and long-term fatigue will all affect the final result."

The meeting room was quiet for a few seconds.

Chen Xueming spoke up from the other end of the video call: "Old Lin, I think we need to take this one step at a time. First, refine the space station plan, schedule the launch plan, and complete the verification of key technologies. You can't get fat from one bite."

Lin Mo nodded: "Right. So for the next six months, our focus will be—digesting the blueprints, refining the plans, listing the key technologies, and tackling them one by one."

He looked at everyone: "This is the most magnificent engineering project in human history. There is no other like it. Everything we do is unprecedented. But precisely because it is unprecedented, it is worth doing."

Li Xiao smiled: "Senior Brother, I've been hearing this spiel for four years. It works every time."

Everyone laughed.

Lin Mo also smiled.

Late at night, Lin Mo sat alone in his office.

A thick stack of printed blueprints was spread out on his desk. He flipped through them one by one, looking at each very carefully.

When he turned to a certain page, he stopped.

It was a panoramic view—from the ground anchorage platform to the counterweight station 36,000 kilometers away, the entire space elevator was presented completely before his eyes.

The slender cable, like a silver thread, rose from the azure surface of the Earth, passed through the atmosphere, through low Earth orbit, and stretched all the way into the deep starry sky.

Against the background of the starry sky, several points of light were marked—the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

In the farthest distance, there was a tiny star, with writing next to it: HD 107146, 12 light-years

Lin Mo stared at that star for a long time.

He remembered that signal, remembered that star map, and remembered that "outpost" on the edge of Centaurus.

12 light-years.

With current technology, it would take hundreds of thousands of years to fly there.

But with the space elevator and the Plasma Engine, perhaps it could be shortened to a few hundred years.

A few hundred years was still too long.

But what if they could live for several hundred years?

What if humanity could break through the limitations of lifespan?

He didn't know.

But he knew one thing—the space elevator was not the end.

It was the beginning.

It was the first step toward that star.

The next morning, Li Xiao pushed open the door to Lin Mo's office and saw him asleep at his desk. The desk was piled high with blueprints, and a cup of cold coffee sat by his hand.

She walked over quietly and covered him with a blanket.

Lin Mo stirred and opened his eyes: "What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty," Li Xiao said. "Did you pull another all-nighter?"

Lin Mo sat up and rubbed his eyes: "I was looking at the blueprints, and before I knew it, it was dawn."

Li Xiao sighed: "Senior Brother, this won't do. No matter how many blueprints there are, you still need to sleep."

Lin Mo smiled and didn't say anything.

Li Xiao looked at him and suddenly asked: "Senior Brother, do you really think the space elevator can succeed?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Yes."

"Why are you so sure?"

Lin Mo stood up, walked to the window, and pointed outside: "Look."

Li Xiao walked over and looked in the direction he was pointing.

Outside the window, the sun was rising over the Gobi Desert, dyeing the entire sky a golden red. The tokamak-3 device gleamed in the morning light like a silent giant.

Lin Mo said: "Four years ago, there was nothing here. Now, we have an Artificial Sun, Carbon Nanotubess, and the blueprints for the space elevator. In four years, we have traveled the path that others take forty years to walk."

He turned his head and looked at Li Xiao: "Therefore, I believe. As long as we don't stop, one day, we will get there."

Li Xiao looked into his eyes and suddenly felt her nose tingle.

She nodded: "Yeah, I believe it too."