Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 213

Chapter 213, Starport Technology

Among these four medium and high-level technologies, Gu Hang was immediately attracted by the [Starport Blueprint], which attracted all his attention.

Starport!

Gu Hang originally thought that this thing would be in a higher-level technology pool, but he didn’t expect to get it in the elite level!

Its importance is too high.

At present, the connection between the Angry Owl Star and space is very weak, and it 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 large demand for interstellar trade cannot do without a “starport”.

As the name suggests, this is a kind of interstellar port, built on the planet’s synchronous orbit, which can facilitate the docking of foreign starships; ships can be inspected and repaired; and cargo can be transported more conveniently and quickly.

The difference between having a starport and not having a starport, using the analogy of the planet, is that if there is a starport, cargo ships can dock at the port and cargo can be transported down by truck; if there is no starport, it can only be transported by small boats and speedboats, and the efficiency is too poor.

The flow of materials between the starport and the ground mainly relies on two methods: orbital traction spacecraft and space elevator.

These two supporting facilities are included in the technical blueprint drawn by the lottery.

The orbital traction spacecraft needs to have a launch site on the ground and be connected to the space starport 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. It is very fast and has a large load capacity.

The space elevator is another solution. One or more physical channels from the ground to the space starport are built. The “elevator” has kinetic energy and moves up and down in the physical orbit.

The main difference between the two solutions 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 the two starports and the ground of the planet do not conflict.

It is possible to 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.

Force field tunnels and traction ships do not have to be built at the corresponding locations of synchronous orbits; they can be left unused when not needed, so the loss is relatively low; when a large amount of transportation is needed and the carrying capacity of the space elevator is insufficient, the traction ship can be used, after all, it is more expensive to use it than the space elevator.

With the star port, the Angry Owl Star has the qualifications to participate in interstellar trade, unlike the previous business with the Beautiful Girl, which could only buy some high-value but small things and transport them bit by bit through transport ships; the transaction between the Beautiful Girl Caravan and Blackbird Heavy Industry lasted for three months.

If there was a star port, it would not take so long, and it would be done in one or two days.

That was because the Beautiful Girl came to support the Angry Owl Star, and there were some other factors behind the business with Blackbird Heavy Industry, so it had to endure the three-month loading and unloading time. If you were a normal businessman, people would see that you don’t even have a star port and rely on transport planes to transport goods… forget it.

Unless it is a small high-value commodity, people will do business with you, but don’t even think about trading in bulk commodities.

Only with a star port can you get a ticket to participate in normal interstellar trade.

Moreover, it is not only that.

The star port is also the basis of 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 bad. After the completion of the starship, it is like a town. To launch such a behemoth from the surface environment into the universe, not to mention the energy consumed, the process alone is a huge damage to the surface environment.

Generally speaking, the main construction of a starship will be carried out in an interstellar dock. At best, there are some key components that will be built on the surface and then sent to the interstellar dock.

And the interstellar dock, of course, must be built in a star port.

In addition, the star port is also a very important part of the orbital defense of the planet.

Thanks to the fact that the star port does not require mobility, unlike a starship that has to fly around in space, it does not need a power system, and it can be equipped with extremely heavy armor and powerful firepower.

Of course, at that point, it should not be called a star port, but a star fortress.

Moreover, if enough anti-orbital firepower is built on the surface, combined with the star fortress, then the entire planet will not be able to passively take a beating 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 feel what despair is.

Whether from the perspective of trade, future interstellar fleet construction, planetary defense… From all aspects, the construction of the star port is the foundation of the foundation.

This is a must.

The only problem is that after Gu Hang looked at it carefully, he found 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 fact, this black box can only produce some important parts needed for various star ports.

And the final assembly and basic construction work still have to be done by conventional hands.

In fact, not only the star port is like this, but also the Fengshen speed attack boat and the lion tank that was just drawn are similar. The black box is not that big. It will not pull out a huge war machine with just one click. It will produce many parts according to the program, but they still need to be assembled.

For the Fengshen and Lion tanks, the problem is not big. The parts generated by the black box are not many in total, and the difficulty of assembly is also very low, and it can be done quickly.

But the star port is another matter.

Building a star port is tantamount to building a city in space and on 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 of construction time will not be too much.

What’s more, orbital construction requires sufficient construction technology. The workers’ single equipment, construction technology, site selection knowledge… these are all challenges.

But fortunately, these things also have a full set of solutions in the [Star Port Technology Blueprint].

It depends on the implementation problem.

Looking at these materials, Gu Hang calculated for a long time and finally got a result.

Even if we build a relatively simple and lowest-level star port, removing weapon defense, energy shield, 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 may be hundreds of millions of tax coins. It

is equivalent to the imperial tax of the Angry Owl Star for twenty years.

If we want to pile various functions on it, the cost will be astronomical.

According to the current situation of the Angry Owl Star, it will definitely not be built in a short time.

But this does not mean that Gu Hang intends to postpone this matter.

It is precisely because of the high cost and long construction period that this matter needs to be done earlier.

After all, Gu Hang’s position as governor is not a one-time deal. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the governor for life. There is no such thing as a term of office. This kind of thing that will benefit the present must be done.

First, the corresponding site selection and ground engineering of the star port will be done; then the space elevator part will be done upwards; relying on the orbital end of the space elevator, the space station platform will be built, and then the space station platform will be used as the origin to gradually expand and build the star port…

In total, there are three phases of the project, and Gu Hang plans to start the first phase first.

…

Except for the [Star Port Technology Blueprint], there is nothing much to say about the other three technologies.

[Warp Identification System] is a prerequisite system for building starships.

If the starships of the Human Empire want to conduct interstellar voyages in hyperspace, they must pass through the star tunnel connecting two star systems. This tunnel, which is full of psychic energy and formed with the help of the power of the subspace, exists naturally and is opened by the Star Guidance Hall of the Imperial Psychic Order.

And this identification system is a supporting technology. Only with it can the entrance and exit of the star tunnel be found.

Gu Hang doesn’t need this technology at the moment. Starport technology has just been drawn, and there is no sign of building starships.

But it’s good to be able to draw it, as it is a necessary technical reserve for building large ships in the future.

There is no need to talk much about the [Chainsaw Sword], it just adds one more weapon configuration to the Space Marines.

At best, it can be lightweight and weakened, like weakening the bolter 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 chainsaw sword and bolter.

As for the last [Reflector Orbital Air Defense System], as the name suggests, this is an active orbital defense system, and the most important of them is of course the ‘Reflector’ laser cannon.

This is even an energy weapon that can be installed on a starship, 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 system supporting it, including fire control, radar, identification, precision interception and a series of other functions.

Its main goal is to conduct air defense operations, shoot down aircraft and speedboats, one shot at a time; it can also be used to intercept firepower coming from orbit, such as surgical knife missiles and kinetic cannons. If you want to clean up Fuxing City or Weixing City, then the reflector can intercept it in the air.

Of course, if you have to lay it flat and use it as a normal laser cannon, that’s not impossible.

It’s just a bit of a waste of talent.

The so-called anti-aircraft guns are laid flat, military courts, this is of course a joke, but it also indirectly shows that this kind of ship-borne artillery, even if it is only S-type specifications, its power is enough to break the city.

…

Wu Jiarong was numb 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 could always gain something by studying them and the high-precision and perfect creations they produced, and then her mechanical knowledge improved.

This is an extremely important gain.

Her knowledge level, which had stagnated, has made great progress in this year. Originally, she was recognized by the Mechanicum as a technical specialist, and at most she had accumulated so many years of knowledge to the level of a formal mechanic.

But now, she feels that she is more capable than the common mechanical priests in the Mechanicum.

Originally, when the Governor General recruited the Engine Prophet named Hu Ke, she was a little worried, wondering if she might be replaced?

But later, she soon stopped thinking so.

That guy was obviously not trusted by the Governor General as much as she was.

Moreover, at this rate of improvement, it would not take long for her own level to reach the level of the Engine Prophet, which would be no worse than Hu Ke.

All of this is thanks to the many black boxes of different types and products.

Logically speaking, the more black boxes the Governor General brings, the better.

But… there are too many!

She can’t study them all!

In the Mechanicus, only some big guys have the opportunity to collect a black box, and have the opportunity to experience the black box and perfect creation; even in the headquarters of the Mechanicus, there are a lot of black boxes, but there are more people waiting in line to study.

And I, Wu Jiarong, have to spend a long time every morning to make a difficult decision among countless black boxes which one I want to study.

This is really annoying.

However, she did not delay the business.

After listening to Gu Hang’s introduction, and then actually checking and testing it, she gave her own evaluation.

“The power grid, two types of engineering machinery, and agricultural machinery can all be put into large-scale production soon. However, the related work still needs to be contacted with the Development Department and the Production Department to maximize their effects.”

“The Chainsaw Sword, the Reflector Interception System, and the Lion Tank are all a little difficult, but we should also have the ability to mass produce them now. The most difficult point of the Lion Tank is the anti-gravity engine, but we already have some reserves.”

“As for the Starport Technology Blueprint… I need more time to understand it thoroughly.”

Gu Hang touched his chin and nodded.

“The warp identification system can also be built with a black box first… What is the output of this thing using a 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 one can be built in a month?

This thing is used on starships, and we don’t even have the technology to build starships now.

With a black box, one can be made for free every two months, and six can be made in a year. We can make a lot of money just from exports.

Gu Hang seemed to know that he might have gone a little too far: “Okay, that’s it… Then those that should be put into production will be put into production. As for the starport technology blueprint… I will assign tasks to the development department. Let’s start the first phase of ground engineering. I don’t want to delay it too long.”

“I understand.”

(End of this chapter)