The Rise Of Space Technology

Chapter 410 Catch Asteroids 3

“Asteroids of about 200 million tons are all made of iron.”

“The price of steel on Earth is about more than 3,000 a ton, and even the price of iron ore is more than 600 a ton. We are directly in space. If we count 1,000 a ton, it’s not too much.”

“Such a simple calculation, this asteroid is worth 200 billion!”

Mao Jun did a simple calculation with his fingers, and his breathing changed.

An inconspicuous asteroid in the void, it is worth 200 billion.

“hu~hu~”

“No, is such an asteroid worth 200 billion?”

“Do not believe?”

“This is still calculated according to a simple method. In fact, when it is shipped to the outer space of the earth, its value is definitely far more than 200 billion. You must know that the transportation of steel from the earth to space also requires a freight.”

“Although there are anti-gravity spaceships now, the transportation cost is much lower than before, but if you calculate it, it is very cheap to charge you two or three thousand per ton of freight.”

“A conservative estimate of 200 billion is already very cheap.”

“I’m going, just such an unremarkable asteroid, there are asteroids everywhere in this asteroid belt, it is worth 200 billion, this does not mean that this asteroid belt is a mountain of gold and silver everywhere?”

Some people were dumbfounded after hearing this, and then looked at the data in the computer, and now they can’t see the asteroid, because it is far away from 5,000 kilometers, where can it be seen by the naked eye.

“Haha, what do you say?”

“Didn’t we encounter an asteroid containing 100 million tons of gold earlier?”

“Look at the asteroids in this asteroid belt. There are such asteroids in the size of hundreds of meters and thousands of meters everywhere. There is nothing unusual at all. There are so many asteroids containing metal elements. It is said that this asteroid belt is a treasure belt.”

“Mass, I will also come to mine asteroids in the future. This is simply getting rich overnight.”

During the constant discussion, no one thought that this seemingly inconspicuous asteroid in the void would be so valuable, this casual one would be worth 200 billion, such a small planet in the entire asteroid belt. The planets are almost endless, and God knows how many treasures there are.

“Gold is everywhere!”

Shi Kai couldn’t help but sigh, thinking constantly in his mind, with the rapid development of space industry and technology, more and more steel, metal, etc. need to be used in space, completely transported from ground to space. Obviously, it is not possible in China, and mining asteroids from asteroids will inevitably become mainstream, and maybe their own opportunities will come in the future.

Such thoughts flashed in his mind, and soon, he immediately regained his composure.

“All attention, the spacecraft has changed direction, and we will capture the asteroid.”

The distance of more than 5,000 kilometers may seem far away, but it takes only a few minutes for a spacecraft flying in the starry sky to reach the vicinity of the asteroid.

The huge hatch above the Star Catcher spacecraft slowly opened, and two small anti-gravity aircraft roared out, each carrying a long rope.

This kind of rope is naturally not an ordinary rope. It is all made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene material. A hair-thin ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene can hang several tons of things.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is a new type of polyethylene material with high strength and high modulus. It is ‘soft on the outside and rigid on the inside”. Its mass is lighter than that of metal aluminum, but its strength is higher than that of steel, and it has corrosion resistance and high modulus. . It has the characteristics of anti-broadcasting and low temperature resistance, and more importantly, it not only has the inherent intrinsic properties of polymer materials, but also has the softness and processability of textile fibers. It is a new generation of reinforcing materials.

Before departure, the Xinghai Institute of Science has already worked out a detailed method for mining asteroids. First, use this high-strength high-molecular polyethylene material to use a small spaceship to weave a net on it, and then use the universe The spacecraft diverted the asteroid from its original trajectory.

Finally, rely on the strong gravitational force of the sun in the solar system, calculate the position, and let the asteroid re-form a new orbit passing through the earth. When the asteroid is about to reach the earth, drag the asteroid again, and then rely on the gravitational force of the earth to move the asteroid. Capture, form an orbit around the earth, and become a satellite of the earth, so that the capture of the asteroid is completed.

Two small anti-gravity aircraft slowly flew to the position of the asteroid. This aircraft will be responsible for weaving a net for the asteroid and wrapping the asteroid with a high-molecular polyethylene rope.

“Huh! Huh!”

A steel fork was launched from each spacecraft, and the steel fork plunged deep into the asteroid depending on its speed. A long carbon fiber rope was dragged behind the steel fork, and then the two aircraft began to wrap around the asteroid. , another lap, and soon dozens of laps.

Then the two aircraft began to fly around each other very much, winding the two ropes together again, and slowly flew into the Star Catcher spacecraft.

Inside the Starcatcher spacecraft, the robotic arm began to wrap the rope behind the aircraft to fix it on the huge hook at the rear of the spacecraft. At this time, the rope connected the Starcatcher spacecraft and the asteroid, but the rope was not tightened, so they were connected to each other. It didn’t have much impact at all.

The Star Catcher spacecraft also always maintains the trajectory and speed of rotation with the asteroid, and the two are in a relatively static state, which is also for the convenience of catching the asteroid.

All of this seems to be very simple, but it is actually full of risks. It is definitely not so easy and simple. If nothing else, you must know that the spacecraft and asteroids are constantly moving at this time, and the speed is very fast. Therefore, first of all, the speed and direction of the two must be adjusted to the same, so as to achieve a state of mutual stillness.

Then using a small spaceship to entangle the asteroid is also full of risks. Asteroids generally not only revolve, but also have an autobiography. A careless accident may cause the asteroid to drag and collide with the small spaceship.

When two small spaceships are intertwined and weave ropes, it is also necessary to pay attention. It requires very superb flying skills, and at the same time, the performance requirements of the spaceships are also very high.

You must know that this is in the void of the universe, not on the earth. There is no air here, there is no southeast, northwest, up and down, left and right, etc. It is not easy to change the direction at will.

Although the risk is very high, the technological equipment on the Star Catcher is the most advanced, and it is the pinnacle of science and technology crystallization of Xinghai Technology Group. In addition, the crew on the spacecraft are carefully selected, and everyone has the The rich experience in space and the corresponding training in advance, so all this can be completed smoothly.

“The rope is fixed!” “Start the engine!”

With Shi Kai’s order, everyone began to become nervous. Although according to theoretical calculations, Star Catcher can completely drag asteroids within 300 million tons, but this is only theoretical data. , What will happen when the operation is actually carried out, everyone is still panicking, because this is related to everyone’s life.

The powerful anti-gravity engine started, and under the powerful power, the entire Star Catcher spacecraft began to vibrate, and the speed of the spacecraft began to change slowly. The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene rope connecting the Star Catcher spacecraft and the asteroid It is also starting to slowly straighten and tighten.

“All attention~”

Shi Kai, Mao Jun and others have all put on their space suits, and some of the team members have already driven small spaceships to fly in space. Save the spaceship and return to Earth.

Everyone stared at the data very nervously, watching the tighter and tighter ropes in the outer space, and praying silently in their hearts.

Soon, everyone only felt a huge shock from the spaceship, and everyone only felt that under the action of a strong inertia, the whole person was almost ejected. Fortunately, everyone was firmly fixed on the space chair and fully prepared.

The ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene rope connecting the Starcatcher spacecraft and the asteroid collapsed straight. On the asteroid, the one-meter-diameter rope was tightened into the asteroid at once, until it encountered the hardest rock layer. stop.

“call!”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, everything went well, and there was nothing wrong with the Star Catcher spacecraft.

“Increase the horsepower~”

Shi Kai carefully stared at each item of data. At this time, the power of the spacecraft was not exerted at all. As his orders were issued, the vibration on the spacecraft became greater, and the powerful force of the anti-gravity engine began to appear. Using the strong gravitational force of the star, the asteroid began to change, the original trajectory changed, and a new orbit began to form.

“Haha, it worked!”

Xia Zhigang, Ouyang Fei and others, who had been paying attention to the asteroid’s situation, couldn’t help laughing happily. At this time, the orbit of the asteroid had changed, deviated from the original orbit, and began to form a new orbit.

Calculate the current orbit, calculate the time and location of the encounter with the Earth’s orbit. ”

On the other hand, Huang Zhibin and Long Zhankong became more nervous and did not have any free time, because they still needed to calculate the new orbit, and then calculate the time and place where it would converge with the earth’s orbit. This is related to At that time, whether the asteroid can be captured by the earth’s gravity is a big matter.

“The current orbit cannot coincide with the Earth’s orbit and must be trimmed.”

Soon, using a supercomputer, the two quickly calculated the orbit of the asteroid that appeared in the asteroid, and it was completely unable to intersect the orbit of the earth, so the orbit had to be adjusted.

If the adjustment is just now, the energy consumption can be very small, and the adjustment angle and amplitude can also be small. It is the best time to adjust the track and angle.

“Calculate the trimming direction and trimming degree.”

Astronomical scientists quickly used supercomputers to start recalculating, and soon, new data was obtained.

“Captain, the asteroid needs to be trimmed by 2 degrees, and the direction is 9 degrees from the Earth’s ecliptic plane.”

Xia Zhigang hurriedly sent the results calculated by himself and Ouyang Fei.

“clear!”

“Begin track correction.”

Shi Kai obtained the latest data, and the flight direction and angle of the Star Catcher began to be adjusted. Behind the Star Catcher, the orbit of the asteroid also began to change, little by little, gradually changing toward the planned orbit.

Originally, the engine of the Starcatcher spacecraft was powerful enough to propel asteroids by itself, but that would consume too much power. The most labor-saving method is to learn to use the strong gravity of the sun. Relying on the huge gravity of stars can greatly save fuel and energy. .

A few days later, the astronomical scientists on the spacecraft breathed a heavy sigh of relief. They have calculated the current orbit and speed of the asteroid again and again, and combined with the orbit and speed of the earth, they will be in 42 days, 23 hours, 34 minutes and 45 seconds. When the earth meets, it will be captured by the earth’s gravity in one fell swoop and become a satellite of the earth.

“Huh, this trip went smoothly. It didn’t take much time to complete the task. After all, it only took us a little more than 4 months.”

The Star Catcher dragged the asteroid into the inertial flight mode, and everyone on the spaceship also relaxed, Shi Kai said with a smile after calculating the time.

“It was really smooth. It didn’t take much time to find the asteroid, and it was very smooth to catch the asteroid.”

“Originally, I was prepared to not be able to return to Earth for at least half a year.”

“Haha, I’m all prepared to not be able to return to Earth for a year.”

“It’s better to go back early, to complete this task, I’m going to take a good rest for half a year and accompany my family~”

“You said that when our asteroid is approaching the earth, will it cause panic on the earth?”

“Definitely, if an asteroid weighing 200 million tons comes to the earth, the consequences will be unimaginable, so we have made repeated determinations, and we will repeatedly and carefully calculate the orbit every day. At the same time, the orbit is also Cut this Earth’s orbit.”

“At that time, if it can’t be captured by the earth’s gravity, it can directly fly over the earth. In addition, in the outer space of the earth, if there is an accident, it can be destroyed by using the guide rail.”

“Having said that, but at that time, I am afraid that our company will stand on the cusp of the storm again. It is estimated that there will be a large number of protests and opposition waves around the world.”

“What about them, they protested against them. We made a fortune in silence. As for 200 million tons of steel, the entire earth’s annual steel production is only about 2 billion tons. This asteroid can account for the earth’s steel production. One-tenth, we make a fortune silently, with these steels, we can build more spaceships in space, and the resources of this asteroid belt are not all ours?”

“Haha, yes, yes~”