32: Chapter 32 The Wings of "Candle Dragon"
"Chasing Light" Headquarters, B7, Top-Secret Engineering Laboratory.
This used to be the final assembly area for the "Zhulong" compact fusion device. Now, most of the equipment had been moved to the energy base, leaving only some auxiliary testing systems and giant holographic projection screens surrounding the empty factory-like space. A faint scent of ozone and coolant lingered in the air, mixed with the soil-after-rain ionic scent emitted by the newly installed holographic generators.
Lin Shen stood in the center of the field, surrounded by the newly formed "vermilion bird-2" core team. Less than twenty people, yet they gathered the top brains of the Dragon Kingdom in fields such as propulsion, materials, control, and energy. Some of them had just been transferred from the "Chasing Light" and "Jiuzhang Special Project" projects, their faces still showing the exhaustion of continuous work, but their eyes were exceptionally bright, fixed on the slowly rotating full-scale exploded model of "vermilion bird-2."
The model highlighted three major innovation areas, which were the three core changes Lin Shen proposed at the high-level meeting.
"Time is tight, let's skip the pleasantries," Lin Shen began, his voice echoing slightly in the empty lab. As his fingertips swiped across the virtual control panel, the first part of the model—the Upper Stage Propulsion System—was magnified individually, revealing its internal structure in minute detail. "First, we'll solve the most core problem: power. Why use a fission battery array with electric propulsion to replace the traditional chemical upper stage?"
He pulled up a set of comparative data streams that hovered beside the model. "Chemical rockets, whether liquid hydrogen-oxygen or methane, operate on the principle of combustion, utilizing high-temperature and high-pressure gas ejection to obtain reaction thrust. There is a theoretical limit to their specific impulse (the impulse generated per unit mass of propellant); liquid hydrogen-oxygen is around 450 seconds. This means that to accelerate one kilogram of mass to Low Earth orbit speed (about 7.8 km/s), a large amount of propellant is consumed. Furthermore, upper stage engines are usually single-use and extremely expensive."
"As for electric propulsion," Lin Shen switched the display to a schematic of an exquisitely structured ion thruster, "whether it's ion propulsion or Hall propulsion, the principle is to first ionize the propellant (such as xenon) and then use an electric or electromagnetic field to accelerate the ions to extremely high speeds for ejection. The ejection speed of ions can reach more than ten times that of chemical rockets, meaning the specific impulse can be as high as 3,000 to 10,000 seconds, making the propellant efficiency extremely high."
A propulsion expert wearing thick glasses nodded but raised a question: "Chief Lin, the thrust of electric propulsion is too small, usually only in the millinewton to newton range. It's fine for satellite attitude adjustment or long-term acceleration of deep space probes, but as a rocket upper stage, we need to accelerate several tons or even dozens of tons of payload from suborbital speed to orbital speed. That acceleration... it's too slow, isn't it? Moreover, long-term acceleration requires continuous electricity. Where does the power in space come from? Solar panels are fine in Low Earth orbit, but for higher orbits or rapid maneuvers, both power and surface area are issues."
"Good question." Lin Shen showed no impatience; this was exactly the technical collision he needed. He pulled up another set of images—the "igniter" modules used to ignite fusion plasma in the "Zhulong" project—a series of ultra-high-density fission battery arrays, only the size of a suitcase but capable of outputting megawatt-level pulse power instantaneously.
"This is the answer." Lin Shen combined the image of the fission battery array with the ion thruster. "'Zhulong' didn't just verify compact fusion; during its development, we made breakthrough progress in the miniaturization, high power density, and safety control of fission batteries. This array before you has a single-unit volume of 0.5 cubic meters, a mass of no more than 300 kilograms, a steady-state output power of up to 5 megawatts, and a peak power of 20 megawatts, with a designed continuous operation time of over five years. The 'vermilion bird-2' upper stage is planned to integrate four such arrays, forming a power core with a total output of 20 megawatts (steady-state)."
A low murmur rippled through the lab. 5 megawatts in something the size of a suitcase! This power density was simply unheard of, nearly dozens of times that of traditional space nuclear reactors, while the volume and mass were much smaller.
"I know what you're thinking: radiation, heat dissipation, and safety," Lin Shen continued calmly. "This array adopts a design we call 'Stacked Self-Shielding Decay Heat Management.' Its core consists of specially designed neutronics-optimized, highly enriched fission material flakes, alternately layered with high-efficiency thermoelectric conversion materials and tungsten-lithium hydride composite shielding layers. The heat generated by fission is directly converted into electrical energy with an efficiency exceeding 40%. The remaining waste heat is exported through liquid lithium circulation cooling pipes arranged at the edges of the array and radiated into space. As for safety, the array is encapsulated in multiple layers of boron carbide and depleted uranium armor; even if the rocket launch fails and crashes, its core will not leak. More importantly, it has no risk of core meltdown like traditional reactors because its critical state depends on an external neutron source we inject. Once the command is shut down, the fission chain reaction stops within microseconds."
He paused, letting everyone digest the information. "With 20 megawatts of continuous power, the 'vermilion bird-2' upper stage can drive a cluster of large, high-specific-impulse ion thrusters. Although the initial thrust acceleration is only about 0.01G, much smaller than the several Gs of chemical rockets, we can solve this by optimizing the orbit."
The hologram switched to a complex spiral ascent orbit. "Traditional chemical upper stages are 'sprinters,' relying on powerful thrust to forcibly accelerate to orbital speed within minutes. The 'vermilion bird-2' upper stage is a 'marathon runner.' Its altitude and speed at the time of separation are already provided by the first-stage rocket. After that, it uses electric propulsion to continuously accelerate for several or even over a dozen hours along a carefully calculated, slowly expanding spiral orbit, eventually reaching the target orbit just the same. Although the total time is longer, the propellant consumption might be only one-tenth that of a chemical rocket, and the upper stage itself can be reused hundreds of times because electric thrusters have almost no moving parts and an extremely long lifespan."
"The cost..." the propulsion expert muttered, already performing rapid mental calculations. "Power is nearly free (the fuel cost for fission batteries is extremely low), propellant (xenon) consumption is minimal, and the upper stage is reusable... My god, this..."
"This is the inevitable path of extending 'Zhulong's' energy advantage into space," Lin Shen concluded, then switched to the second part—the "Panshi-Carbon Crystal" composite material.
"Materials are the lifeblood of reusable rockets, especially the first-stage rocket shell that must withstand temperatures exceeding 1,500 degrees Celsius during reentry, as well as violent aerodynamic loads and thermal shocks." Lin Shen displayed a video captured by a high-speed camera, showing a derivative composite of the "bedrock-1" room-temperature superconducting material (bismuth sulfide-niobium nitride heterojunction) being tested in a plasma wind tunnel. A blazing white plasma stream washed over the dark material surface; the material remained motionless, with only the edges glowing dark red before cooling rapidly.
"The discovery of room-temperature superconductivity doesn't just mean zero-resistance power transmission," Lin Shen explained. "Its core mechanism—the Interface-Coupled Strong Electron Correlation Effect—guided us to discover a completely new design paradigm for composite materials. 'Panshi-Carbon Crystal' is based on 'bedrock-1,' compounding the stable interface structure of the superconducting heterojunction with a high-thermal-conductivity, high-strength carbon fiber skeleton and a newly synthesized ceramic phase with self-healing potential."
He pulled up a simulation of the material's microstructure, an extremely complex, multi-layered interlaced honeycomb structure. "Look here: the graphene-like carbon layers provide the foundational strength and thermal conductivity channels; here, nano-ceramic particles are embedded between the carbon layers, responsible for withstanding extreme temperatures and inhibiting crack propagation. Most critical are these Quantum Well Structures distributed at the interfaces, similar to 'bedrock-1.' They not only provide excellent electromagnetic properties but can also 'lubricate' lattice stress and disperse thermal shocks to a certain extent by adjusting local electronic states. Actual tests show its specific strength (strength divided by density) is three times that of current top-tier rocket shell materials, its thermal conductivity is five times higher, and most importantly—in simulated repeated reentry thermal cycle tests, after a hundred cycles, its mechanical performance degradation does not exceed 5%."
An old academician from the materials science field adjusted his glasses with trembling hands, almost pressing his face against the hologram. "A hundred times... and only 5% degradation? This... the fatigue limit curve of this material is almost a plateau! This contradicts traditional metal fatigue theory!"
"Because it's not metal, nor is it a traditional ceramic or carbon composite," Lin Shen said calmly. "It's a multi-layered energy dissipation and stress buffering system engineered from the nano-scale to the macro-scale. In traditional materials under cyclic loading, damage is cumulative, and micro-cracks continuously expand. But in 'Panshi-Carbon Crystal,' the nano-ceramic phases and Quantum Well Structures undergo reversible phase transitions or electronic state rearrangements under stress, actively absorbing and dispersing energy to prevent crack initiation and expansion. This indeed transcends the framework of traditional materials science; it's more like... a prototype of 'intelligent materials.'"
The old academician stood dazed for a long while, then suddenly burst into tears. He turned around, grabbed the arm of a young assistant next to him, and said in a choked voice, "A lifetime... I've spent my whole life working on materials, and I never expected to see something like this before I retired... It's worth it, it's all worth it!" The surrounding researchers were all moved; they knew better than anyone what such a breakthrough in materials meant.
Finally, Lin Shen switched to the third part—the AI Landing Guidance System.
This time, he didn't show a complex algorithm block diagram, but instead played a simulation animation. It showed the first stage of the "vermilion bird-2" separating, then at an altitude of two hundred kilometers, beginning reentry at a speed exceeding five thousand kilometers per hour. It passed through the blackout zone, opened its grid fins to adjust its attitude, and finally, as it approached the ground, the engine reignited for the final vertical deceleration and precision landing. Throughout the process, a massive amount of real-time data was displayed simultaneously: altitude, speed, attitude angle, wind speed, engine parameters, fuel remaining, structural stress distribution... and a constantly adjusting probability cloud map predicting the landing point.
"Traditional rocket recovery relies on preset trajectories and relatively simple feedback control. What we want to do is give the rocket something like intuition, allowing it to find its own way home in an extremely uncertain environment," Lin Shen's voice carried a specialized, almost pious focus characteristic of a technologist. "The core algorithms of 'Nuwa,' combined with the real-time processing capabilities of the 'mystic light-1' photonic chip, make this possible."
He slowed down the animation and pointed to several key nodes. "Look here, during the early stages of reentry, the aerodynamic environment is extremely complex and difficult to model accurately. Our system no longer relies on a single aerodynamic model; instead, it runs a 'Physics-Informed Deep Neural Network.' By learning from massive amounts of fluid dynamics simulation data, it establishes a high-dimensional mapping relationship between aerodynamic forces and the current flight state—speed, attitude, external conditions—and can update in real-time. This allows it to predict, within milliseconds, the aerodynamic forces and moments the rocket body will experience in the next few seconds, thereby adjusting the grid fins in advance."
"When it reaches the final landing phase," the animation focused on the rocket when it was a few hundred meters above the ground, "the challenge is even greater. Ground effects, the interaction between the engine plume and the ground, potential crosswinds, and even the slight swaying of the launch pad itself all affect precision. At this point, 'Nuwa' activates a 'Multimodal Sensor Fusion and Model Predictive Control' loop. Data from the optical, radar, lidar, and inertial sensors on the rocket body are fused and compared in real-time with a pre-constructed high-precision digital twin model of the launch site. The control system is no longer simply 'flying toward the target point'; every millisecond, it calculates countless possible trajectories for the next few dozen seconds and selects the optimal path under multiple constraints such as fuel consumption, landing precision, and structural load, continuously rolling and optimizing."
The animation finally froze: the rocket's landing gear touched the ground, landing steadily within a one-meter diameter circle at the center of the launch pad, with an error showing as 0.21 meters. The simulation data stream showed that for this landing point, the system's predicted probability had already exceeded 99.8% ten seconds before the engine's final ignition.
"This is not just a control algorithm," Lin Shen closed the animation and looked around at everyone. "This is a complete intelligence from perception and cognition to decision-making and execution. The photonic parallel computing architecture of the 'mystic light-1' chip provides the terrifying computing power needed to process this massive real-time data; while 'Nuwa's' algorithms grant the system the 'wisdom' to find certainty within uncertainty. We aren't just building rockets; we are giving them the instinct to 'survive and return home.'"
The laboratory was quiet for a moment, and then, someone started clapping. The applause quickly spread, growing louder and louder, filled with excitement, shock, and infinite hope.
The middle-aged expert in the field of rocket recovery wiped his reddened eyes and shouted, "Chief Lin! We in recovery used to feel like we were just patching things up, overjoyed if we could reuse something once. After seeing this... we're damn well in the 'Stone Age'! This... this is true 'reusability'! Flying once a day? I think when things get busy, flying three times a day would be fine!"
Laughter and more intense discussions broke out.
The corners of Lin Shen's mouth curled up slightly, but he quickly composed himself. He raised his hand to quiet the noise. "The principles and technical paths are now clear. But 'vermilion bird-2' is not just talk on paper. Starting today, each of you will receive specific subsystem R&D tasks. Materials group, I want to see the first batch of 'Panshi-Carbon Crystal' plates for structural testing within three months. Propulsion group, the integrated test bench for the fission battery array and ion thrusters must be set up within sixty days. Control group, the flight control computer prototype based on 'mystic light-1' and its accompanying sensor suite, also sixty days. Any questions?"
"No!" the answer came in unison, firm and decisive.
"Meeting adjourned. Go and collect your detailed task descriptions." As soon as Lin Shen finished speaking, everyone immediately sprang into action, like gears on a precision machine starting to rotate at high speed.
The lab soon became empty, leaving only Lin Shen and a few assistants responsible for overall coordination. He walked to the window—which was underground, so the window was actually a high-resolution screen showing the real-time view outside—and looked at the simulated blue sky and white clouds on the screen, but his gaze seemed to penetrate the earth, looking into the deeper reaches of the universe.
"Chief Lin," a young assistant walked over and handed him an encrypted electronic file, "the latest analysis report from 'Nuwa' regarding the lunar south pole cavity. Also... Director Zhao Zetao from the Security Department is waiting for you outside, saying he needs to report on matters concerning 'external technical concerns.'"
Lin Shen took the file and nodded. "Have Director Zhao go to my office. I'll be there shortly."
The assistant left as instructed. Lin Shen clicked open the encrypted file and scanned it quickly. Inside was a more detailed speculative map of the cavity's structure and an analysis of those abnormal signals. The signal's modulation method indeed shared an unsettling similarity with the arrangement patterns of certain non-coding regions in the 'pandora' virus's genetic sequence. Not identical, but more like... a homologous technical language? Or perhaps, the manifestation of the same 'information encapsulation protocol' on different media?
His gaze fell on a line of speculation at the end of the report, highlighted in bold by "Nuwa":
[Hypothesis: Assuming the cavity is an artificial construct, its signal modulation method shares a 67.3% similarity with the non-coding regions of the 'pandora' virus genome. It is speculated that the two may share the same technical source or follow the same underlying cosmic information encoding/transmission standard. This standard does not match any existing human information theory. Recommendation: Increase the monitoring level of the lunar south pole region and re-evaluate the origin and potential non-biological purposes of the 'pandora' virus.]
The same technical source... cosmic information encoding standard...
Lin Shen closed the file and took a deep breath. Energy, space, materials, intelligence... these main branches of the human technology tree were growing rapidly in his hands. But it seemed that in the dark forest yet untouched by humanity, another towering tree—or many—already existed, and their fallen leaves—viruses? signals?—had accidentally drifted into this corner of Earth.
Vincent and the Imperial Alliance saw Helium-3 and strategic resources. But Lin Shen, through the vision of the technology tree, saw a puzzle hidden beneath the moon's frozen shell that might point toward a grander cosmic truth.
He organized his thoughts, suppressing all the turmoil in his eyes, and regained his usual calm and focus.
Regardless of what was hidden in that cavity, first, Dragon Country had to have sufficient capability to get there, and enough strength to deal with whatever might follow.
"vermilion bird-2" was the pair of "wings" that had to be forged solid first.
He turned and walked with steady steps toward his office to face the next battle—whether it was the covetousness from the ground or the shadows cast from deep space.