Aerospace Science and Technology Group.

In the factory building of Jinmen Space City, a huge cylindrical core module is parked in the center of the factory.

The last inspection before going to the sky is about to begin, and the engineers of the Fifth Academy are conducting routine safety inspections on the equipment on the core cabin that has been completed.

After checking the wiring of the core cabin door and confirming that it can be opened and closed normally after entering the password, Sun Yuanpei, who was wearing a safety helmet, raised his arm and rubbed it in front of his forehead, grinned at the corners of his mouth, and chatted with another engineer next to him.

“…… Chief Designer of the Lunar Orbit Construction Committee, Professor Lu is really covering the sky with one hand this time. ”

buried himself in the work at hand, Zhao Xianpu didn't look up, and responded with a hum: "Isn't it." ”

In a word, the launch plan was scheduled for the end of the month, and they were originally resting on weekends, so they immediately came to the unit.

Sun Yuanpei shook his head and said: "Sometimes I really don't understand what this guy thinks, isn't it good to be an old man in the controllable fusion industry honestly?" I heard that this guy made a special trip to resign from the position of director of the nuclear fusion energy program implementation center, and the position of chief engineer of East Asia Electric Power was given to someone else, and he came to engage in aerospace ...... Isn't this a neurosis? ”

In his opinion, no matter how much the aerospace industry develops, the future will definitely not be as good as the controlled nuclear fusion that is in full swing.

If nothing else, just looking at the controlled nuclear fusion technology and how many national interests the engineers of East Asia Electric Power have won for China in the international arena is enough to meet this bright and unlimited future.

However, this Professor Lu seemed to turn a blind eye to all this, and after completing the research on controlled nuclear fusion, it was like throwing away a toy that he was tired of playing with and putting it all aside.

In the eyes of most researchers, this is not only unimaginable, but also incomprehensible.

Isn't it just to taste the fruits of the final victory after so much hard work?

It's too strange to get out when it's time to pick the fruit.

Zhao Xianpu straightened the safety helmet on his head and closed the line protection cover on the bulkhead.

"The devil knows what he thinks."

At this time, a slightly young engineer next to him interjected and said, "Maybe he is in a different realm from us?" ”

Sun Yuanpei pursed his lips: "They all have two noses and one eye, what difference can there be?" ”

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside the factory, and the three of them immediately started chatting.

Not long after, Zheng Xiangdong, vice president of Hangke Group, and academician Yuan Huanming, chief engineer, walked into the factory under the guidance of a group of people.

Walking in front of Sun Yuanpei, Academician Yuan glanced at the core cabin, then looked at him and asked.

"Is the inspection complete?"

"It's been done, and there are no problems with all the lines." Sun Yuanpei immediately straightened his waist and handed the form full of ticks in his hand to the old gentleman.

Taking the form and looking at it, Academician Yuan nodded, and then looked at the director of the space station system of the Fifth Academy behind him.

"Let's start testing."

"Okay!"

Director Zhang nodded and immediately complied.

Originally, this inspection was scheduled for two days later, but because Star Technology was ready for the next launch, and the space agency was urging it tightly, all the work was advanced.

However, Sun Yuanpei, who served as an engineer of the space station project, was not worried, and the design of the entire Yuegong core module can be said to be a condensation of the most advanced technology of the entire Hangke Group and improved on the basis of the Tiangong core module.

Soon, the core module was sent to the vacuum chamber, where it was suspended by four cables. As the gas in the vacuum chamber is gradually emptied, the entire core chamber is already in an environment similar to outer space.

Immediately after that, the engineer in charge of the operation pressed the start button, and all the equipment on the core module except the solar panels was activated, and at the same time, the operation of each component and various physical parameters were all reflected on the screen of the console.

"Everything is working fine!"

Standing next to Academician Yuan, Zheng Xiangdong, vice president of Hangke Group, breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense expression stretched a smile.

However, at this moment, Academician Yuan next to him frowned slightly.

“…… Something is wrong. ”

The heart that had just been put down for a long time hung again, and Zheng Xiangdong immediately looked at Academician Yuan and asked.

"Where can't you?"

Academician Yuan did not answer directly, and spoke after a while of silence.

"Look again."

Zheng Xiangdong said nervously: "Don't scare me......"

The launch mission was about to begin at the end of the month, and if something went wrong at this juncture, he couldn't afford it.

Academician Yuan did not speak, his eyes were still locked on the screen.

Seeing that the big guy didn't continue to speak, Zheng Xiangdong's heart relaxed a little.

Maybe it's wrong?

With such a reassuring word, he settled down and continued to look at the screen on the console.

Ten minutes......

Twenty minutes......

It wasn't until half an hour that the mutation finally happened.

I saw that the temperature curves of each component fluctuated upwards and finally showed a significant upward trend. According to the temperature time function projections, the temperature of the entire core module is rising rapidly, reaching a critical value after 24 hours, and the antenna control elements will first shut down due to overheating.

Seeing this scene, a drop of cold sweat slid across Sun Yuanpei's forehead.

At the same time, a terrible word came to his mind.

Hot pile-up!

Judging from the current trend of rising temperature in the spacecraft, the total heat production of the core module has obviously exceeded the heat dissipation load of the thermal control system.

Not only Sun Yuanpei saw this, but other engineers and researchers in the laboratory also noticed that something was wrong.

The first to react was Academician Yuan, who saw him immediately make a decision.

"Stop the experiment! Protective gas is introduced. ”

"Yes!"

The engineers in the lab quickly got busy.

As the airlock opened, nitrogen poured into the vacuum chamber, the power supply of each component was turned off one after another, and the operating temperature of the core cabin finally dropped.

However, none of the engineers in the laboratory showed a relaxed expression on their faces.

Especially Director Zhang, who was standing in front of the console, and Engineer Sun Yuanpei, who was in charge of the space station project, all had a miserable white expression on their faces at the moment.

"Miserable ......"

Even though he didn't understand the technical issues, Vice President Zheng Xiangdong also saw that something was wrong from the atmosphere at the scene, and hurriedly looked at Academician Yuan who was standing next to him and asked.

"What's going on?!"

Academician Yuan frowned, then shook his head and gave a brief explanation.

"There's a big problem."

Although he hadn't taken the entire spacecraft apart, he had already made a rough impression.

Obviously, the problem is with the loop heat pipes inside the core module.

These loop heat pipes are often used as a cooling system for spacecraft, transporting heat from the electronics to the heat sink by evaporating and condensing fluids, releasing it in the form of thermal radiation.

If something goes wrong with this part, even if the other components are perfectly designed, it will be for nothing!

There are only two ways to solve this problem, one is to remove the loop heat pipe and redesign it. Either at the expense of spacecraft performance, some high-calorific equipment is streamlined or even dismantled to reduce the total calorific value of the entire spacecraft.

However, here's the problem, this thing is not a working module, nor an experimental module, nor a node module, but the core module that is the heart of the entire "Moon Palace" space station! Its significance is equivalent to the functional cargo module of the International Space Station "Dawn".

Even if they want to dismantle some high-calorific equipment, there is nothing extra to dismantle.

However, if the entire loop heat pipe is dismantled and the heat dissipation system is redesigned, it not only means that the billions of RMB funds have been wasted, but also means that the entire lunar orbit space station program will be affected.

Hearing the sound of "big trouble", Vice President Zheng only felt cold hands and feet, and sweat gradually oozed from his forehead.

The next launch mission is at the end of the month.

Now the core module is ready to go to the sky, but I didn't expect that something would go wrong at a critical time.

If it is ordinary, the problem that is checked before going to heaven can be regarded as a blessing in misfortune.

But these are extraordinary times, the life support unit of the Ares program has just been launched, and the whole country is looking forward to the Moon Palace plan to fight for breath, and as a result, the chain has fallen on the most critical core module.

If it is not done well, the entire launch plan for 2021 will have to be postponed......

This responsibility is not something that he can afford as a vice president.