Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 545 The Middle Eastern Prince's Dilemma: Will the Satellite Launch Be Successful?

Zona wanted to ask the French aerospace expert what he thought, but Lambert couldn't give her a clear answer either.

Lambert's mind had completely shut down.

Since arriving on Tenglong Island, the once arrogant French aerospace experts have been repeatedly humiliated, and quite severely so.

Seeing this, Zona also gave up the idea of ​​communicating with Lambert and turned her attention to Hu Jiangshan.

Hu Jiangshan agreed to give Zuo Na an interview the next day, which made Zuo Na very satisfied. She felt that the trip was worthwhile and completely forgot that she had come to Tenglong Island to find out some dirt on the island.

Meanwhile, Ahmed and Yarham had rested enough in the reception room.

At this moment, it would be a lie to say that the two of them weren't completely relaxed.

This satellite is not only the culmination of Mine Technology's efforts, but also highly valued by the UAE royal family, who have mobilized all available resources to ensure its successful launch into its designated orbit.

For Maien Technology, the safest approach would be to partner with SpaceX.

First, SpeyX's technical capabilities are indeed very strong. It is the world's leading commercial space company with a very high success rate for satellite launches.

Secondly, even if the satellite launch fails due to some unforeseen circumstances, since it was done by SpeysX, which has a good commercial reputation, no one will say anything. If the chosen partner is not the problem, then it can only be attributed to bad luck.

Now that Maintech has abandoned its cooperation with SpaceX and instead partnered with Tenglong Island Space Launch Site and Starry Sky Glory to launch satellites, it is actually under tremendous pressure.

Ahmed and Yarham can be considered the driving force behind this cooperation. They were actually very uneasy, wondering if their choice was the right one.

Ahmed took a sip of coffee: "Yalem, do you think we can succeed?"

Yarham gave a wry smile: "Of course I hope for success, but we also need to prepare for the worst."

"That's true, but even if the satellite launch fails, so what?"

“We will be punished, blamed, and perhaps we will resign.”

"It shouldn't be that serious, right?"

"How is it now? Has the satellite entered the payload bay? Perhaps we should go and check on it."

Just then, Ahmed's phone received a message—a video call request.

The other party was none other than Prince Rashid, a member of the UAE royal family.

There are many princes in the United Arab Emirates, and Rashid is considered one of the more ambitious ones.

In fact, Rashid is the most important investor in Maintech, and he attaches great importance to Maintech's development.

Ahmed and Yarham's decisive choice to cooperate with the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site was largely due to Rashid's support, which convinced the other major shareholders.

However, it was clear to everyone that Rashid was also anxious and worried that the satellite launch would be ruined, which would mean huge sums of money.

It's said that the princes of the UAE are rich.

With a cloth on my head, I'm the richest person in the world.

But even the wealthiest tycoon wouldn't willingly be a sucker or a fool.

Especially ambitious people like Rashid understand the importance of spending every penny wisely.

In recent days, Rashid has been organizing more and more video conferences, and yesterday he held two video conferences with Ahmed and Yarham, among others.

Here we go again.

Ahmed accepted the video conference request, and several people appeared on the other end, one of whom was Prince Rashid. Sitting next to the prince was a Western-looking man with half-gray hair who looked to be in his fifties or sixties.

Ahmed and Yarham exchanged a glance, clearly recognizing the man.

The man's name was Kyle Mitchell. He was also an aerospace expert who had previously worked as a senior engineer and led a team at the US space agency.

A few days ago, Prince Rashid appointed him as a senior advisor, and it was Mitchell who pushed for the negotiations with Speth X.

Later, because Spes X's attitude was too arrogant, even angering Prince Rashid, negotiations with Spes X were suspended, and other options were chosen. By chance, Hu Jiangshan was met in Tyrande, which eventually led to cooperation with the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site.

Mitchell had completely disappeared during this time, and Ahmed and Yarham breathed a sigh of relief. It was best for such an advisor not to get involved; getting involved would only make things worse.

Just when I feared, Kyle Mitchell appeared by Prince Rashid's side again at such a crucial moment.

That guy is like a persistent ghost.

Of course, no matter how much Ahmed and Yarham secretly complained, they still had to keep smiling on the surface and even greet Mitchell in a friendly manner.

"It's been a long time, Professor Mitchell."

Mitchell nodded coldly.

In fact, as everyone knows, Western elites like Mitchell look down on "Middle Eastern tycoons," believing that Middle Easterners are all fools with too much money and can't do anything worthwhile.

Mitchell did only one thing: he tried his best to get Rashid to spend all the money on the United States, regardless of which commercial space company it was, as long as it was from the United States.

Mitchell's logic isn't wrong; when it comes to commercial spaceflight, the United States is indeed currently the undisputed leader.

Other countries, such as China, are also developing private commercial spaceflight, but they are all in the early stages and do not have a mature commercial spaceflight company like SpaceX.

The problem is that at this time, the United States seems to only have SpeyX, which has a mature integrated satellite launch solution, and other companies have not yet made a significant impact. The main rocket is also under research and has not yet been put into commercial operation.

Therefore, it was quite normal for Spes X, a large company, to bully its customers, which is why Prince Rashid could not tolerate it and terminated negotiations with Spes X.

At this moment, Prince Rashid asked, "Ahmed, Yarham, are you on Dragon Island now?"

Ahmed nodded: "Yes, Your Highness, we are at the space launch site on Tenglong Island."

As he spoke, Ahmed picked up his phone and used the camera to show Rashid the surroundings, especially the view outside the window, where the rocket launch pad was quite spectacular.

Rashid laughed: "What a pity. If I had nothing to do right now, I would definitely go there to see for myself how advanced the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site is."

When Rashid spoke, Mitchell showed a dismissive expression.

Mitchell didn't speak Arabic, so Rashid communicated with Ahmed and others in British English, which was quite considerate of his feelings.

Ahmed then described the current situation.

Prince Rashid said, "Is the Chinese team currently debugging the satellite?" "Yes, Your Highness."

"Is it going well?"

"Well... they've just started, we'll go find out in a bit."

"Alright, you need to give me accurate information in a bit. I need to have the whole picture. I want everything to be under our control, understand?"

"Understood, Your Highness, we will take care of it immediately."

Prince Rashid waved his hand: "Wait a moment, no rush. Professor Mitchell wants to talk to us about something."

Mitchell cleared his throat and said, "Okay, I'll just jump to conclusions: if you continue doing this, the satellite launch will end in failure."

Ahmed and Yarham exchanged glances, but showed no surprise. They knew Mitchell was never one to speak well of anyone, so his cold shoulder was perfectly normal.

The key factor is Prince Rashid's attitude.

Rashid was only slightly annoyed, but he didn't seem to blame Mitchell.

It seems the two had already communicated beforehand, and Prince Rashid knew what Mitchell would say.

But now that the satellite has already been delivered to Tenglong Island, what good are Mitchell's comments except to upset Rashid and the team at Main Technology?
Moreover, it seems that Prince Rashid is also in a bit of a predicament, probably because Mitchell insisted on coming over to make his presence known.

Indeed, the situation was quite similar. Kyle Mitchell had already returned to the United States for vacation, but he learned from Speth X's former colleagues about the current situation of Main Technologies, which was about to launch a satellite again at a private space launch site in China.

What Mitchell found even more intolerable was that the rocket that Maintech was going to use was actually from a private commercial aerospace company in China.

Mitchell was furious. He had repeatedly warned Prince Rashid not to let Main Technology cooperate with the Chinese, but now, they had actually used the entire Chinese solution.

Mitchell immediately flew to the UAE and spent a long time communicating with Rashid, managing to persuade him somewhat, which led to this video conference.

"Thanks for Professor Mitchell's reminder, but the team here is really professional, and we don't see any problems at the moment," Yarham said.

Mitchell said calmly, "Space technology requires accumulation. As laymen, you obviously can't see it. Space launch sites are one thing, immature technology only affects the success rate. But if the rocket technology itself has problems, then the satellite launch will definitely not succeed. Yes, I mean the failure rate will be 100%, there will be no surprises!"

Mitchell's expression was very confident, and it was probably this confidence that made Prince Rashid even more hesitant.

Mitchell then said, "As far as I know, China does not have any mature commercial space companies, only a few startup space companies. Their technology is very immature and cannot compare with SpaceX at all."

"The rocket used by this aerospace company is experimental. Believe me, an experimental prototype cannot be successfully launched."

Rashid asked, "Alright, Professor Mitchell, we can't be so arbitrary. China's space launch success rate is not low; in fact, it can be said to be very high."

Mitchell said, "Your Highness, that's the official Chinese rocket launch record. It doesn't mean that private commercial space companies can do it. Besides, the rocket technology used by the Chinese government is relatively outdated and can't compare to the SpeyX."

Rashid asked Ahmed and Yarham, "What are your thoughts?"

Ahmed said, "Your Highness, we are still very confident. We have communicated with the Star Glory team repeatedly. Although that rocket was indeed an experimental product, they are very confident. After all, their technical team consists entirely of outstanding engineers and scientists from China's aerospace sector. I believe they are very capable."

Rashid looked at Mitchell, who still had an indifferent expression.

Yalem, who had a fiery temper, said, "The Star Glory team is currently testing rockets and satellites, so it's too late to say anything now."

Mitchell said, "I guarantee that their test has failed; there must have been a problem."

Ahmed and Yarham's expressions changed slightly. Mitchell really said whatever he wanted. What time is it? Who gave him the right to make such comments?
Ahmed said, "Alright, Prince Rashid, let's go and see what's going on now, whether it's as bad as Mitchell says."

Rashid nodded: "Go."

Ahmed ended the video conference and went to the rocket assembly and maintenance facility with Yarham and others.

As a result, cheers erupted from the Starry Sky Glory team.

Upon asking, the two learned that all the tests had been passed and the person was in good condition.

"That's great!" said Yarham.

Ahmed smiled slightly: "We'll write an email now and tell Prince Rashid the good news."

"It's a shame," Yarham said. "I really wanted to see Mitchell's embarrassed face in person. Perhaps we should have told Prince Rashid via video conference."

By evening, the joint testing of the rocket and satellite had been completed.

The results were excellent; all tests passed and no further problems arose.

Zhang Rui has already made arrangements for the FBC interview team, who are staying in the staff dormitory at the space launch site.

Although it's called a dormitory, the conditions are actually quite good. There are even fully equipped suites available.

However, there are a lot of people on the island recently, with several teams already in place or about to arrive.

For example, the people from Starry Sky Glory will also be living on the island, and the people from the "Blue Hope" environmental organization will also be coming over in the next couple of days and will be staying on the island for a period of time as well.

To be honest, Tenglong Island has been under a lot of logistical pressure lately. Yu Sheng and Ah Wang's team have been extremely busy, working almost non-stop, and they even borrowed a lot of people from security companies in Hong Kong.

Fortunately, there are plenty of facilities on the island, and there is enough accommodation. In addition to the dormitories at the space launch site, there are also places to stay in other facilities, including the office building that looks like a spaceship and the dock, both of which have a considerable number of dormitories.

At this moment, in the multimedia conference room of the space launch site.

Hu Jiangshan, Fang Xiaoya, and Ahmed and Yalem from Main Technology are having an in-depth communication meeting.

Before a rocket launch, it is necessary to hold many such communication meetings. This is very important because such a large project involves many teams. If communication is not timely, any problems that arise may affect the final result of the rocket launch.

Ahmed and Yalam are very satisfied with the progress, which has exceeded their expectations. They originally thought that they would not be able to get the testing done until the last minute.

But then they found it was going incredibly smoothly.

There are still three days left until the rocket launch, which gives us plenty of time to prepare.

After the meeting, Hu Jiangshan had a private conversation with Fang Xiaoya.

Fang Xiaoya specifically thanked Hu Jiangshan for his help this time, but Hu Jiangshan waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, just a small favor. Besides, it's my job."

Fang Xiaoya laughed: "This isn't something a boss should be responsible for; it should be the engineer's job."

Hu Jiangshan chuckled: "I'm a tech-savvy boss, you know."

(End of this chapter)