The rise of nanometers

In early August 2018, the design work of the floating module was initially completed, and a test version was prepared to be built on the Blue Star ground to verify the technology.

The location to build the floating module was chosen in the central Pacific Ocean, where there is a vast sea surface and a relatively stable climate.

In Kiribati, near Bell Island, we found an uninhabited island as an experimental base.

After all, the middle of the Pacific Ocean is not a densely populated area. Even if the floating module falls during the experiment, it will not cause serious casualties.

The floating module project is progressing steadily.

Preparations have also begun for industrial facilities that are going to be equipped with floating modules, such as carbon refining plants, carbon material processing plants, vacuum chamber manufacturing plants, solar panels, carbon powder energy storage power stations, etc.

With the abundant carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Venus, self-sufficiency in raw materials can basically be achieved.

Time flew by.

October 15th.

The Pioneer 003 spacecraft, which sailed for 128 days, finally reached the low-Earth orbit of Venus. After successfully entering the orbit, it flew around Venus in an equatorial plane orbit about 750 kilometers from the surface of Venus.

The Qianfeng 003 spacecraft is an unmanned transport ship carrying 480 tons of materials, mainly artificial satellites, small airship detectors, and ground detectors.

After launching various satellites, the Space Ministry was well prepared this time and no longer ignored Venus as before.

Since Venus does not have a super protective magnetic field like Blue Star, artificial satellites placed in the orbit of Venus must be prepared to defend against the solar wind.

After all, Venus does not have a super strong protective magnetic field, and it is relatively close to the sun. It is subject to many and strong solar storms. Many artificial satellites have been killed by solar storms before.

The 12 communication satellites to be deployed include 4 communication satellites in synchronous orbit of Venus and 8 in low-Earth orbit of Venus.

These satellite communication satellites, together with the five communication satellites already in service on Venus, form the satellite communication network of Venus.

Next is the Lagrange point L1, located between Venus and the Sun, where two solar observation satellites will be deployed.

Then there are climate remote sensing satellites, geological remote sensing satellites, laser ranging satellites and the like.

After arranging these satellites, the Ministry of Aerospace has initially completed the construction of the satellite system for Venus.

At Blue Star's ground remote control center, the Venus Exploration Bureau is organizing a large number of staff to prepare to go deep into the interior of Venus.

"Flying Whale One is launching."

As the staff pressed the OK button, a radio wave was transmitted from the Blue Star ground remote control center to Blue Star's low-Earth orbit communication satellite, and then was relayed through the Blue Star's synchronous orbit communication satellite and sent to Venus.

The radio waves spanned tens of millions of kilometers, reached the Venus synchronous orbit communication satellite, and were finally received by the Pioneer 003 spacecraft.

A rocket ejected from the side of the Pioneer 003 spacecraft. The light red flame of N30 fuel propelled the rocket into the atmosphere of Venus.

Fifteen minutes later, the rocket braked near an altitude of 75 kilometers.

The middle part of the rocket pops open, the 16 vacuum chambers are unfolded and the skeleton is fixed, and then part of the air inside the vacuum chamber is extracted.

As the vacuum in the vacuum chamber forms, buoyancy allows the rocket to float at an altitude of 75 kilometers, which is the lower middle atmosphere of Venus' atmosphere.

Although it is not the troposphere, the airflow speed here is very fast, the fastest reaching 100±10m/s per second, which is stronger than the level 17 wind on the Blue Star ground.

However, as the altitude of Flying Whale 1 gradually decreases, the wind speed gradually decreases. In fact, this is the characteristic of Venus' atmosphere. The airflow moves slower and slower as it goes downwards.

Near the surface of Venus, the airflow speed is only 0.3 to 1m/s on average, which is much weaker than the surface of Blue Star.

However, the slow movement of airflow does not mean that it is harmless to humans and animals.

Because the gas concentration is very high, the high pressure formed causes the airflow on the surface of Venus to move in a fluid state similar to that of liquid.

On Flying Whale No. 1, the altitude dropped to around 60 kilometers, and the wind speed dropped further. It probably maintained an average of 50 to 60 meters per second, with occasional gusts of 80 meters per second.

The temperature detector showed that the temperature at this time was minus 10 degrees Celsius and the air pressure was 0.2357 standard atmosphere.

According to this temperature, air pressure, and airflow wind speed, it may not be suitable as a stable height for a floating city.

The temperature doesn't matter. The key is that the air pressure is too low. According to the design standards of the floating city, the air pressure at this location needs to be maintained above 0.4 standard atmosphere.

In addition, the airflow speed is too fast. After all, Blue Star's level 17 wind is only 56.61 meters per second.

In the 60-kilometer altitude zone of Venus' atmosphere, the year-round average wind speed is 50 to 60 meters per second, which is equivalent to daily winds of level 17. It is a huge test for the attitude control of floating cities.

Flying Whale 1 continues its descent.

After a while, we arrived near an altitude of 55 kilometers.

At this time, the data from the detection instrument showed: the temperature was 27 degrees Celsius, the air pressure was 0.5314 standard atmosphere, the average wind speed was 40 to 50 meters per second, and the extreme wind speed was 75 meters per second.

The altitude continued to drop and reached an area of ​​50 kilometers above sea level.

At this time, the data from the detection instrument showed: the temperature was 75 degrees Celsius, the air pressure was 1.066 standard atmosphere, the average wind speed was 30 to 40 meters per second, and the extreme wind speed was 60 meters per second.

Then comes the altitude of 45 kilometers above sea level, where the temperature further increases, reaching 110 degrees Celsius; the air pressure is 1.979 standard atmosphere; the average wind speed is 20 to 30 meters per second, and the extreme wind speed is 50 meters per second.

The Venus Exploration Agency tens of millions of kilometers away.

After obtaining the first-hand data, several researchers recalculated the appropriate height of the floating city.

One of the little researchers pointed at the simulation image and said: "If you consider stability, I think the height of 45 to 50 kilometers is more suitable."

"Indeed, we can easily handle high temperatures of 75 to 110 degrees Celsius, and the air pressure is between 1 and 1.9, which means that the effective load-bearing capacity of the floating city can be increased by about 2 to 3.8 times."

"In addition, at an altitude of more than 50 kilometers, the average wind speed is very high, and there are some extreme winds. This requires frequent posture control and consumes a lot of fuel."

With the compilation of these data, it was decided to adjust the height of the floating city to an altitude of 47 to 48 kilometers, with an upper limit of 55 kilometers and a lower limit of 40 kilometers.

Due to the change in location, the effective load-bearing capacity of a single floating module has been increased from the previously planned 2,400 tons to 4,800 to 8,500 tons.

In fact, due to the increased air pressure zone and the very high concentration of atmospheric gases, floating cities are arranged at an altitude of 47 to 48 kilometers, just like they are in the sea.

The lower you go in Venus' atmosphere, the more viscous the gas becomes, no less than in the ocean.

If it were not for solar power generation, it could actually be arranged lower.

the other side.

Many research institutes serving the floating city project are also racking their brains to cooperate with the project and develop equipment adapted to local conditions.

For example, CNNC's nuclear fusion miniaturization has increased the load-bearing capacity of a single floating module, so that the current smallest model of nuclear fusion power generation unit can be installed in the floating module.

In addition to CNNC, Suiren's power generation equipment research and development company has also come up with its own power generation solution, which is even more suitable for use in floating cities on Venus than nuclear fusion power generation units.

This plan is currently undergoing technical verification, and it is estimated that a complete plan will be available by the end of the year.

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