Chapter 925
The "Entire Arrow Falling to the Moon" Plan Approved
On the last day of July, the Tangdu Municipal Government officially released the "Outline of Tangdu's Mega-City Development Plan".
Based on Wang Donglai's plan, this outline underwent repeated review and revision by multiple departments, ultimately resulting in this 300-page document.
The outline details the development path of Tangdu City for the next five years in terms of various aspects such as industry, population, housing, education, medical care, transportation, and ecology.
There is only one core goal: to build Tangdu into a super first-tier city with a permanent population of over 20 million within five years.
The news sent shockwaves across the country.
The People's Daily published a lengthy report on its front page, titled "Tangdu's Answer: The Path to Megacity for an Inland City".
The article details the development of Tangdu City over the years, from abandoning land revenue to developing high-tech industries, from talent introduction to large-scale recruitment, and from the revitalization of basic education to housing system reform.
The article concludes by saying, "Tangdu City's exploration is not just a matter for Tangdu City; it is paving a new path for other cities across the country."
That evening, CCTV's News Broadcast devoted four minutes to a special report on Tangdu City's development plan.
In the video, Wu Qingsong stands on the construction site of the Tang Dynasty Imperial City, with a group of Tang-style buildings under construction behind him.
"The transformation of Tangdu City is not something that can be accomplished overnight."
He said to the camera, "This is the result of the efforts of several generations and the silent dedication of countless people. Today, we stand here not to show off our achievements, but to tell everyone—this path is viable."
Meanwhile, in his top-floor office at Galaxy Technology's headquarters, Wang Donglai was busy with other things.
They had no time to pay attention to the news of Tangdu's great development.
Yang Anchao walked into Wang Donglai's office carrying a thick stack of technical reports.
The report cover bears the inscription: "Whole Rocket Landing on the Moon Plan - Detailed Implementation Plan (Third Edition)".
Yang Anchao placed the report on the table, but instead of sitting down, he stood there watching Wang Donglai turn the pages one by one.
Wang Dong looked at it very carefully, spending a long time on each page, and occasionally writing a few words in the blank spaces.
Yang Anchao knew that those words were not suggestions for revision, but technical points.
From the time I met Wang Donglai until now, whenever he sees a crucial point, he will write down the derivation process as if those complex formulas are just simple arithmetic to him.
Thirty minutes later, Wang Donglai finished turning the last page, closed the report, and looked up.
"Engineer Yang, how confident are you in the success of this plan?"
Yang Anchao took a deep breath: "If we're just talking about technology, it's 90%. We've run thousands of simulations on quantum computers for the Lux-2000's orbital accuracy, Earth-Moon transfer window, and braking control for soft landing on the lunar surface, with a success rate of over 97%."
"What if we add other factors?"
Yang Anchao paused for a moment.
He knew that Wang Donglai wasn't asking about technology.
The whole rocket to the moon program is not just about sending a rocket to the moon.
It signifies the birth of humanity's first permanent lunar base, China's comprehensive surpassing of the Bald Eagle Federation in the field of deep space exploration, and Galaxy Aerospace's transformation from a commercial company into a leader in human civilization's journey into deep space.
The significance of this cannot be measured by technology alone.
"If other factors are taken into account, it's 70%."
Yang Anchao honestly replied, "It's not that we're incapable, it's just that this matter is too big, too big to afford any mistakes. One rocket carries a 60-ton payload; if it fails, the loss will not only be money, but also time, opportunity, and the expectations of the nation."
Wang Donglai pondered for a moment before speaking, "Engineer Yang, do you know why I insist on developing the 'Arrow Falls to the Moon' project?"
Yang Anchao thought for a moment and said, "Because the lava tube base is too slow?"
"Slowness is one reason, but not the root cause."
Wang Donglai's gaze remained calm as he explained, "The fundamental reason is that we can't always follow in others' footsteps. The White Eagle Federation landed on the moon in the 1960s, and we waited fifty years. In those fifty years, they didn't go up again, not because they didn't want to, but because they felt it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth the investment, the risk, or spending hundreds of billions on a pile of rocks and dust."
Yang Anchao could see a light in his eyes that he had never seen before, not excitement, not agitation, but something deeper.
"But I think it's worth it. The moon has water ice, helium-3, and rare metals. These are scarce resources on Earth, but common minerals on the moon. If we can develop lunar resources, Earth's energy and resource crises can be alleviated. More importantly, the moon is humanity's first stop in deep space. If we learn how to survive, build, and utilize local resources on the moon, we can go to Mars, the asteroid belt, and even further afield."
Although Wang Donglai's voice was soft, it was filled with determination: "Engineer Yang, this is not a business plan, this is the future of human civilization. And we are writing the first page of this future."
Yang Anchao nodded; he naturally knew this as well.
It is precisely because of this that he resolutely withdrew from the national team and joined Galaxy Aerospace.
He recalled his years in Jiuquan, the shelved plans, and the projects that failed due to insufficient funding.
He thought that this was how his life would be: working within the system until retirement, writing a few papers, mentoring a few students, and then growing old quietly.
But Wang Donglai gave him another option.
"Mr. Wang."
Yang Anchao's voice became firm as he said, "The 'Entire Arrow Falling to the Moon' plan will definitely succeed. If it fails, I'll offer my head in retribution."
Wang Donglai smiled.
That smile wasn't polite, nor was it a consolation; it was the relief of finding a fellow traveler.
“Engineer Yang, I don’t want your head. I want you to send the rocket up there, send the people up there, and build the base. Keep your head to watch the sunrise on the moon. The sunrise on the moon is different from that on Earth. There’s no atmospheric scattering, and the sun jumps directly from below the horizon. The light will sweep across the entire lunar surface in a few seconds, like a golden knife cutting through the darkness. You’ve never seen anything like it in your life.”
Yang Anchao's eyes were a little hot.
He nodded without saying anything.
He knew he didn't need to say anything.
This young man has already seen the future for him, and all he needs to do is walk towards it.
For the next three days, Yang Anchao locked himself in the assembly and testing hall of Galaxy Aerospace, leading his team to make final revisions to the entire rocket landing plan.
They utilized 40% of Wa's computing power to perform Monte Carlo simulations on every critical node, extending fault tree analysis to the fifth order and covering all conceivable failure modes.
Late on the third night, Yang Anchao looked up from his computer and said to his assistant, "Print, bind, and send it to Beijing first thing tomorrow morning."
The assistant asked, "Where should we send it?"
"The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the China National Space Administration, and... Academician Chen Mingyuan's home."
The assistant was taken aback.
Chen Mingyuan has been retired for many years and lives in an old community in the western suburbs of Beijing. He lives a secluded life and rarely sees guests.
But Yang Anchao insisted on delivering it.
Beijing, State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
The technical presentation started promptly at 9:00 AM.
More than 30 experts were seated in the conference room, including elderly academicians with white hair, technical backbones in their prime, and representatives from the military.
A blue tablecloth covered the long table, and in front of each person was a simplified report of the whole arrow landing plan, only fifty pages long, but every page was essential.
Yang Anchao stood on the podium, with a huge projection screen behind him.
Instead of using PowerPoint, he used digital modeling software to display the 3D model of the Lux-2000 on the screen.
The model can be rotated, sectioned, and enlarged, and each part can be displayed individually.
This is an interactive demonstration system that he commissioned Wa to create, and it's the only one of its kind in the world.
"Distinguished experts, what I will be presenting today is the detailed implementation plan for Galaxy Aerospace's whole-rocket lunar landing program." His voice was steady, but his hand holding the laser pointer trembled slightly—not from nervousness, but from excitement.
He had been waiting for this day for forty years.
He began by discussing the overall design of the rocket, then moved on to the parallel control of the engine, the transverse mounting mechanism of the rocket body, the braking algorithm for soft landing on the lunar surface, and the detailed process of base modification.
Every step is supported by data, every piece of data is verified by simulation, and every verification is supported by fault tree analysis.
He spoke for two hours without taking a break or drinking water.
Below the stage, the experts sometimes frowned, sometimes nodded, and sometimes whispered among themselves.
Some people are taking notes, some are flipping through reports, and some are listening with their eyes closed—not asleep, but doing simultaneous mental calculations.
Chen Mingyuan sat in the middle of the first row.
He is eighty-three years old this year, his hair is completely white, but his back is still straight and his eyes are still sharp.
There was no report in front of him, because his copy was so worn out from being read so many times that the edges were curled up and the pages were covered with annotations.
His annotations were made in red pen, like a surgeon marking a medical record, each point precisely pointing to the core of the problem.
When Yang Anchao talked about the most crucial part of the entire arrow landing mechanism—the horizontal placement mechanism of the arrow body—Chen Mingyuan raised his hand.
"Xiao Yang, is your transverse mechanism hydraulic or electric?"
Yang Anchao's heart raced.
Chen Mingyuan calls him "Xiao Yang," a term of recognition within the aerospace system.
He took a deep breath and replied, “Electric. Hydraulic systems are at risk of leakage in the lunar environment, and the boiling point of liquids is too low, making them prone to vaporization in a vacuum. We use an electric motor drive with mechanical linkages, a redundant design, with three independent systems serving as backups for each other. The probability of a single system failing is one in 100,000, and the probability of all three failing simultaneously is one in 1 billion.”
Chen Mingyuan did not respond immediately.
He lowered his head, wrote a few words on the report, then looked up and asked, "What is the range of lunar surface temperature variation?"
"The sunny side is 120 degrees Celsius, while the shady side is minus 180 degrees Celsius, a temperature difference of 300 degrees Celsius."
"Can your motor operate normally under these temperature differences?"
"Yes. We conducted 300 high and low temperature cycle tests in the laboratory, from minus 200 degrees Celsius to 150 degrees Celsius, and the motor performance did not show any significant degradation. The motor uses a high-temperature resistant alloy developed by the Galaxy Materials Research Institute, the bearings use ceramic materials, and the lubrication uses a solid lubricant, not liquid grease, so it will not solidify at low temperatures."
Chen Mingyuan nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Yang Anchao continued speaking.
The defense lasted until 4 p.m.
Over seven hours, the experts asked hundreds of questions, ranging from the combustion stability of the engine to the structural strength of the rocket body, from the delay in lunar surface communication to the survival of the astronauts, from emergency return plans to remedial measures after failure.
Yang Anchao provided answers to every question.
Instead of vague statements like "we are investigating," they are specific statements like "we have verified it," "the data is here," and "you can check it."
The last question was asked by Chen Mingyuan.
"Xiao Yang, if you had to describe this plan in one word, what would it be?"
The meeting room fell silent.
Everyone was waiting for Yang Anchao's answer.
Yang Anchao remained silent for a long time.
He looked at the elderly experts with white hair in the audience, at the technical backbone in their prime, and at the representatives from the military.
Some of them questioned the plan, some opposed it, and some even ridiculed it.
But now, they are all sitting here, listening attentively, thinking deeply, and asking questions earnestly.
"worth!"
"This plan is worth doing. Not because it will definitely succeed, but because it's worth trying. For fifty years, no one has continued to follow the footprints left by humans on the moon. Now, it's our turn."
There was a three-second silence in the meeting room.
Then, Chen Mingyuan was the first to applaud.
The applause started sporadically, then grew more frequent and louder, finally merging into a thunderous roar.
Chen Mingyuan stood up, walked up to Yang Anchao, and shook his hand.
The old man's hands were thin but strong, with prominent knuckles and calluses on his palms—marks left from decades of desk work.
"Xiao Yang, the path you've chosen is farther than we imagined."
Yang Anchao recalled his years in Jiuquan, the shelved plans, and the projects that failed due to insufficient funding.
He thought this was how his life would be.
But Chen Mingyuan told him that was not the case.
He went further than his predecessors had imagined.
"Academician Chen, I..."
"No need to say anything more."
Chen Mingyuan waved his hand and said, "What you did is something we wanted to do but couldn't. Do a good job and don't embarrass us aerospace workers."
Yang Anchao nodded vigorously.
One day later, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense officially approved the application.
The approval document was only three pages long, but each page was stamped with a red official seal.
The core content of the document consists of only one paragraph: "The Galaxy Aerospace whole-rocket lunar landing plan is approved. The plan will be implemented in three phases: Phase 9, September 2019, launch the Lux-2000 verification rocket to complete the Earth-Moon transfer and lunar soft landing test; Phase 12, December 2019, launch the whole-rocket lunar landing mission rocket to send a complete Lux-2000 to the moon, where it will lie horizontally on the lunar surface and be converted into a temporary base; Phase 3, March 2020, launch a manned mission to send three astronauts to the moon, where they will stay at the temporary base for thirty days to complete base expansion and scientific experiments."
Yang Anchao's hands were trembling when he received the approval document.
He stood in the assembly and testing hall of Galaxy Aerospace, with the Lux-2000 rocket being assembled behind him, its silver-gray body gleaming coldly under the lights.
Looking at the rocket and the document, he suddenly felt that the forty-year wait had been worthwhile.
That evening, he made a phone call to Wang Donglai.
On the other end of the phone, Wang Donglai's voice was calm, as if all of this was within his expectations.
"Congratulations, Mr. Yang."
"Mr. Wang, thank you."
"No need to thank me, thank yourself. You've walked this path yourself."
Yang Anchao held his phone, standing in front of the window in the final assembly and testing hall, looking at the night view of Tangdu outside the window.
In the distance, the lights of the Tang imperial city twinkled in the winter night, like countless stars fallen to the ground.
He suddenly remembered what Wang Donglai had said: "Sunrise on the moon is different from that on Earth. There is no atmospheric scattering, and the sun jumps directly from below the horizon. The light sweeps across the entire lunar surface in a few seconds, like a golden knife cutting through the darkness."
He wanted to see that kind of sunrise with his own eyes. (End of Chapter)