Chapter 597 The dusty past
Lao Maozi’s design bureaus are all named after designers. The first chief designer of the Kuznetsov Design Bureau was the genius Nikolai Kuznetsov. He was born in 11 years and 43 years ago. At that time, he was already the deputy director of a production plant affiliated with the Klimov Design Bureau. After World War II, when Lao Maozi planned to establish a specialized aviation turboprop engine design bureau, he took the lead.
Many of the products of the Kuznetsov Design Bureau are really turboprop engines. In the 1950s, they developed the 15,000-horsepower NK-12 high-power turboprop engine, which was used on the An-22 and Tu. 114 transport aircraft and Tu-20 bombers, etc. In the 1960s and 1970s, it turned to the design of high-power turbofan engines, but it still did not give up its old business. The turboprop engine used on the Tu-95 was also a product of their design bureau.
Therefore, the Kuznetsov Design Bureau has been engaged in aerospace engines from the very beginning. At this time, hearing Valentine talking about this, Qin Tao asked very curiously: "How did your design bureau get involved in rocket engines?" From the field?”
“This is of course due to the conflict between Glushko and Korolev.” Valentin said: “I really didn’t expect that we, an aerospace engine design bureau, would now have to rely on aerospace products to survive.”
This is a dusty past.
Korolev can be said to be the father of aerospace in the Red Empire. He designed a series of ballistic missiles and launch vehicles and was in an advantageous position in the early space competition, while Glushko specialized in designing rocket engines. .
When Germany surrendered, the United States received a large number of V-2 rocket developers, and the Red Empire received a large amount of technical data. They each carried out aerospace projects based on these.
At that time, Grushko and Korolev were already colleagues.
The world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the first artificial earth satellite, and the first manned space launch all used rocket engines developed by Glushko, and Korolev was the chief rocket engineer.
However, the close relationship between the two did not last long, and the two had huge differences in their subsequent development plans.
Grushko was already proficient in using them and believed that normal-temperature fuels such as dimethylhydrazine and nitric acid were very easy to use. However, Korolev, an environmentalist, realized that these toxic fuels could not support future space programs. He hoped to use a liquid oxygen kerosene engine solution.
As a rocket engine, Grushko rejected Korolev's proposal. He believed that low-temperature fuels were not suitable for rocket use, and a lot of quarrels broke out between the two.
Grushko is an authority on rocket engines. He does not agree with liquid oxygen and kerosene engines, so Korolev’s rocket has no engine to use. Therefore, Grushko has a chance to win. However, he did not expect that Korolev He definitely refuses to admit defeat.
Since you can't convince Grushko, then just find someone else! So Korolev found the Kuznetsov Design Bureau, which specializes in aircraft engines, to provide liquid oxygen and kerosene engines for the next OKB-1. Therefore, the Kuznetsov Design Bureau entered the aerospace field.
"This is really an interesting story. It's a pity that Mr. Korolev left too early." Qin Tao said: "If he were still alive, your Kuznetsov Design Bureau might be the leader in this industry. The boss."
“Yes.” Valentin sighed with emotion. At that time, Korolev only had a minor illness, but as a result, he did not get off the operating table! The newly appointed Mishin used to be Korolev's assistant, but unfortunately he did not have Korolev's prestige and ability. As a result, he often got into trouble. As a result, Glushko suddenly became the top leader of the Damao Aerospace System!
These grievances and resentments are so emotional to talk about.
The most annoying thing is the follow-up. The original fight between Grushko and Korolev was over engine fuel. However, after Grushko became the leader of the aerospace system, he began to vigorously promote liquid oxygen. The kerosene engine has been installed, and even the second stage of the rocket is planned to use synthetic kerosene. This kerosene is not refined from petroleum, but is synthesized from furfural and propylene. It has a higher density than ordinary kerosene and a higher specific impulse.
With Korolev gone, the liquid oxygen kerosene engine is actually more fragrant?
Valentin was talking and drinking. After a few glasses of wine, he actually became drunk.
Qin Tao stood up, holding the wine glass, and walked towards the dejected engine designer.
“Hello, Mr. Sobolev.” Qin Tao raised his glass and signaled to the other party.
“Mr. Qin, why did you notice me?”
“From what Valentin said, you are the best subordinate of General Kuznetsov and a first-class designer in the design bureau.”
“That’s the past. Our design bureau doesn’t have any design tasks at all now. I’m already a freeloader in the design bureau.” Sobolev said with a wry smile.
“Excellent talents will be welcomed wherever they go. If you are willing to live in the East, I sincerely invite you to join our Mingzhou Group.”
"Join you? What can I do?" Sobolev shook his head: "You don't build big engines."
“But we build the turbofan Fifteen, have you heard of it? It’s your R79 engine, which is now the power system of our J-31A.”
Sobolev nodded: "I heard that you were so lucky at first. I heard that many people later complained that the R79 engine technology should not be sold to you. Your J-31A will steal our MiG-29 exports. market."
Qin Tao smiled: "The MiG-29 is a third-generation aircraft, and ours is a fourth-generation aircraft. There is no competition at all. Moreover, we will continue to upgrade to make the aircraft have more powerful combat capabilities. Now, we plan to upgrade Turbofan 15 engine, you are an engine designer, this job is definitely suitable for you."
Sobolev shook his head: "Let's forget it."
Qin Tao doesn't force things. Since the other party doesn't agree, he won't force himself either. If he talks too much, he will easily annoy others.
"By the way, we will provide a batch of advanced computers. In addition to supplying the research and development personnel of the aerospace engine, the remaining computers can be used by you." Qin Tao said.
“Really? That’s great!” Sobolev became excited.
Qin Tao secretly laughed in his heart. Mingzhou Group invested huge sums of money to develop chips, which is also beneficial. In the past, the fierce fight with Lao Maozi relied on vodka, but now it can rely on Loongson computers!
“It will probably arrive the day after tomorrow, and your old computers can be retired.”
“Thank you, Mr. Qin.”
Sobolev was very happy to hear that his side could also have a batch of advanced computers. Qin Tao did not communicate too much with him and turned around to chat with other people.
The banquet ended at eleven o'clock in the evening. Xu Zhengyang supported Qin Tao and took him back to the guest house. Their heads were close to each other, and Qin Tao's lips moved slightly to make arrangements.
the next day.
“The entire city of Samara can be said to be a space city.” Qin Tao said with emotion.
"Yes, this is our pride. However, the most proud history here is that during World War II, this used to be the wartime capital, but it was called Kuibyshev at the time." Victor Cheko introduced the building with a smile. The history of the city.
During World War II, Big Beard remained firmly in Moscow. Even when the Germans came to the city, he did not retreat even half a step. However, other administrative agencies in Moscow withdrew. After all, Moscow was bombed by planes every day and could no longer fulfill its duties as the capital. These organizations that have retreated to Kuibyshev are continuing to work hard to ensure the logistics supply for the frontline war.
That period should be Kuibyshev’s proudest period.
After the end of World War II, Kuibyshev established the aerospace industry. In addition to institutions such as the Kuznetsov Design Bureau, there was also the Progress Rocket Factory.
Since Qin Tao brought Max here, he had to visit around. What he wanted to visit today was the Progress Rocket Factory. This is the most important rocket factory in Da Mao. Since the Red Empire era, Vostok and Lightning have been produced here. And the Soyuz rocket, the latter is still one of the main rockets of Da Mao.
The factory is very large, with more than 4,000 machine tools. It can produce more than a dozen rockets every year and can also conduct various tests.
Max was particularly excited today. He looked at the rocket factory here and seemed to be imagining his future, imagining whether the Starship Company would also have such a huge factory.
“What’s over there?” After visiting the factories here, Max pointed to a factory he had never been to before and said.
“That’s where the N1 rocket was once produced. Later, the production of the N1 rocket was stopped and all the rockets were put into storage.” Factory director Dmitry Kozlov said.
"Really? Can we go in and have a look?" Max said with great interest: "We know that our current batch of NK33 engines are intended to be installed on the N1 rocket."
"Yes, in fact, when we developed the Nk33 engine, its performance was already stable. Even if many units are connected in parallel, there will be no problems. Unfortunately..." Kozlov also came from that era. Speaking of this, He was just filled with emotion.
The dusty factory building was opened, and everyone saw the dusty interior of the workshop. However, the large fuel tank components were still emitting a metallic light.
"What everyone sees now are the parts of the No. 14 N1 rocket." Kozlov said: "When the order to close the project was issued, we were producing the No. 14 N1 rocket. After being forced to close down, there was a long period of time here. There was no time to issue any work tasks, and later the entire factory was simply sealed. By the way, the engine sold to you last time was dismantled from here."
At first, the Red Empire lagged behind in the moon landing project. Their N1 rocket exploded on the launch pad. However, this does not mean that it will continue to explode in the future. As they continue to develop, the N1 rocket has gradually matured. .
"Yes, the biggest problem that was criticized at the beginning was that the N1 rocket had 30 nozzles. In fact, this was nothing at all. The RLA-150 built by Glushko back then had 28 nozzles, and the Soyuz launch vehicle During ignition, there are 32 nozzles." Kozlov said: "Our multi-machine parallel connection method has no problems at all. If we had continued to develop it, we would definitely be able to achieve success one day."
The N1 rocket used 30 Nk-15 engines with 30 nozzles on the first stage because the engine thrust was insufficient. Because multiple engines were connected in parallel, it was blamed as the root cause of the failure.
Looking at future generations, there are too many rockets with twenty or thirty nozzles.
In fact, there is a difference, because many large rocket engines have four nozzles. For example, the Soyuz rocket has a total of 5 main engines in its core stage and booster, and each engine has 4 nozzles. , the remaining nozzles are for the swimming engine.
"Yes, with the development of technology, multi-machine parallel connection will gradually mature." Max affirmed this design: "Our starship MK1 has eighteen NK-33 engines installed on the first stage. I am very satisfied with the engine. Of course, even if the rocket explodes during the test flight, we will not be discouraged. We will find the reason and continue to persevere. There will be no rocket that does not explode. Failure is the mother of success."
“That’s right, Mr. Marks, you’re right!”
"This factory has long been abandoned. Do you plan to sell these equipment?" Max continued: "If you want to sell it, we can package it and transport it to Starship Company."
After finishing speaking, Max glanced at Qin Tao again: "Mr. Qin, is this okay?"
"The production equipment here is all from the 1960s and has long been outdated. If you buy it at scrap metal price, it is OK. If the price is too high, it is not cost-effective. Our production plant can order brand-new equipment. "Qin Tao gave the answer.
The N1 rocket was abandoned in the 1970s. These abandoned production equipment were also from the 1960s and 1970s. They may have been the most advanced at the time, but they are now outdated.
Chin Tao can buy it, but it must not be purchased at too high a price.
"The equipment here is indeed useless to us." Victor Checo said: "And it has long been outdated, so it cannot be sold at a high price. Kozlov, how much do you plan to sell it for? If the price is right, sell it , our entire labor, scientific research and production complex can make a profit."
“It doesn’t matter what we say, we have to report it to our superiors.” Kozlov said: “However, I think the bottom line of the superiors must be at least 20 million US dollars.”
“That big ball is good, let’s go up and have a look.” Qin Tao pointed to a hemispheric device and said, which should be the top cover of the N1 rocket’s huge fuel tank.
After a few people went up, Qin Tao said: "I know that buying the equipment here will cause a lot of trouble and requires activities, so I have prepared some activity funds for the two of you."
Qin Tao winked, and Xu Zhengyang handed two envelopes to two people, one was the leader of the design bureau and the other was the leader of the factory. As long as they were both full, the matter would be almost done.
The two of them took it, opened it and glanced at it, only to see an ordinary bank card inside.
“The Moscow International Commercial Bank has two million dollars each. If it is not enough, please contact my secretary.”
Two million dollars!
The two men nodded repeatedly: "No problem, that's enough. We will definitely try our best to facilitate this."
“There seem to be some exhibition paintings over there?” Max didn’t care much about these things. He looked at the far wall.
“Yes, those exhibition paintings were RLA projects and were hung before the factory was closed.” Speaking of this, Kozlov was a little dissatisfied. This was because Grushko deliberately humiliated them!
"RLA project?" Max was very interested: "Is it a very important aerospace project?"
"Yes." Victor Ceco introduced: "Back then, the N1 rocket project was discontinued and there had to be a replacement project. At that time, Grushko proposed a brand new RLA project, which translated to rocket flight instrument. It was an idea that Grushko came up with while working in the Gas Power Laboratory for 30 years."
Korolev did not get off the operating table, which completely took Grushko's advantage. Grushko's ideal can finally be realized.
"RLA is a series of large launch vehicles with three main configurations, namely RLA-120, RLA-135 and RLA-150. The lightest RLA-120 has a launch mass of 980 tons and can launch a load of 30 tons to close to Earth orbit; the larger RLA-135 has a launch mass of 2,650 tons and can send a 100-ton payload into low-Earth orbit; the RLA-150 has a launch mass of 6,000 tons and has a low-Earth orbit launch capability of 250 tons." Victor Checo introduced it to everyone.
From thirty tons to two hundred and fifty tons, the coverage of this carrying capacity is very broad!
"Although the carrying capacity is different, in the plan, only two unified types of rocket engines are needed, namely RLA-1200 and RLA-300. The former is a staged combustion liquid oxygen kerosene engine with a four-combustion chamber structure, with a thrust of 1,200 tons , the latter has a dual combustion chamber structure with a thrust of 300 tons. The two types of engines form different rocket body modules. All three types of rockets are a combination of these three modules."
“This modular thinking is very good.” Max became interested: “With only two engines, different carrying capabilities can be achieved. The largest one can probably fly directly to Mars.”
Thinking about our own rocket with a payload of only 60 tons, Max felt that there was a long way to go.
"Yes, according to the plan, the first type is used to build a space station, the second type is used to land on the moon forever, and the third type is used to detect Mars. We fell behind on the moon landing and have to catch up on landing on Mars. "
Max nodded: "The design of these rockets is relatively advanced. Although you did not succeed, our Starship Company will continue your unfinished business. Do you want to join our Starship Company and strive to land on Mars?"
“Cough, cough.” Qin Tao coughed twice: “Old Ma, it’s not appropriate for you to say such things in this situation.”
You can poach people if you want, but do it privately and alone. This situation is obviously inappropriate.
"Mr. Max, we have heard about Starship Company a long time ago and admire your courage very much." Kozlov said: "If we have the opportunity, we really want to join this greatest cause of mankind. However, this requires a huge rocket, and you probably still have a lot of technical problems, right?"
“We can’t build the super rocket in this poster, so we have to think of other ways.” Max said: “We have to take the reuse route to reduce the cost of entering space, and we also have to have space refueling technology...”
At midnight that day, a transport plane landed on the runway in Samara. The plane was filled with Loongson computers.
The next day, early in the morning, the computers were shipped to the Kuznetsov Design Bureau.
Engineers from the East are very enthusiastic.
咚咚!
“Excuse me, how many computers in this office need to be replaced?”
“Two, we need to replace two computers! But there is some data on the original computer..."
“Don’t worry, we can help transfer the data, and we can also mount the original hard drive.”
“Thank you so much!”
There is a warm atmosphere everywhere and words of thanks everywhere. Mingzhou Group is so interesting! The computer was shipped so quickly. It’s great to cooperate with Mingzhou Group!
In the computer room of the office building, a group of technicians are helping to install the new Longxiang server. This server is much smaller than the original Elbrus, but its performance has improved significantly.
“Your computer is really good. Our research and development capabilities will be even stronger in the future!” Valentin, who was helping, had a smile on his face and was filled with emotion.
“Computers need to be updated every few years. If your technicians want to use the most advanced computers, they can go to our Starship Company.” Qin Tao said with a smile.
“Report, data migration has been completed!”
“Okay, everything is done. Let’s find a warehouse to throw this old server away.”
“It’s a pity to throw them away. When these computers were manufactured, some precious metals were used, especially the circuit board interfaces are all gold-plated. If you don’t want them, we can take them back and refine the precious metals.”
“Okay, of course, you can take it away.” Valentin immediately decided: “However, all storage devices need to be formatted.”
“Formatting is not completely safe, either…”
Soon, the processed scrap computers were loaded into the car and drove to the airport.
That’s it?
At this time, Max knew clearly that the deleted data in these computers could be recovered. Mr. Qin’s real goal was these data!
There is engine development data for Nk-33 and NK-43, and these data will play a great role in the next self-developed engines of Starship Company!
All this is incidental to Qin Tao. The purpose of his coming here is to obtain the technical data of the NK-32 engine. During the process of replacing the computer, the computer in the aero-engine department was also replaced.
However, if you think you can get it smoothly this way, you are totally wrong.
In Moscow, when a certain boss received the news, his expression immediately changed: "Damn it, are they all thinking shit? Did they give confidential information to the Mingzhou Group so easily?"
“Yes, this is a serious leak. We must not sit idly by and ignore it. We must seize all the replaced computers! We can also seize people from the Mingzhou Group and ask them to pay a sky-high deposit!”
"What are you thinking? Do you know how many cooperation projects Mingzhou Group has with us? Do you know how many people support him?" The boss looked at the person who came up with the idea angrily: "If we detain Qin from Mingzhou Group Anyway, I’m sure that we will face endless car explosions and other vicious accidents in the future.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Detain the convoy and smash those computer storage devices to pieces.”
(End of this chapter)