Chapter 1294 Young man, I have a bold idea

Just as Zhao Fuyuan said just now.

After the entire convoy stopped one after another, several men wearing white robes and plaid turbans, who looked wealthy at first glance, got out of the second car.

Judging from his distinctive attire and beard, he is obviously from a Gulf country.

The leader had a bilingual pass in Chinese and Arabic hanging on his chest.

Written on it is his name: Mohammed bin Sultan.

Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Riyadh University, he is also in charge of setting up the Saudi Space Agency, where he is expected to serve as deputy director or chief engineer.

This rocket launch site, which was converted from a missile launch site, does not even have a proper command center at the moment, so naturally there is no special area for visitors.

Only when the space fishing ship was planning its launch mission, in order to ensure the broadcasting effect, several platforms made of welded angle irons were temporarily built around it.

However, others had not come here from afar for the purpose of enjoying themselves, so they followed the comrades in charge of reception from the China Space Administration and climbed up without any complaints.

"Look, Dr. Sultan, that's the Kuaizhou-1... uh... rocket that will be carrying out this launch mission."

Rogge, deputy director of the National Space Administration who led the team, handed a telescope to the man in a white robe next to him, and then pointed to the HY4731 semi-trailer tractor in the distance, which had lowered the hydraulic support column and was slowly pushing the launch tube to stand upright.

When he said the last two words "Rocket", even he himself felt a little lacking in confidence.

"After we go back, we have to talk to the Science and Industry Corporation and ask them to change the appearance of this launch vehicle. Just painting it white would be too confusing..."

Roger thought to himself as he reached out to loosen the tie knot around his neck.

Fortunately, the person next to me didn't understand Chinese at all and had no sense of the pronunciation and intonation.

And the attention is completely focused on the rocket in the distance.

Although the Yao-2 rocket itself is not much different from the Yao-1, because the length of the fairing has increased significantly, not only was a longer trailer replaced, but the launch tube cover originally used to protect the missile was directly removed for the sake of convenience, exposing most of the fairing directly to the outside.

Anyway, the transportation process of the rocket does not really require off-road, but it can look more intuitive.

And it can also reveal the most important Chinese national flag.

In fact, although Sultan is the quasi-head of a country's space department, he has only watched a few rocket launches on the big screen in the control hall of the Kennedy Space Center in the past.

This is the first time I have been able to watch the entire process of a rocket launch at such a close distance.

"Now...are they preparing for launch?"

After a while, Sultan put down the telescope and asked Roger next to him with some curiosity.

It wasn't that he was impatient, it was just that the area around the launch site was too quiet.

There was only the faint sound of wind and the hum of the power generation equipment working.

It was completely different from what he had seen in the past.

Roger smiled and explained:

"The situation of Kuaizhou-10 is different from that of conventional rockets. After completing all inspection tasks, the launch work itself only requires less than people to complete, so the command will not be broadcasted, but only transmitted via radio."

In fact, whether the command is broadcast or not has no direct relationship with the complexity of the launch mission. It mainly depends on habits and hardware facilities.

Like the Soviet Union/Roscosmos, no matter how many people participate, the broadcast signal is quiet.

Sometimes it gives people a feeling that "the rocket is fired unexpectedly".

However, as an official figure, Rogge could not directly admit that we have not had time to build a broadcasting system, so he could only show off the lightweight and automation level of his own rocket without showing it.

"I see."

Sultan nodded in sudden realization and turned his gaze back to the rocket that had already stood up in the distance:

"I……"

However, just as the first word was uttered, the rocket, with only part of its nose cone exposed, suddenly began to rise, and then completely separated from the launch tube in less than a second.

Before he could fully react to what was happening, the moment the tail of the rocket left the muzzle, black and gray smoke poured out, and a crisp "bang" sound was heard by everyone.

Sultan was caught off guard and his hands trembled, and he almost dropped the telescope.

He muttered to himself almost subconsciously:

“Allah Akbar…Allah Akbar…”

Next, there was the familiar roar of the rocket igniting...

The whole process may sound complicated, but it only takes less than two seconds from beginning to end.

Poor Sultan was totally unprepared and had never seen this kind of cold launch before. It was not until the rocket had flown far away that he finally came to his senses.

He smacked his lips with a look of unfulfilled desire, and a light of desire appeared in his eyes.

Saudi Arabia certainly has no shortage of money, and it also has an ambitious and far-reaching plan.

But when it comes to aerospace, with no infrastructure and a lack of professional talent, it is impossible to see results in a short period of time just by throwing money at it.

Therefore, this thing is perfect for him.

Convenient transportation, quick response, few people required, no need for reliance on launch...

Although he had been rejected once before in Singapore, facing this situation, he couldn't help but ask again:

"Mr. Luo, I wonder... can this be purchased separately and then launched in our country?"

Of course, he also knew the origin of this thing in front of him. If he really bought it, he could easily modify it into a deadly thing.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

So in order to avoid Roger's misunderstanding, he added a sentence at the end:

"Operators can also be rented directly from your country. Apart from launching the payload, we guarantee that we will never touch the rocket itself..."

Rogge just felt his scalp tingling, but fortunately before this trip, his old leader who was familiar with the style of the dog owner had already given him a shot of prevention.

He quickly shook his head, fearing that if he hesitated even a little longer, he would give the other party the wrong hint:

"No, this is not for sale..."

Sultan still felt unsatisfied:

"We can pay with extra money, or in kind with precious metals... In addition, if you are concerned about the safety risks during transportation, you can let Volga-Dnepr rent an airplane for air transportation, and we will pay for the freight..."

Rogge had only heard of this outrageous way of trading in legends in the past.

To be honest, for a moment he felt a little moved.

But this is a matter of principle and we cannot compromise on it.

I had to continue shaking my head:

“No, this really can’t be sold…”

"All right……"

Sultan probably realized that there was really no room for maneuver in this matter. In addition, the main purpose of his visit this time was not to buy a rocket, so after being rejected twice, he decisively changed the subject:

"Mr. Luo, our Saudi Space Agency hopes to participate in the construction of your next-generation satellite navigation system, low-orbit communication constellation, meteorological and natural disaster warning satellite, commercial remote sensing constellation, and lunar exploration plan by providing funds and some R&D engineers..."

"..."

Rogge's head was swelling after hearing these Arabic words, and the translator next to him had a bitter look on his face and was sweating profusely with anxiety.

It took almost two minutes to translate the entire long list of items.

However, Roger almost understood it after listening halfway.

What the other party said has basically covered all the projects that the China Space Administration has announced on its official homepage and are still in the "pending" status.

A considerable number of them are still in the stage of drawing up plans, and even a specific implementation plan has not yet come out.

Considering that Saudi Arabia does not seem to have much demand for satellite navigation or disaster warning, this proposal is probably equivalent to -

Young man, I, Sha, will take care of all the funds for your aerospace projects in the next ten years!

Roger took a deep breath:

"So Dr. Sultan, what do you... need?"

Although the Gulf oil guys are rich and willing to spend money, they are definitely not fools who spend money recklessly.

On the contrary, every penny they spend often has a long-term purpose.

Therefore, even though this proposal is very tempting, it is still impossible to agree to it so easily.

Sultan did not hide anything:

"We hope to participate in the research and development of your country's space station, and after it is built, a Saudi astronaut will be stationed there!"