Chapter 1696 Spacecraft produced in the shipyard

Dick Durbin's proposal is almost explicit and puts Washington's last option on the table.

Through a hot war, the main competitors will be dragged into the quagmire, thereby disrupting their normal economic activities. The United States, thanks to its geographical advantages, will often not be, or will rarely be, directly affected by the war, so it is more likely to benefit.

This isn't a new strategy, but it has worked in the past.

However, today is different.

The speed at which China's military strength has increased since the beginning of this century has exceeded the limits that ordinary people can imagine. As early as two years ago, the US military suffered a heavy loss in an air confrontation.

In recent years, the other side has frequently produced unparalleled weapons and equipment such as hypersonic weapons and sixth-generation fighter jets.

Even though its inventory of advanced models is relatively insufficient due to historical reasons and its ocean deployment capabilities are still flawed, it probably has no rivals at least near the first island chain, or even in the entire Western Pacific.

"This could very well ignite a war we can't control," Ashton Carter said first. "In fact, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have already conducted multiple rounds of war games, but even if we provide support to our allies, the results... are still not optimistic."

What Carter didn't know was that this so-called "not very optimistic" result was achieved by opening a backdoor in the war game settings.

But Dubin shook his head.

"Ashton, the outcome isn't the only consideration." He placed his hands on the table, his tone quite aggressive. "The key is to disrupt China's economic environment. Therefore, we don't need to send troops, at least not publicly. We only need to provide the necessary assistance..."

"And, let's take a step back." Dubin leaned back in his chair, his fierce aura instantly disappearing, and he returned to his previous image of a harmless old man. "Even if it doesn't succeed, the consequences won't be worse than doing nothing..."

Carter's eyes flickered and seemed to be loosening.

However, at this moment, Ao Guanhai suddenly raised his hand to interrupt the two of them, and interrupted in a tone that deliberately sounded tired and fair:

"Dick, Ashton's caution is not without reason... The National Security Council is a civilian decision-making body. The specific risks and feasibility assessments of military operations should be weighed by the military... Today's discussion was very informative, and we need time to digest it. We'll adjourn this meeting."

He adjourned the meeting almost without warning.

After returning to the Oval Office, Chief of Staff Pete Rouse, who had been silent until then, finally spoke:

"Your Excellency, Councillor Dubin's idea is radical, but... it's not entirely unreasonable. Chaos itself is a weapon."

Ao Guanhai threw himself heavily into the large office chair:

"It's not 'somewhat reasonable,' it's 'very reasonable.' In fact, those hidden stakes, those backup plans, those shady communication channels have been laid out for several years now."

Ross raised his eyebrows in surprise:

"Then why just now..."

Ao Guanhai did not answer immediately. Instead, after a long silence, he let out a long sigh that seemed to have exhausted all his strength.

"Because now I just want to retire peacefully..."

"Let the Elephant Party clean up this mess..."

……

While the power core in Washington was arguing and calculating over whether to ignite the war, China did not stop at all, but moved forward firmly and continuously towards the increasingly clear goal.

Autumn passes and winter comes.

Liaodong Peninsula, Jinxi Shipyard.

A heavy shipping box has just been delivered to the tightly isolated Assembly Workshop No. 3.

In the command room separated by thick shielding walls, Chen Chao, the general assembly commander of the XS-1 space nuclear reactor, was wearing a heavy lead-rubber radiation-resistant shielding suit. He was standing in front of a central control console covered with screens, staring at the monitoring images from several different angles.

In the center of the picture is the core of the XS-1 space nuclear reactor, gleaming with a cold metallic glow.

A precision cylinder with a diameter of about three meters and a height of about 2.5 meters, its surface is covered with honeycomb-shaped precision holes, like a base waiting to be inlaid with gems.

"Boom No. 0.3, attitude fine-tuning, degrees to the left."

Chen Chao's voice rang out in the small operating compartment through the internal communication system.

Just like every mission for the past twenty years.

But only he himself knew that his heart was beating at an unprecedented frequency and intensity.

Following Chen Chao's instructions, two equally "fully armed" operating engineers precisely controlled the high-precision robotic arm.

At the end of one of the robotic arms, a huge hook was firmly holding a slender dark gray cylinder.

It is covered with a dense tungsten alloy shell, which reflects a cold, heavy, and heart-pounding dark luster under strong light.

This is the heart fuel of XS-1 - honeycomb-shaped high-enriched uranium nitride fuel rods.

"The suction cup pressure is confirmed to be normal, and there is no risk of slipping." The voice of the No. 2 operator came with a hint of imperceptible tension.

"Got it. Start docking at hole number 1." Chen Chao took a deep breath. The humid air inside the shielding suit helmet made him feel a little suffocated. "Slow down the speed to five centimeters per minute. Continue calibrating the laser locator."

On the surveillance screen, the tungsten alloy cylinder that symbolizes the source of destruction and energy, under the extremely slow and stable traction of the robotic arm, is like a precision instrument inserted into the chest cavity during surgery, approaching the hole on the core body that perfectly matches it.

There was an invisible pressure in the air, and Chen Chao could even hear the sound of his own blood hitting his eardrums.

Unlike terrestrial or ship reactors, the XS-1 adopts a highly integrated core-fuel integrated design. Unlike common terrestrial or ship reactors, it is impossible to first build the reactor body and auxiliary facilities and then add nuclear fuel before startup. Instead, it is closer to the production process of nuclear submarine reactors, that is, the fuel rods must be placed in before the nuclear device is deployed.

This is also the reason why the "Beacon" project chose to produce the XS-529 at the Jinxi Shipyard instead of the 1 Factory of the Academy of Space Technology.

But for Chen Chao, who has spent most of his life building nuclear submarines, he can't help but feel that "space facilities should be more sophisticated and advanced."

This made him inevitably worry about causing irreparable losses due to his own operational errors.

"From the contact point, ten centimeters... five centimeters... three centimeters..."

Operator No. 1 whispered the number, and every digit struck the hearts of everyone in the control room.

"Contact!" Operator No. 2's voice suddenly rose for a moment, then forced down again. "Contact confirmed! Buffer mechanism active, pressure feedback normal!"

In the picture, the smooth top of the tungsten alloy fuel rod finally rests steadily at the entrance of the core hole with almost no shaking.

At this moment, time seemed to freeze.

Chen Chao held his breath and stared at the close-up of the docking surface transmitted by the high-magnification camera - it was a perfect fit.

"Okay! Hold the pose!" Chen Chao's voice finally trembled with relief. "Prepare for inert gas shielded welding! Robotic arm A-7 is in position!"

Almost at the moment the words fell, another special robotic arm that had been on standby slid silently into place.

A complex set of welding equipment is installed at its end.

After the inert argon gas instantly fills the tiny space of the docking gap, the joint is precisely pressed onto the preset welding point between the tungsten alloy cladding and the edge of the core orifice.

An extremely tiny blue arc lit up instantly and then went out.

No sparks flying, no smoke rising, just the most precise and instantaneous fusion.

Then, the next time it lights up and goes out.

This is a key step in permanently solidifying the fuel unit and the core into a whole. It requires extremely high welding strength, extremely small heat-affected zone, and absolute airtightness to eliminate any possibility of leakage of radioactive materials, even in extreme space environments.

The welding process lasted about ten minutes.

At the top of the control room's main screen, the icon representing the installation status of fuel rod No. 1 finally turned from red to green.

Then the words "01-Ready" appeared clearly.

"Fuel rod number one, installation complete! Welding quality passed on the first try!"

Chen Chao's voice was clearly transmitted to every corner of the assembly workshop through the communicator, and also echoed in a special monitoring room far away in the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, which was connected through an encrypted line.

He slowly and deeply exhaled the foul air that had been held in his chest for a long time, and only then did he feel the cold sweat on his back.

The first step of the Long March was successfully taken.

But looking at the remaining holes on the core body that were densely packed and arranged like a honeycomb, Chen Chao knew that the real test had just begun.