The Rise Of Space Technology

Chapter 408 Catching Asteroids 1

In the empty and empty universe, the Star Catcher spacecraft is heading towards the asteroid belt at a terrifying speed of 150 kilometers per second. At such a terrifying speed, the Star Catcher almost needs to fly from the earth to the asteroid belt. In a month or so, the vastness of the interstellar universe has just begun to be understood by human beings.

For the vast universe, human beings are still in the primitive stage of standing still.

On the Star Catcher, the crew members of dozens of meters are busy, and some people are exercising in the gym.

Although there is a gravity survival device on the star catcher, the gravity is only half of the earth’s gravity. After being in such an environment for a long time, the calcium in the bones in the body is very easy to lose, and once it returns to the earth, the impact on the body will be It is very large, so it is necessary to continuously strengthen the exercise to minimize the loss of bone calcium in the body.

Some people are reading, the spaceship is too far from the earth, and traditional communication technology has been unable to keep the spaceship and the earth in real-time contact, which also means that the spaceship cannot connect to the earth’s network, and online games must be No way to play, can only play stand-alone games or read books.

Relatively speaking, everyone on the spacecraft is now very relaxed and comfortable, and there is nothing to do. The spacecraft that relies on inertial flight does not need everyone to be busy.

“Captain, we have already flown past Mars orbit.”

In the control and command room of the spacecraft, Mao Jun looked at the data and star map on the computer, and said with a smile to Shi Kai beside him.

“How many days will it take to reach the asteroid belt?”

When Shi Kai heard it, he was instantly refreshed. He flew past the orbit of Mars, which was already very close to the asteroid belt. It is estimated that he will be able to reach the asteroid belt in a few days, so everyone is busy.

“It is expected that in about five days or so we can start entering the asteroid belt.”

Mao Jun replied quickly.

“Finally arriving at the asteroid belt, this person is about to rust.”

“The job of catching asteroids is really easy enough. I have nothing to do back and forth, just eat and drink, but I need to be busy for a while when catching asteroids.”

After Shi Kai listened, he also lay down on his space chair and said very comfortably.

“Yeah, this job is indeed very easy, and I’m a little uncomfortable.”

Mao Jun nodded, also sat on his seat, looked at the bright starry sky, and said: “The starry sky is boundless, this way, the scenery has not changed at all, and after watching too much, I feel that it is meaningless. , very boring.”

“You should go to those cosmic astronomy scientists. They have professional astronomical telescopes and can see the starry sky very far away. I saw those photos are also very shocking. I really want to go to the interstellar universe as soon as possible!”

“This day won’t be too long. With the speed of our technology development, it is estimated that it will be realized soon.”

“…”

A few days later.

“DiDi~DiDi~”.

On the Star Catcher, with the continuous sound of dripping, everyone on the spacecraft began to get busy, because the Star Catcher is about to enter the asteroid belt, which means that the most important moment is coming.

They worked so hard to run such a long distance, waiting for this moment.

“Attention to all, Star Catcher is about to enter the deceleration stage, please pay attention to all!”

With the sound of the broadcast, everyone on the spacecraft quickly returned to their seats, fastened their seat belts, and waited for the spacecraft to start to slow down.

Acceleration is a long process, and the same is true for deceleration. According to the plan, Star Catcher needs to go through a deceleration process of up to two or two days.

The speed will be reduced from 150 kilometers per second to about 20 kilometers per second. According to this speed, suitable asteroids will be found in the asteroid belt and brought back to Earth.

“Are there any new orders from the Earth Command Center?”

According to the plan and itinerary, it is indeed almost time to slow down, but Shi Kai still has to ask for instructions from the Earth Command Center.

The spacecraft sails in the vast void. On the one hand, it relies on a large number of scientists at the Earth Command Center to use supercomputers to conduct comprehensive calculations and analysis.

On the other hand, we cannot all rely on the Earth command center. The judgment of the scientists and engineers on the spacecraft is also very important, because only the people on the spacecraft can clearly know all the situation in the first time, and can make the most timely response. reaction.

“The meaning of this side of the earth is the same, start to slow down~”

Asterisk’s deputy Mao Jun nodded and said.

“Start slowing down~”

Shi Kai nodded decisively and ordered. The powerful anti-gravity engine and aero-engine began to start one after another. Under the strong thrust, the spacecraft began to tremble slightly, and the speed began to gradually decrease.

Because the speed is too fast, deceleration is also a long process. If the deceleration is too fast, it will form a huge pressure on the spacecraft and the personnel on the spacecraft. Therefore, deceleration and acceleration require a long process.

“Turn on x-ray detection, gamma-ray detection, beta-ray detection, infrared radiation detection, magnetic field detection!”

“Turn on the three-body matrix radar to generate 3D stereoscopic images!”

“Turn on the weapon system and stand by at any time.”

“Launch unmanned satellites.”

Orders are issued from Shikai here. The asteroid belt that is about to arrive is not a warm, empty void, and it may be hit by asteroids at any time, so the detector and radar must be turned on. In order to save energy, it is not turned on.

At the same time, the weapon system is also on standby at any time. Spaceships fly in the void of the universe, and generally fly in a straight line. If you want to change the flight trajectory in order to avoid the impact of meteorites and asteroids, the energy consumption will be very amazing, especially The greater the mass of the spacecraft, the more energy it consumes.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the method of destroying the meteorites and asteroids in front will be used, and the weapons will be used to destroy them. The Star Catcher spacecraft also carries the rail guns researched by the Academy of Sciences. There is definitely no way to deal with ordinary asteroids. any questions.

The principle of so-called rail running is actually very simple. It is to accelerate something like a hard tungsten rod to a certain extent to hit the target, so as to achieve the effect of destroying the target.

Because the speed of the spacecraft itself is very fast, it is now hundreds of kilometers per second. Based on this speed, the launched rails run, and the speed can be imagined. The faster the speed, the more energy it carries, which is enough to easily deal with Ordinary asteroid.

As for the unmanned detection satellites released, it is to grasp the situation of the large-scale void as much as possible. These detection satellites are very cheap, one-off products, and the number is relatively large. It is also the purpose of Xingxinghai Technology to grasp the situation of more solar systems. Therefore, some unmanned satellites will be continuously released along the way.

A few days later, Star Catcher began to officially enter the asteroid belt.

“Is this the asteroid belt?”

“Why do I feel as if there is no difference from the previous time, the same openness, the same loneliness, and no asteroids can be seen.”

Shi Kai carefully looked at the screen displayed on the monitor, and confirmed again and again that the Star Catcher spacecraft had indeed entered the asteroid belt at this time.

But looking at the dark void universe outside, it seems that there is no change, and you can’t see the pictures in science fiction movies at all. Countless large and small meteorites, asteroids, etc. are coming towards you.

“Haha, we are indeed entering the asteroid belt, but it is almost difficult to find an asteroid with the naked eye, unless the asteroid is very close to us.”

When Xia Zhigang, a cosmic astronomy scientist on the side, heard this, he couldn’t help laughing.

“Although there are countless asteroids in this asteroid belt, there are only more than 1 million known and numbered asteroids. These asteroids are all very massive asteroids in the asteroid belt. For example, Ceres is an asteroid. The most massive asteroid in the belt, of course, should be accurately called a dwarf planet.”

“In addition to these numbered millions of massive asteroids, there are countless asteroids of different masses and sizes in the entire asteroid belt, and the number is difficult to estimate.”

“However, all these asteroids are distributed in the vast asteroid belt, which has a very wide range of distances. It is 2.17-3.62 AU from the sun, which means that its width is more than one AU. The astronomical unit has a distance of 1.5 billion kilometers, and it is also a three-dimensional distribution and a certain thickness.”

“And its length, not to mention its length, is a circle around the entire solar system. A simple calculation shows how vast the asteroid belt is.”

“In such a huge area, even though the number of asteroids is large, the density is not as large as we imagined. If you want to see asteroids with the naked eye, unless they are very close.”

“We mainly rely on various detection instruments to detect asteroids.”

Xia Zhigang also smiled and explained to everyone. When Shi Kai, Mao Jun and others heard it, they all suddenly realized that although everyone had made up a lot of knowledge in this area, compared with Xia Zhigang and other professional astronomical scientists, there was a huge gap. It was immediately apparent.

“DiDi~DiDi~”

“Discover an asteroid~”

While everyone was chatting, the alarm on the spaceship sounded, and everyone immediately came to their senses. One by one, they quickly connected to the data center on the spaceship with the virtual watch they wore and started to get busy.

“This asteroid is 4,276 kilometers away from us. According to the analysis of spectral images sent by the detection satellite, its main components are 40% iron, 30% copper, and the rest is basically silicon.”

“Its diameter is more than 1556 meters, the overall shape is irregular, and its mass exceeds 300 million tons. It is not our dish.”

In Xia Zhigang’s mind, the virtual machine directly transmits the relevant information to his brain. He uses the computer to calculate and analyze the data, and quickly obtains the relevant information of the asteroid.

At the same time, this information was also notified to the entire crew such as Shi Kai and Mao Jun.

“It’s a pity, otherwise, this asteroid is really good, 40% of the iron, 30% of the copper, and the weight is heavy, and it will be very valuable to drag it back to the earth.”

When Shi Kai heard this, he said with a pity.