Chapter 213, Starport Technology
Among these four mid-to-high-level technologies, Gu Hang's attention was immediately drawn to the [Starport Blueprint].
Star port!
Gu Hang originally thought that this thing would be in a higher-level technology pool, but he didn't expect to get it among the elite level!
Its importance is too high.
At present, the connection between the Angry Owl Star and space is very weak, and can only be carried out through various landing transport ships. The transportation volume is small and the transportation cost is high.
Generally speaking, those who really have a need for large-scale interstellar trade cannot do without a "star port".
As the name suggests, this is an interstellar port built on the planet's synchronous orbit, which can facilitate the docking of foreign starships, inspect and repair ships, and transport cargo more conveniently and quickly.
There is a difference between having a starport and not having one. To use the analogy of the planet as an example, if there is a starport, cargo ships can dock at the port and cargo can be shipped down one by one. If there is no starport, cargo can only be shipped out by small boats or speedboats, which is much less efficient.
The flow of materials between the starport and the ground mainly relies on two methods: orbital traction spacecraft and space elevators.
These two supporting facilities are included in the technical blueprint drawn in the lottery.
The orbital traction spacecraft needs to have a launch site on the ground and be connected to the space port in the planetary orbit to form a corresponding force field tunnel. The traction spacecraft itself has a certain power and can fly up and down in the force field tunnel at a very fast speed and with a large load capacity.
The space elevator is another solution, which involves building one or more physical passages from the ground to a space port. The "elevator" has kinetic energy and moves up and down on a physical track.
The main difference between these two plans lies in whether the up and down channel is a physical channel or a pure energy force field tunnel.
However, the solutions to the connection problem between these two starports and the surface of the planet do not conflict.
We can build a space elevator at the corresponding point between the synchronous orbit starport and the ground. The one-time construction cost will be higher, but the transportation cost will be low.
However, force field tunnels and traction spacecraft do not have to be built at the corresponding locations in the synchronous orbit; they can be kept unused when not in use, so the loss is relatively low; when large-scale transportation is needed and the carrying capacity of the space elevator is insufficient, the traction spacecraft can be used. After all, it is more expensive to use this thing than the space elevator.
After having the starport, Angry Owl Star became eligible to participate in interstellar trade. Unlike the previous business with the Beautiful Girl, it could only buy some high-value but small items and transport them bit by bit via transport ships. The transaction between the Beautiful Girl Caravan and Blackbird Heavy Industries lasted for three months.
If there was a star port, it wouldn't take so long and could be done in a day or two.
That was because the Beautiful Girl was here to support the Wrathful Star, and there were other factors behind the deal with Blackbird Heavy Industries. They had to endure the three-month loading and unloading time. If you were a normal businessman, they would see that you didn't even have a star port, and you relied on transport planes to transport goods... You could forget it.
Unless you are dealing with small, high-value goods, don't even think about trading in bulk commodities.
Only with a starport can we have the ticket to participate in normal interstellar trade.
And that’s not all.
The starport is also the basis for a series of space technologies.
It is not easy to build a starship on the surface of a planet. It is not impossible, but it is very difficult. After completion, the starship is like a town. To launch such a huge thing from the surface environment into the universe, not to mention the energy consumed, the process alone is a huge destruction to the surface environment.
Generally speaking, the main construction of a starship will be carried out in an interstellar dock. At best, some key components will be built on the surface and then sent to the interstellar dock.
The interstellar dock must, of course, be built in the star port.
In addition, the starport is a very important part of the planet's orbital defense.
Because a starport does not require mobility and does not need to fly around in space like a starship, it does not require a power system and can be equipped with extremely heavy armor and powerful firepower.
Of course, at that level, it should not be called a star port, but a star fortress.
Moreover, if sufficient anti-orbital firepower is built on the surface and combined with star fortresses, then the entire planet will not be able to passively withstand attacks when encountering a space fleet.
On the contrary, as long as the enemy dares to approach and the fleet is not strong enough, the anti-orbital firepower on the planet combined with the powerful combat power of the star fortress will make any space fleet that attempts to attack by force experience what despair means.
Whether from the perspective of trade, future interstellar fleet construction, planetary defense... the construction of a starport is the foundation of the foundation.
This is a must.
The only problem is that after taking a closer look, Gu Hang discovered that the construction cost of this star port was very high.
Its black box is the largest among the many technical black boxes that Gu Hang has obtained so far.
However, in reality, this black box can only produce some important parts needed by various star ports.
However, the final assembly and basic construction work still needs to be done by regular people.
In fact, it's not just the Starport, the Falcon Speedboat and the Lion tank I just drew are all similar. The black box is not that big, and you can't just click it and pull out a huge war machine. It will produce many parts according to the program, and it still needs to be assembled.
For the Fengshen and Xiongshi tanks, this is not a big problem. The parts generated by the black box are not many in total, and the difficulty of assembly is very low, so it can be done quickly.
But Starport is another matter.
Building a star port is equivalent to building a city in space, in the orbit of a planet.
Even with the help of the black box, it can only be said that the construction difficulty is greatly reduced, but the saving in construction time will not be too great.
Moreover, track construction requires sufficient construction technology, workers' individual equipment, construction technology, site selection knowledge... all of these are challenges.
But fortunately, there are complete solutions for these things in the [Starport Technology Blueprint].
It depends on the implementation.
Looking at the information, Gu Hang pondered for a long time and finally came to a conclusion.
Even if one were to build a relatively rudimentary, lowest-level star port, removing weapon defenses, energy shields, hardened armor, and starship manufacturing capabilities, and only retaining the commercial attributes and the ability to dock ships, the cost of building such a star port would probably be over 100 million tax coins.
It is equivalent to twenty years of imperial taxes on Angry Owl Star.
If you want to add various functions on it, the cost will be astronomical.
According to the current situation of Angry Owl Star, it will definitely not be built in a short period of time.
But this does not mean that Gu Hang intends to postpone this matter.
Precisely because of the high cost and long construction period, this matter needs to be done earlier.
After all, Gu Hang's position as governor is not a one-time deal. Unless something unexpected happens, he will be in this position for life. There is no such thing as a term limit. This kind of thing that will benefit the present generation must be done.
First, we need to select the corresponding site and build the ground engineering of the star port; then we need to build the space elevator upwards; based on the orbital end of the space elevator, we need to start building the space station platform, and then we need to use the space station platform as the starting point to gradually expand and build the star port...
The project consists of three phases in total, and Gu Hang plans to start the first phase first.
…
Apart from the [Starport Technology Blueprint], there is not much to say about the other three technologies.
[Warp Identification System] is a prerequisite system for building a starship.
If the starships of the human empire want to travel across the stars in hyperspace, they must pass through the astral tunnels that connect two star systems. This tunnel, which is filled with psychic energy and formed with the power of the subspace, exists naturally and is opened by the Star Guidance Hall of the Imperial Psionic Order.
This identification system is the supporting technology. Only with it can we find the entrance and exit for star tunnel migration.
Gu Hang doesn't need this technology at the moment. Starport technology has just been drawn out, and there is no sign of building a starship yet.
But it’s good to be able to draw it, as it is the necessary technical reserve for building large ships in the future.
There is no need to say much about the [Chainsword], it just adds one more weapon configuration to the Space Marines.
At best, it can be lightweight and have a weaker power, such as weakening the bolt gun and providing it to the elite of the special operations brigade. After wearing exoskeleton armor, they are also able to use the beggar's version of the chainsword and bolt gun.
As for the last [Reflector Orbital Air Defense System], as the name suggests, this is an active orbital defense system, the most important of which is of course the 'Reflector' laser cannon.
This is even an energy weapon that can be installed on starships, and the Claw Tiger is equipped with ten of them.
In addition to the Reflector laser cannon itself, there is also a complete set of air defense systems, including fire control, radar, identification, precision interception and other functions.
Its main goal is to conduct air defense operations and shoot down units such as airplanes and speedboats one by one. It can also be used to intercept firepower descending from orbit, such as surgical knife missiles, kinetic cannons, etc. If you want to wipe out Fuxing City or Weixing City, the Reflector can intercept them in the air.
Of course, if you really want to lay it flat and use it as a normal laser cannon, that's not impossible.
It's just a bit of an overkill.
The so-called anti-aircraft guns were put down flat and military courts were held. This was of course a joke, but it also indirectly showed that this kind of ship-borne artillery, even if it was only of S-type specification, was powerful enough to break open a city.
…
Wu Jiarong was stunned when she saw the pile of black boxes in front of her.
In the past, whenever the Governor took out a new black box, she was sincerely happy.
Although she was far from being able to crack these black boxes, she was always able to gain something by studying them and the high-precision and perfect creations they produced, thereby improving her knowledge of mechanics.
This is an extremely important achievement.
Her knowledge level, which had been stagnant, had made great progress in this year. She was originally considered a technical specialist by the Mechanicus, and at most she had accumulated so many years of knowledge to become a formal mechanic.
But now, she felt that she was more capable than those common mechanical priests in the Mechanicus.
Originally, when the Governor recruited the engine prophet named Hu Ke, she was a little worried, wondering if she might be replaced?
But then, she quickly stopped thinking that way.
That guy was obviously not more trusted by the Governor than himself.
Moreover, with this rate of improvement, it won't be long before her own level reaches the level of the Engine Prophet, which would be no worse than Hu Ke.
These are all thanks to the black boxes of many different types and products.
Logically speaking, the more black boxes the Governor brings, the better.
But... there are too many!
She simply couldn't figure it out!
In the Mechanicus, only a few big guys have the opportunity to collect a black box, and have the chance to experience the black box and the perfect creation; even in the headquarters of the Mechanicus, there are a large number of black boxes, but there are even more people queuing up to study them.
And I, Wu Jiarong, have to spend a long time every morning when I wake up, struggling to decide which one I want to study among countless black boxes.
This is really annoying.
However, she did not delay her work.
After listening to Gu Hang's introduction and then actually checking and testing it, she gave her own assessment.
"The power grid, two types of construction machinery, and agricultural machinery can all be put into large-scale production soon. However, the relevant work still needs to be linked with the Development Department and the Production Department to maximize their effects."
"The Chainsword, Reflector Interception System, and Lion Tank are all a little bit difficult, but we should be able to mass-produce them now. The most difficult part of the Lion Tank is the anti-gravity engine, but we already have some in reserve."
"As for the Starport Technology Blueprint...I need more time to fully understand it."
Gu Hang touched his chin and nodded.
"We can also use the black box to build the warp identification system first... How much can this thing be produced using the black box?"
“One every two months.”
"So little?" Gu Hang was still a little dissatisfied.
"Ah?" Wu Jiarong was confused.
No, what’s there to be dissatisfied about if I can produce one in a month?
This thing is used on starships, but we don't even have the technology to build starships yet.
With a black box, one can be produced almost for free every two months, and with six units produced in a year, a lot of money can be made just from exports.
Gu Hang seemed to know that he might have gone too far: "Okay, that's it...then put it into production as it should be. As for the Starport technology blueprint...I will assign tasks to the development department. Start with the first phase of the ground engineering. I don't want to delay it for too long."
"I see."
(End of this chapter)
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