Chapter 21 Grabbing the Rice Bowl_1
In 2014, international commercial aerospace companies were still in a developmental stage, the rockets from major spacefaring nations were highly sought-after, and everyone was vying for a share of the market.
Ma's Falcon 9 would achieve its first successful recovery by the end of the next year; although it had already started commercial launches by then, the success rate wasn't great, and it was still very much a game of chance.
Domestically... the demand for satellite launches was just as robust.
For the top universities in the country and companies with space needs, waiting for rockets was a real hassle.
Firstly, it was expensive, as the launch fees charged per kilogram were very high, so there was pressure to reduce the volume and weight of the satellites.
Secondly, it was difficult because using the existing domestic rockets with their capacity for launching small satellites was overkill, but the price wouldn't decrease; one satellite and ten satellites were charged the same as long as they were launched on the same rocket.
So they had to wait and group orders to try and spread out the costs of the rocket.
Thirdly, there was a lack of suitable rockets. The capability of the Long March 2 and 3, which could carry several or over a dozen tons, was too great; the combined annual domestic demand for satellite launches might not even reach these weights.
Moreover, different satellites require different orbits, so you cannot just launch them all together and be done with it; the launch windows also differ.
In response to this situation, the Modu team designed the CZ-6 with the goal of creating a rocket that was structurally simple, had small payload capacity, and was inexpensive, to meet this segment of the demand.
The CZ-6's first stage was powered by a single YF100 engine, with Core Stage One having a diameter of 3.35 meters, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) payload capacity of about 1.5 tons, and a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) payload capacity.
At present, universities in the northeast, Shaanxi, and the Capital, as well as several military industrial enterprises, designed small satellites specifically for the CZ-6.
According to the plan, the CZ-6 would make its maiden flight with these satellites in a year and deliver them to a 700 km SSO orbit.
The CZ-6 was still undergoing body testing at the time, and the YF100 had only been accepted for a few years and was still being improved.
While these universities and enterprises took their time building satellites and then waited for the rocket, their attention was captured by the New Yuan 1A.
Especially after seeing the 400 kg satellite from the Southern Machinery Institute, they were green with envy.
Why? Because the SSO payload capacity of the CZ-6 was only 700 kg, and the total weight of the payloads for its first flight couldn't exceed that figure even when combining over twenty satellites.
Now, an institute they considered middling had the luxury of using up 400 kg of payload, and it only cost them ten million?!
Just over 20,000 RMB per kilogram? Considering that the CZ-6 quoted a price of 64,000 per kilogram, that was several times more expensive.
After the Southern Machinery Institute's satellite began orbiting the earth, the institute garnered a lot of prestige, publishing numerous papers and becoming a hot topic in academic circles.
Ordinary people were envious, but to the truly top-tier universities, this seemed like an egregious waste of resources.
All that weight and volume for just a space radiation detector? And half of it was batteries?
As they say, jealousy can warp one's perspective. These universities and enterprises were keeping an eye on New Yuan Aeronautics, and in a few days, the official website was updated.
Androff's New Yuan 1A, B, and C models were listed, and it was announced that New Yuan Aeronautics would officially undertake commercial aerospace launches using these three rockets.
Among them, the New Yuan 1C featured a new 3.5-meter-diameter rocket body, a SSO payload capacity of 770 kg, and the lowest quote... starting from 39,900 RMB!
This rocket, almost a duplicate of the CZ-6, had its price slashed by a third!
As for the fact that the modified versions hadn't flown yet, that didn't matter, as the CZ-6 scheduled to fly the next year would also be on its maiden flight, with no difference in risk.
Besides, the New Yuan 1A had already flown, so a modified version should technically have higher reliability than the brand-new CZ-6.
On the first day of September, the factory received an inquiry letter from a military industrial enterprise in the south, asking for specific technical details about the New Yuan 1C.
To this truly first order, Lin Ju attached great importance and had Androff personally reply.
In the following week, the two parties communicated by email for a few days, after which the other party expressed an intention to inspect.
Lin Ju readily agreed; at the time, the factory had just been upgraded to Class C, which was perfect for showing off its capabilities.
After the system team's upgrade and renovation, the new plant's floor area had tripled in size and now had the capability to process rocket bodies up to 6 meters in diameter.
New R&D facilities were added, including advanced 3D additive printers that wouldn't mature until seven or eight years later, as well as cutting-edge machine tools, albeit of unknown brand.
At least in terms of infrastructure, New Yuan Aeronautics' manufacturing capability was already on par with, if not slightly exceeding, that of the Aerospace Authority; it was just lacking in scale and accumulated technology.
When representatives from the military factory visited New Yuan Aerospace, they nearly doubted whether they had flown to the wrong place.
Why does this feel almost identical to the rocket manufacturing factory in Jingu, yet it seems even more advanced?
At the moment, the factory is manufacturing rocket engines to be delivered to Institute Six, and for the first time, they are trying out parts processed with their newly added 3D printer.
For instance, in the past, rocket nozzles were made by first creating an elliptical model, then placing it on a spinning forge to be extruded into the final product.
Now, the printer starts from zero on a base, gradually producing a product that meets specifications, including some of its parts and framework, all processed in one go, thus increasing efficiency and reducing both welding steps and weight.
One word—advanced!
Representative Chen," said the Deputy Manager in charge of reception, slapping his chest with pride, "such an engine now only takes 86 hours to produce in its entirety, and we can produce four at a time. On average, this means less than 22 hours per engine. In other words, we can produce a 120-ton thrust LOX-kerosene engine every day on average at our factory!
It will only take us 3 days to complete the 3 engines ordered by Institute Six!"
The Deputy Manager in charge of reception was beating his chest, utterly proud of himself.
"Impressive, truly impressive!"
Military factory representative Chen Wang was completely convinced of New Yuan Aerospace Propulsion Company's technical strength, clapping incessantly in admiration.
If even the space agency is buying from them, what's there to worry about?
Little did he know that the Deputy Manager was full of hot air—the 86-hour theoretical production time was accurate, but due to limited experience and a shortage of skilled workers, it had a lot of fluff and only existed in theory. Still, it was enough to command respect even so.
Manager Hu, may I ask how much does a single launch of the New Yuan 1C cost?"
"Not much, exactly 30 million RMB. The more the payload, the more cost-effective it gets. The lowest price isn't just marketing—it's actually 40,000 RMB per kilogram.
Of course, this is the price even if the payload is light. After all, each rocket has a fixed production cost that we cannot change."
Chen Wang nodded without objection. Rocket transportation is not like a taxi with a meter; you can't reuse it or cut corners with smaller payloads. If he were to launch his 110 kilogram payload alone, the cost per kilogram would escalate to 280,000 RMB, which was clearly not feasible.
However, since he was representing the military factory, he had anticipated this.
"Our payload is only 110 kilograms, but that was the initial plan. If the unit price is 40,000 RMB, this number would double.
Moreover, there are three or four other companies with similar needs to ours, all aiming for a SSO sun-synchronous orbit. Together, we would have close to 600 kilograms. If we can keep the total cost under 25 million RMB, we can accept it.
However, this launch has a time requirement; it must reach orbit before December this year. But I think that's not a problem for you."
Chen Wang didn't haggle for once because the price of 40,000 RMB per kilogram is virtually unmatched worldwide, unless you're considering a LEO low Earth orbit, only then domestically pooled orders might just touch this figure.
New Yuan Aeronautics received the intention and reported back to Lin Ju.
Lin Ju pondered carefully. If the 600-kilogram payload reached space and fetched 25 million RMB, the profit margin would be around 7 million RMB. But when considering the R&D investment for the modifications of New Yuan 1, it would only yield a profit of about 5 million RMB.
He didn't have the slightest urge to load all the improvement costs into the price, instead he felt he was being too kind.
Although the profit was a little less, it was after all their first commercial order, a discount of sorts.
A day later, Chen Wang saw Deputy Manager Hu with an embarrassed look on his face:
"To be honest, the manufacturing cost of our rockets is already over 20 million RMB, and 30 million is a very low number to start with."
Chen Wang: I believe you (sarcastically).
"But, as the first commercial customer to choose us, Chairman Lin said 26 million RMB, we make no profit but gain a friend.
And the rocket will choose a launch window within 2 months. As long as the satellite is ready, there will be no issues, and the launch insurance is entirely up to you."
Well, space launches do have insurance, at least for now.
In a few more years, several devastating failures in private spaceflight would put one Swiss insurance company out of the running, unable to bear the losses.
The price of 26 million RMB just touched Chen Wang's highest price point, going a little over.
With this price, he could go back and negotiate with other companies, pressing the price and reducing his own cost to slightly over 40,000 RMB per kilogram, which seemed feasible.
Just as the two parties were in perfect harmony, a leader from Institute Eight who was diligently pushing forward the CZ-6 suddenly sneezed, shook his head, and looking out the window, muttered:
"Who's trying to harm us again?"