Free Web NovelChapter 1262: Chapter 607 Space Weapons and Super Experiments_2
Of course, the Z-wave experiment group wouldn’t be directly introduced. Instead, it was merely categorized as one of the "collaborative research teams" and did not receive special mention.
This was also considered absolutely confidential within the company’s technology department.
He Wei then moved on to the main points, introducing, "In the initial phase of operation, our primary research directions are fourfold. The first is the space propulsion system. Our space propulsion system will primarily rely on chemical fuel power generation and propulsion technology, with solar technology as a secondary measure."
"This is the conventional mode of space propulsion, and our research is targeted at developing the most suitable propulsion system for small spacecraft."
"The second is material technology. As you may have seen, our main collaborators are high-end manufacturing companies, and for space exploration, material technology is extremely important."
"We need to invest a substantial amount of funding in the research and development of material technology."
"The third is the design of functional spacecraft. We need to design functional spacecraft, such as space debris cleaning vessels, future planetary exploration landing craft, and high-tech satellite recovery vessels, among others."
"Finally, there is the core electronic control system. We will develop our own proprietary closed control system, which is the heart of a spacecraft. Combining software as the core with hardware to ensure safety and efficiency is an extremely important direction."
He Wei spoke at length, detailing the main future research directions.
In conclusion, he stated that the initial focus would be on space propulsion systems and electronic control systems.
Material technology and spacecraft design could be slated for subsequent research and development, as both are directly related to spacecraft manufacturing.
The company was just established, and there was still a long road ahead before manufacturing a spacecraft.
The meeting adjourned.
Many attendees began to discuss fervently. In terms of the company’s development direction, they saw the hope for technological research. Unfortunately, they did not see a method to realize profits.
The description of profit realization in the future, as discussed in the meeting, seemed rather ethereal because it was premised on humanity entering a boom period of real space exploration, not the current situation.
Yixing Aerospace developing high-end aerospace technology and manufacturing small spacecraft could be successful, but to truly realize profit, it would still need the support of the larger environment.
But in the next few years, a decade or more, could we really enter a boom period of space exploration?
No one knew.
——
After dealing with Yixing Aerospace affairs, Zhao Yi continued his busy work schedule, needing to pay attention to the Aerospace Bureau’s space shuttle experiments, the Z-wave experiment group’s work, and the R&D at Yixing Aerospace.
And so on.
All these tasks together were indeed quite headache-inducing.
Amidst his busy schedule, a news report in the media once again made Zhao Yi the center of attention.
The Forbes Billionaires List was published.
The biggest change on this year’s Forbes Billionaires List was Zhao Yi. He soared from over a thousandth place on the Forbes list directly up to the 131st wealthiest person in the world, also entering the top ten of domestic billionaires, surpassing a famous real estate tycoon to take the ninth spot.
In just over a year, Zhao Yi’s assets had increased nearly sevenfold, reaching the monumental sum of 101 billion dollars.
The Forbes Billionaires List disclosed that Zhao Yi’s substantial asset increase was mainly due to the development of the Space Technology Company and anti-gravity technology patent licensing. Moreover, the value of his shares in domestic companies skyrocketed several times over the past year.
Additionally, Zhao Yi also held patents for Tianqing Protein, which treats AIDS, and a universal cancer treatment drug, both of which provided him with a continuous high income.
The rapid development of the Yutu robots was also one reason for the explosive growth of Zhao Yi’s wealth. His shareholding was already worth close to ten billion yuan, making up one-seventh of his total assets.
Forbes’ observation about Zhao Yi was, "Over the past year, the patents and shares held by Zhao Yi have seen rapid growth. His assets have increased sevenfold, and he will continue to receive a steady stream of patent licensing fees. The value of his shareholdings is also increasing at a rapid rate." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"In the past few decades, this is the first time we’ve seen someone who, with ’scientific research’ at the core, has become a top global billionaire, not just purely a businessman or entrepreneur."
"Perhaps humanity is on the cusp of an era where technology and scientific research burst forth."
On the Forbes Billionaires List, Zhao Yi indeed stood out, particularly for his age. Looking at the top ten domestic billionaires, most were over forty, with the only one under forty being a representative of a ’family business,’ counted by family wealth.
Zhao Yi was only 28 years old, and being below the age of thirty, he really stood out.
Media commentary evaluated, "Zhao Yi, at the age of twenty-eight, became one of the world’s top billionaires through scientific research, which is quite astonishing."
"If every billionaire were like Zhao Yi, humanity would probably have already left the solar system."
The last sentence, of course, was a joke.
The vast majority of top billionaires are businessmen or entrepreneurs who rose rapidly through the explosive growth of their industries.
The internet industry is one such example.
The past two decades belonged to the internet boom, with many of the top technology companies’ core businesses related to the internet.
The founders of these leading technology companies became top billionaires. They are entrepreneurs who rose with the times, and they can also be considered pure businessmen.
Additionally, some billionaires are ’family inheritance’ types of businessmen, including real estate moguls and leaders of traditional industries, all falling into the ’businessman’ category.
Zhao Yi, on the other hand, started purely with ’scientific research.’ Space Link Technology and anti-gravity technology were all his developments, including patents in medicine and other fields. His patents mostly revolve around new theoretical science and technology.
Therefore, Zhao Yi’s ’label’ is science, not a businessman who makes investments.
——
Soon, four months passed.
The Aerospace Bureau’s space station project had been launched and completed just a month ago. A large anti-gravity thruster transported several hundred tons of the space station into space, startling the whole world in one fell swoop.
At the same time, there were three astronauts inside the space station, who were to complete a two-month mission.
Two months is somewhat brief compared to the working times of astronauts on the space station, especially since each round trip to Earth consumes vast amounts of funds.
When the Aerospace Bureau announced the news, many people found it odd, as usually, astronauts work on the space station for at least a hundred days, if not longer.
So far, the record for the longest continuous work in space belongs to the astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent 340 days in space, completing the ’longest space mission.’
Internationally, the prevailing view on the Aerospace Bureau’s announcement was for ’ensuring safety,’ as it was the first time having a space station and the first time astronauts worked in space for an extended period, certainly lacking some experience.
However, one thing was certain: because the astronauts’ working time was only two months, after two months, new astronauts would definitely enter the space station, and the station itself would undergo adjustments.
The most likely possibility was, "The Aerospace Bureau will launch a new experimental module and dock it at the port left by the crewed spacecraft."
This view was primarily based on the fact that there was an obvious port left at the back of the crewed spacecraft.
Very soon.
Two months went by.
As expected, the Aerospace Bureau used the anti-gravity thruster to launch a new ’experimental module,’ successfully docking it to the crewed spacecraft.
The entire docking process was broadcast live and sparked discussions worldwide.
However, the core of the discussions was not how advanced the technology was, but rather that the new experimental module looked strange, appearing as if it had a large device on its side that seemed like it was built to launch some kind of rays.
International public opinion immediately boiled over.
Many media outlets reported directly that the domestic space station was equipped with ’space weapons’ designed to target satellites in space.
This kind of rhetoric was widespread and appeared well-reasoned.
Looking at the appearance of that large device, most people believed it.
At that moment, the Aerospace Bureau held a press conference and immediately came forward to clarify, saying, "That is not a space weapon but an experimental device."
"We plan to conduct a super experiment in three months!"
