Chapter 1681 [Survey Telescope Launches]

The photo released by the Mars exploration project team was published on the front page of major media, and netizens who like to watch the show also reposted it.

As the news fermented, everyone's vision and focus were suddenly drawn to looking up at the stars.

Many netizens lamented that the disputes on Earth were so insignificant in the vast universe. At this moment, it seemed that the various human ethnic groups rarely put themselves into a whole called "humanity".

But that's all, the disputes will continue.

Coincidentally, the "Survey Space Telescope" is about to be officially launched.

This expensive space exploration project can be regarded as a gamble, because it is different from the Western "Hubble Telescope". Once it is launched, it is basically at the mercy of fate and can only rely on remote control. It is impossible to send people up for maintenance and regular maintenance like the "Hubble Telescope" in low-Earth orbit 600 kilometers above the ground.

As long as the "Survey Space Telescope" is launched, maintenance and repairs, etc., don't even think about it.

Because it will be sent to the Lagrange L2 point 1.5 million kilometers away from the earth, the moon is 380,000 kilometers away from the earth, and the distance of the L2 point is about 4 times the distance between the earth and the moon. There is basically no possibility of later maintenance, at least not at the current technical level.

If there is any problem after the launch, more than 70 billion will be wasted.

It is worth mentioning that Fang Hong gave this project an exaggerated budget of nearly 100 billion, which is almost the space project with the least lack of funds except for the "Sun Chaser Project".

It can't be spent, it can't be spent at all, and in the end it saved nearly 30 billion budget funds.

But then again, even if the survey telescope fails to launch, it will not be completely wasted, because the industry and technology are left behind.

Although it is just a telescope, it involves many cutting-edge high-precision technologies, and these technological achievements will be extended to many other fields, such as integrated circuits, optical electronics, etc.

Another strategic goal of Fang Hong at the beginning was to launch this super space engineering project to drive the innovation of high-end industries and cutting-edge technologies, as well as the reserve of talents, so the worst result can barely be accepted.

What? The technology is there, and the industry has been developed, and they are all high-end technology industries.

…

Three days later.

The "Sky Survey Telescope" that the astronomical community has been looking forward to for many years will finally be officially launched today. The attention to this matter was not so high originally, but because the news of the discovery of paleontological fossils on Mars shocked the world, more people have focused their attention on a series of space exploration activities of the Eastern power.

At 7:22 in the morning, the "LJ-7C" type recyclable rocket under Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was launched with the "Sky Survey Telescope", and it was launched live. Thousands of netizens who were watching the launch were in the live broadcast room.

As time went by, the rocket was successfully launched and recovered, and the "Sky Survey Telescope" was successfully sent out of the atmosphere and into space.

However, being sent into space by a rocket is just the beginning. In the process of flying to the No. 2 Lagrange point, the subsequent work of the "Sky Survey Telescope" is the biggest challenge of this mission.

Moreover, for this space mission, the scientific research team has no experience of predecessors to refer to, and cannot cross the river by feeling the stones. It is already at the forefront of human beings in this field.

The Western "Hubble Telescope" is only operating at a low-Earth orbit of 600 kilometers above the Earth, and it does not have much reference value.

There are not many live shots of the launch live this time, and most of them are unfolded in the form of CG animation.

After separating from the second-stage rocket, the camera gave the real shot of the "Survey Telescope", which was taken by the camera built into the rocket.

The audience on Earth can also see through the live broadcast that the "Survey Telescope" has successfully separated from the rocket, and the solar panels are also being unfolded.

Whether it is the netizens watching the live broadcast or the staff on the scene, they are very excited and excited. After so many years of preparation and such a huge cost, now they are finally setting off.

Astronomers at home and abroad are looking forward to it. Even foreign astronomers hope that the "Survey Telescope" will be successful, because this telescope is based on the principle of openness and can be used by astronomers or astronomical institutions around the world.

Of course, domestic scientists and research institutions certainly have the best resources and the largest share, but they will still allocate about 35% to 45% of the resources of this telescope to foreigners. After all, you are now holding high the banner of "a community with a shared future for mankind", and you have to take a series of practical actions to make the world recognize your values.

Foreign scientists or research institutions need to apply to use this telescope, and they have been queuing up for applications for several years.

There are tricks in who can use it and who can't. This is not as simple as a simple academic issue. There must be more or less political factors in it.

Western scientists or research institutions will certainly give them some resources, about 10%, and you can't grin at me, otherwise you won't pass it. The rest will be given to non-Western brothers to play with them.

Science without borders? Technology without borders? What a bullshit, spending so much money and taking such a big risk of throwing it away, not everyone can come and get it for free.

…

With the deployment of the solar panels, the "Sky Survey Telescope" officially started its planned flight mission of nearly a month, and the destination is the Lagrange L2 point 1.5 million kilometers away.

Time passed by minute by minute. 11 and a half hours after the launch, the main rocket of the Sky Survey Telescope ignited for 60 minutes. This was the first orbital correction in the planned plan.

On the second day, the "Sky Survey Telescope" began to deploy a high-gain antenna, which can transmit a large amount of data, three times a day, at least 45 GB of data.

At this time, the automatic deployment work was also completed, and the next step was for professional staff on the ground to carry out manual operation.

Computer AI is still not as stable as manual operation. After all, compared with the distance of Mars, the "Sky Survey Telescope" is still very close to the earth, and the delay is not serious. Manual operation is safer.

In order to ensure that everything is foolproof, the subsequent deployment of the "Sky Survey Telescope" will be manually remotely controlled by professionals at the ground control center.

As time came to the third day, 60 hours after the launch, the "Sky Survey Telescope" was ignited for more than 10 minutes.

"The second orbit correction is completed."

The sound of the broadcast came from the hall of the control center. All the ground staff were concentrating on their work and were meticulous.

At this time, the "Sky Survey Telescope" made the second orbit correction. Each orbit correction was to keep it flying to the destination at the pre-calculated speed as much as possible.

It can't be too fast or too slow.

If the speed is too fast, deceleration and braking will waste fuel. If the speed is too slow, it will still waste fuel if it fails to fly to the predetermined location.

And every bit of fuel carried is the key to determining how long the "Sky Survey Telescope" can be used in the future, so it must be as accurate as possible to allow the telescope to operate longer in the future.

……