Cosmic Scavenger

Broadly speaking, the fuel of the spacecraft is divided into two parts, one is the fuel, which Hawk uses liquid hydrogen, and the other is the oxidizer, which Hawk uses liquid oxygen.

The fuel must be added to the oxidizer in order to burn and produce power. Now, there is not much fuel left on the ship, but on the contrary, there is still a lot of oxidizer left.

In this case, if Hawk can control the ship to reach Titan, the almost unlimited methane on Titan can replace liquid hydrogen as Hawk's energy consumption at this stage, and after developing a controlled fusion device, the next Saturn is an inexhaustible source of fusion fuel.

At that time, Hawk will have the energy to repair the ship, with full power, to restore the powerful computing energy, and even mining minerals, manufacturing new equipment, new ship energy!

Reality made Hawk incredibly wasted. Titan was there, but Hawk could not reach it. Infinite energy is there, but Hawk because of the lack of energy and can not go.

"Liquid hydrogen liquid hydrogen, I want liquid hydrogen ah!" Huo Ke almost depressed to roar wildly.

In fact, if you scavenge a little more, Hawk's remaining fuel can still barely support to reach the escape velocity of Mars and leave the orbit of Mars. But then, the remaining energy will only be able to support the central computer for nine months.

Nine months may seem like a long time, but compared to the long voyage through the universe, it really is fleeting.

Even if Hawk ignored the consequences, relying on the remaining energy barely escaped the gravitational field of Mars, Hawk's navigation speed can only reach a maximum of six kilometers per second, by such a speed, to reach Titan, it takes about seven years. In other words, still halfway, Hawk died.

Such a result, is the Hawk million can not accept.

Hawke began to calculate carefully, trying to calculate an alternative method.

"If I do not fly directly toward Titan, but first towards the sun, with the help of the Earth Venus, the sun's gravitational acceleration, my speed can reach about eight kilometers per second, and the closer the sun, the faster the speed, so that I only need about two months to reach the Earth's orbit. Hmm? By the way, there are many comets in the Earth's asteroid belt there now, and there is a lot of water being evaporated, so if I can collect some water, after I get close to the sun, I can use the ionization of the sun to ionize the water into oxygen and hydrogen gas! I would have energy again!"

Hawk's spirit shook, in the midst of a slim, Hawk finally saw a little hope of life.

"Close to the sun, the fastest speed will reach twenty-six kilometers per second ... then around the sun a week, continue to accelerate with the help of Mercury's gravity, Venus happens to run to the other side of the sun, it does not count Venus, the next is Mars gravity ... ...Jupiter even, I have to be a little farther away from Jupiter, but even in tens of millions of kilometers away from Jupiter, Jupiter will be able to accelerate my speed of at least three or four kilometers per second ... in this case ... "

Hawk carefully calculate, the heart is increasingly excited.

"If you fly in the direction of the sun, around the sun a week and then go to Saturn, although the distance from the direct flight to Saturn about 1.3 billion kilometers, increased to about 1.9 billion kilometers, but my speed increased! I can save at least five years or more! Moreover, there on Earth, I can obtain liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, and if I am close to the sun, the solar energy obtained is also a very considerable amount, so that the fuel is also replenished!"

"There is just one thing that is very worrying." Hawk silently calculate, "Earth orbit there, now chaotic beyond measure, I have to guard against being attacked by meteorites. And the sun, the sun must also be affected by Jupiter, the strength of the solar wind is estimated to be several levels stronger, which is also a potential danger."

"Forget it, when you reach the Earth's orbit, it is better to leave the ecliptic plane for the time being, collect a little less water, safety first. As for the sun, it is better not to cross the orbit of Mercury. Although the acceleration function will be a little less, but the safety factor is much greater, and the test of the insulation layer is also reduced by a lot."

"Okay, that's it!" Hawk made up his mind, and after checking himself over one last time to make sure the whole plan wouldn't be too flawed, he gritted his teeth and started the ship's engines.

This is tantamount to a gamble. God knows what dangers await ahead? However, if you gamble, there is about thirty percent hope of survival, if not, it is a complete sitting duck. Hawk is really not willing to get a breakthrough in controlled fusion technology, a bright future awaits him, so die. I have to say, how to fight.

There are really too many unfavorable factors. Not to mention that during the long journey, the equipment will not occur new failures, not to mention whether it will be attacked by meteorites, can collect a sufficient amount of water, the ship's insulation, originally the ship was designed to land on the planet, the insulation is to cope with the friction of the atmosphere, not designed to deal with the heat of the sun.

But to such a situation, only the ducks on the shelf, not to do, but also to line up, to fight on, at least a hope of life. Hawk is not willing to own a coincidence, a thousand difficulties to fuse the soul and the central computer, so easy to get unlimited life, incomparable computing power and unlimited energy, but in their own interstellar travel has not yet begun when so dead.

Looking at the fading Mars, Hawk said silently in his heart: "Big brother Mars, thank you for blocking such a powerful storm for my little brother. When I later developed technology, I will definitely come back to help you make a good transformation, eh, transformed into a green planet, and then release some animals to the top, to transform you into a fairyland on earth."

Silently made a wish, Hawk resolutely closed the telescope. In such a situation, can save a little bit of energy to save a little bit.

Immediately after, Hawk will be the main control computer most of the non-essential functions also closed off, leaving only the navigation system, radar anti-impact system and a few other necessary systems, began a miserable long journey.

Now Mars is about 80 million kilometers away from the Earth's orbit, two months after Hawk to approach the Earth's orbit. Carried out such a long distance of roaming, but the result is back to the origin, this result let Hawk depressed.

Here also involves a relative speed problem. For example, Hawk in orbit around Mars at the same time, but also with Mars together with the sun to do revolution, its speed is about twenty-five kilometers per second. When Hawk left Mars and flew toward the Sun, it appeared on Mars that Hawk was flying out in a straight line along the orbital tangent, but in the Sun's position, it appeared that Hawk was flying along a parabolic curve. The specific explanation is complicated, in short, the speed of Hawk near the sun is about eight kilometers per second, and then will be under the effect of the sun's gravity, gradually accelerated, and will eventually spend about two months to reach the Earth's orbit.

In addition to letting the robot carried inside the ship to start doing some of the necessary preparations to collect water, the rest of the energy consumption has been reduced to a minimum, Hawk can not even calculate the data obtained from Jupiter. Depressed, in addition to the zero-point-zero cpu utilization rate for robot use, Hawk spent the day looking at the dark universe of space dazed.

Without the obstruction of the atmosphere, the starry sky is clear. Hawk in the countless stars, found the traces of the sky garden four.

It is the closest star to the sun that has been identified as having a planet, at a distance of about 10.5 light years. It was also the next destination in Hawk's cosmic voyage plan. Because Sky Court IV has been determined to have a gas giant planet of about one point five times the mass of Jupiter, it can provide Hawk with sufficient fusion fuel, and around Sky Court IV, there are also two asteroid belts that can provide Hawk with sufficient building materials.

"Sky Court IV ah. Humanity's first interstellar voyage ah." Hawk stared dead at the figure of Tian Yuan IV, murmured in his heart, and could not help but begin to imagine the situation after reaching the Tian Yuan IV star system.

After watching for a long time, Hawk withdrew his mind and sighed with sadness: "If this trip to the sun does not go well, not to mention the trip to the Sky Court IV star system, even if I can survive is a question."

In the midst of the long voyage, more than a month had passed. The meteorite blocks in the interstellar space began to be significantly more.

The ship's trajectory had now left the ecliptic plane. And the trajectory of the planets basically fall within the ecliptic plane, the Earth even if the explosion, but most of the Earth debris are also in the ecliptic plane.

Leaving the ecliptic, the chances of encountering danger are reduced to a minimum.

Within this month's time, Hawk manipulated the robot, using the remaining material to make a simple filter, used to collect ice particles, dust and other materials in interstellar space.

Because the principle of conservation of angular momentum, even if the Earth exploded, most of its debris will follow the original orbit around the sun, and its speed does not change too much. These days, Hawk has intentionally manipulated his own trajectory towards the original Earth's trajectory, so Hawk and these ice particles, the relative movement between the dust is not fast, probably only one or two hundred meters per second speed, relying on the strength of this filter, enough to capture them little by little.

But the result, but let Hawk could not help but lament in his heart.

From the opening of the filter, to now has been twenty-four hours. But the total mass of captured material, still less than a kilogram. Among them, water only accounted for less than thirty percent.

"A mosquito's leg is small is also meat, take your time." Hawk manipulated his orbit towards the Earth's orbit while doing the work of a cosmic scavenger.