Chapter 268 Selene, Start!
ESA.
In the past three months since the Selene Plan was proposed, Italy and France have been lobbying the remaining nine countries hard, and finally achieved some success.
In addition to them, Spain, Germany, Germany, Henan, Norway, and Switzerland have expressed definite support and are willing to provide money and technology, while the other countries are mainly wavering.
In fact, the biggest target is Dai Ying, but Dai Ying's current economy is not very good. She still has ideas for the Selene plan, but she is worried about the execution ability of ESA.
After all, ESA is not an alliance government, and it cannot allow the plan to be implemented in all countries with ironclad consistency. There will be too many surprises.
In the past, too many joint projects in Europe were carried out. Either there were too many variables in the process, or the project was delayed due to poor coordination and budget overruns. In short, few of them went smoothly.
The two industrial powers, Germany and Mao, agreed, and their own leaders believed that the technical problems were not big, but the budget was difficult to say.
According to preliminary estimates, the cost of a heavy rocket launch using the Veneto-1 rocket bundled with four EAP boosters is about US$250 million, of which the solid boosters are mainly consumption costs. The core-stage Veneto-1 can Recycling saves money.
The cost of launching a LEO heavy rocket with a capacity of more than 60 tons is only US$250 million, which is very satisfactory to ESA, and the cost of two rockets to land on the moon is only US$500 million.
In the first phase of the Selene project, four heavy rockets need to be launched before the first landing on the moon. One is a test rocket, one is carrying a manned spacecraft around the moon, one is launching a lander, and one is launching a formal landing on the moon. Manned spacecraft.
The lander then docks with the manned spacecraft in lunar orbit, completes the moon landing mission and returns.
Veneto 1, which bundles four boosters, is temporarily named the HVE (Heavy-Veneto-EAP) rocket and will cost a total of US$2 billion.
The lander is led by China and Germany, with research funding of approximately US$1 billion.
As for manned spacecraft, ESA is still struggling.
Japan wants to resurrect the Hermes space shuttle it abandoned during the Cold War. It has a mass of about 25 tons, can carry 4 to 6 astronauts, and can be sent to the lunar orbit by the HVE rocket.
The preliminary demonstration research of the Hermes space shuttle has been sufficient. As long as funds are allocated, it can enter the actual development stage. It is expected to make its first flight in 2019, and there will be no problem in catching up with the moon landing in 2020.
The United States and Germany prefer the traditional "Kepler" manned spacecraft. Its size and layout are similar to the mainstream second-generation manned spacecraft. It can carry up to 7 people and can carry 4 people on lunar missions.
This is where the disagreement lies.
This is the twelfth time Antoine, the representative of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has held a demonstration meeting for the Selene Project. He must determine which direction to choose at this meeting and cannot continue to argue.
He looked at the more than 20 representatives present and read out the evaluation reports of the two options:
"The Hermes Project will be 80% of the development tasks by China. It is estimated that the total cost will be 2 billion to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars. ESA countries will need to bear 1 billion to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. We guarantee to complete the first flight and the lunar mission in 2019. ,
The Hermes space shuttle will be launched using the Veneto rocket, with a single launch cost not exceeding US$300 million, and can be used for near-Earth missions and ISS maintenance;
The Kepler project is expected to cost about US$1 billion. It will achieve its first flight in 2018. It is reusable and adopts a maritime recovery solution. China is responsible for 70% of the development tasks. ESA has raised US$500 million in funding and will use Orion's ESM service module. The overall mass is 21 tons, and the cost of a single launch is no more than US$250 million. "
Well, the important factor for China and Germany to support the Kepler spacecraft is that it is cheap. The Kepler spacecraft is a weird connector. You can directly use the ESM service module developed by Europe for the Orion spacecraft. If you set up a spacecraft, you can own it.
This saves a lot of expenses, and the cost is only half of the Hermes project, which makes the other ESA countries very excited.
Of course the country wants the space shuttle. They are the strongest and have the strongest desire for independence. One country is responsible for almost 80% of ESA’s launch missions. How can they not keep up with everyone else’s space shuttle?
Italy is doing quite well in Europe, and its horizons are also high, and it supports the space shuttle.
But the opinions of the remaining 20 member states are also important, so they can only vote by a show of hands.
Badis raised his hand first:
"Italy can provide US$500 million in funding for the Hermes Project. Let's discuss the results today. If the number of supporters from one party reaches 15, it will be passed directly."
Representative Dai Ying: "Wait a minute, if we follow the original budget of US$10 billion, how many people can we send to the moon?"
Antoine: "If the development costs are included, after the first mission is completed, there should be 6 to 7 manned missions, and a total of 14 to 16 astronauts will be sent to the lunar surface.
The cost of a subsequent mission is approximately US$700 to US$800 million, with the lander carrying two people at a time. "
Representative from Spain: “In other words, if each of our 22 member countries has an astronaut on the moon, it will require at least 11 launch missions, and each astronaut on the moon will cost an average of 300 to 400 million US dollars. , no more than $9 billion in total, right?”
Badis: "Around 15 to 20 billion US dollars is enough for us to allow every ESA member state to set foot on the lunar surface."
Antoine: "I want to remind you that the more missions there are, the more cost-effective the Hermes space shuttle is. The Kepler spacecraft has to throw away the ESM service module worth $240 million for each mission, and even if it is mass-produced, it will not be less than $150 million, and the Hermes space shuttle can save this money."
"Hmm..."
The representatives of various countries attending the meeting were all thinking. Europe is rich. It is not difficult for 22 countries to raise $20 billion. 20 billion euros is not much, especially the first phase of the Selene plan will take at least 4 to 5 years, and the pressure of batches is less.
However, this is different from the investment in people's livelihood. Selene has not achieved much return, which is destined to be limited investment.
The meeting on November 20 lasted a whole day. There were three recesses in the middle for representatives of various countries to contact the country, and finally the final vote was held at 19:00.
John Diritsch, director of the European Space Agency, stood up and said seriously:
"Now we will vote on the first phase of the Selene plan and request the European Space Agency to invest a total of 9 billion euros in the plan in the next four years."
The 22 representatives voted unanimously.
Dilitsch nodded and continued with the next item:
"The next item is to decide on the development of manned lunar spacecraft: there are two options: the Hermes space shuttle and the Kepler spacecraft. If it is the former, an additional investment of 1 billion euros will be required. The vote will begin now."
Antoine immediately raised his hand and looked around at the others.
"One, two, three... sixteen... great!"
Dilitsch quickly confirmed the result. Among the 22 representatives, 16 countries supported the Hermes space shuttle plan, 2 representatives abstained, and 4 representatives supported the Kepler spacecraft.
Germany also supported the Hermes space shuttle.
John Diritsch: "Then, the first phase of the Selene plan was approved at the ESA meeting on November 20, with a total investment of 10 billion euros. France, Italy and Germany are the main member countries for the development of the Hermes space shuttle, and Italy and Germany are responsible for the development of the lander. The remaining tasks will be determined in the next week.
I declare that the European manned lunar landing and reusable spacecraft plan has officially begun. ESA will send astronauts from every member country to the surface of the moon!"
Batis excitedly brushed his hands over his scalp, slowly stood up, and hugged the representatives on both sides.
No matter what difficulties the future cooperation will encounter, the Selene plan does paint a bright future for the ESA. Everyone began to applaud, and the applause became stronger and stronger.