Although he was not the oldest, Mr. He had the most authority to speak about the YF100 rocket engine.
So when it was his turn, everyone quieted down.
Mr. He was still perusing the technical manual when he heard his name called. He then put the manual down and stood up to bow to everyone.
"First, I'd like to apologize on behalf of the project team. Regardless of how the K120 technology was acquired, it's a fact that it is superior to ours. We spent 15 years and still haven't reached the world's advanced level."
"It's not right to say that. The YF100 met all its performance targets—it's just that the K120 is extraordinarily advanced."
"Exactly, we started from scratch. It's not like others who have countless experiences to draw from."
"..."
Upon hearing these words, people hurriedly tried to console him, but Mr. He just shook his head.
"The fact that the YF100 is outdated is a fact, and the fact that the K120 is advanced is also a fact. In my opinion, since the design already referenced the RD120, it wouldn't hurt to copy from the K120 now.
However... there is no need to change the YF100, no need to improve it anymore."
Tang Weitian heard the implication in his words and suddenly thought of something:
"Are you talking about the YF480?"
"Its name should now be changed to YF130, as well as the derived model YF135."
Mr. He slowly began speaking, and everyone immediately remembered the two projects.
To be precise, they had not yet been officially approved.
Currently, the Space Agency was planning the CZ-5, and the YF100 was being prepared for it. At this point, changing it would be too late and not particularly necessary.
However, the engines for future heavy-lift and super heavy-lift rockets, codenamed YF130 and YF135, were still under review, also using LOX-kerosene rocket technology.
Improving the future heavy-lift rocket engines with the K120 technology would be most appropriate, and there would be plenty of time to assimilate the technology.
After Tang Weitian chaired the meeting and reported the results back to the Institute No. 6, he did not receive a reply until the next evening.
Institute No. 6 was generally positive about acquiring the K120 technology, willing to enter into commercial cooperation with private enterprises, and inclined to purchase a model and the production license.
In other words, it was the same as when they acquired technology from foreign companies in the past—buy your product, but you must teach us how to do it.
However, Institute No. 6 was much more cautious, demanding that the inspection team remain in New Yuan Town until the launch of the New Yuan-1 rocket before deciding whether to purchase.
This was a tradition in China: no matter how good something might be, they had to see it in use for themselves before making a purchase; otherwise, no matter how convincing the sales pitch, they wouldn't take it at face value.
Of course, to seasoned researchers, the K120 seemed very reliable, but sometimes the supervising higher-ups had to consider more factors to avoid leaving themselves vulnerable.
Thus, Lin Ju received a request from Institute No. 6 for an extended on-site evaluation, which he immediately approved.
In his view, this was not a nuisance at all, but rather a blessed opportunity.
With so many experts from Institute No. 6 around, asking a few questions and exchanging technical insights should be no problem, right?
During engine production, wouldn't it be natural to ask what to be careful about and what experiences could help avoid pitfalls, and wouldn't it be somewhat rude not to share?
To not fully utilize so many brilliant minds on-site would be a disservice to this hard-won opportunity.
Guo Shen was well aware of this, regularly conducting technical seminars with the factory's staff and the additional technical personnel recruited during this period, and even deliberately involved the inspection team.
The official reason was to hear the opinions of excellent units and exchange views on technical blind spots.
The inspection team did not refuse; after all, it wasn't top secret, and it also gave them something to do.
With such rapid gains, the rocket was assembled nine days ahead of schedule.
Once it's erected and subjected to another electrical inspection, it could be filled with fuel for launch.
With a diameter of 2.5 meters, which is smaller in the rocket category, it didn't appear small in terms of sensory perception—after all, it was almost the height of a building.
The rocket, painted in the assembly workshop with the names and logos of the Southern Machinery Institute and New Yuan Town Tractor Factory, then had the words "New Yuan-1" written vertically along its frame.
Finally, the factory employees along with the supporting staff from the Southern Machinery Institute and the inspection team gathered together, holding a banner for a group photo:
"The New Yuan-1 Assembly Line Rollout Ceremony Was a Complete Success!"
Also present were specially invited photographers from the provincial television station, who took comprehensive photographs of the horizontally resting rocket.
The journalists who had interviewed Lin Ju before were also present, staring at the rocket that looked just like the real deal, dumbfounded.
They had initially had a poor impression of this braggadocious tractor factory and had just come to go through the motions to complete their assignments.
Who knew that in such a short period of time, they would actually produce a rocket?
A genuine rocket placed right there commanded respect whether one wished to give it or not.
The same day, when provincial and city leaders heard that the tractor factory had indeed produced a rocket, they were so surprised they almost jumped out of their seats.
Aerospace had always been seen as a prestigious industry that seemed to be something only national-level bodies could handle; no one had ever heard of private space endeavors.
The next day, leaders of all ranks made their way to the tractor factory, eager to witness what a private company's rocket looked like.
Wan, who was the first to come and congratulate them, along with the town leaders, hadn't even been watching for an hour before they had to accompany increasingly senior officials, one after the other.
That evening, the provincial station spent several minutes reporting on New Yuan-1, including the visit from major leaders.
The local leaders weren't very invested in whether the rocket would successfully launch or not; after all, this was China's first attempt at private spaceflight. Just the creation of the rocket was an incredible achievement in itself.
The reports were full of praise, especially when they heard about the advanced engine, which received a lot of flattery.
On the internet, as video platforms hadn't declined yet, videos of the New Yuan-1's final assembly were spreading far and wide.
On websites like Certain View and Certain Cool, the rocket climbed up the trending charts alongside popular web dramas, proving that there was still significant interest in space exploration.
Lin Ju, already tired of the so-called public intellectuals and big Vs on his blog, simply ignored them and turned to video platforms to see the reactions there.
He clicked on the highest trending rocket assembly video on a Certain View website, which had already garnered thousands of comments.
"No way, I thought they were just talking big, but the tractor factory is for real?"
"They've already released engine tests, isn't the rocket body even simpler? And to be honest, this rocket is just on the level of the CZ-1; it's not that noteworthy."
"Private spaceflight is really against all odds, huh? They built a rocket in just over a month, faster than the space agency."
"What's the use of just its appearance? The real deal is it flying without exploding. Not many private spaceflights in America have succeeded, you know."
"This 120-ton engine looks exactly like the YF100, and there are people from the Sixth Institute in the photo too. It couldn't be a company under the space agency, could it?"
Compared to the blogs, the comments here were much more normal and not as aggressive.
After browsing through several video platforms, Lin Ju remembered that the online forums of this era hadn't yet declined, and they were still full of experts sharing valuable knowledge. He was sure that New Yuan-1 would generate significant interest, so he logged onto the forum to check out the aerospace section.
To his surprise, the entire aerospace board was discussing New Yuan-1. However, the forum was filled with experts, and many of the posts were technical analyses of New Yuan-1's specifications and engine. Some were highly professional.
The reason was simple: in the past few years, CZ-5 hadn't succeeded yet, and China's largest rocket was still the aging CZ-3B, which everyone had grown tired of after over a decade. The space station had only one or two simple modules, leaving not much to discuss.
The sudden emergence of private spaceflight almost immediately caught the forum's attention. In fact, there had been a buzz ever since the K120 engine test, but Lin Ju had not been paying attention before.
Suddenly feeling whimsical, Lin Ju decided to post a message himself.
"I am Wang Ergou, the security guard at the tractor factory. Insider tip: New Yuan-1 will launch on August 26 at the following address. If you want to witness it live, hurry over. There are three spots left in the VIP splashdown area.
Address: Old Liu Village, New Yuan Town.…"
…
"Slow down, slow down, I said driver, slow down! This jolting could damage it; these sensors are quite precious."
"Zhou, you worry too much. Isn't the rocket's g-force and vibration during the actual launch much stronger than this? If it can't handle these bumps, how could it safely reach space?"
Sitting inside the satellite transport vehicle on the highway, Tong Peiqiang and Zhou Rui kept bickering while looking at the properly secured satellite.
"Argh, we're really pressed for time. If we had more of it, we could've coordinated with the space agency to get a pair of solar panels to ensure a 5-year lifespan. 50 days is just too short."
"That's about enough; half of the 400 kilograms is batteries, only 65 kilograms are radiation detectors, and the rest of the space went to cameras and a seed chamber. Fifty days is more than enough time to complete the experiments.
This time when we go to space, shouldn't we get at least 20 papers in SCI? The upgrade of our school depends on it!"
The satellite was wrapped in a special transport container, but the two men's hands were constantly on it, unwilling to leave it for even a moment.
The satellite had been officially named South New-1. It had nearly simultaneously rolled off the assembly line with the rocket and was immediately transported.
The launch site had been chosen: a plain in New Yuan Town.
This location was selected for the launch because the rocket would fly over sparsely populated mountain and forest regions, eventually falling into the South Sea, minimizing the risk of any crash.