hope ship

Humanity has pursued the research of controlled nuclear fusion technology for decades. Although the breakthrough has yet to be achieved, the extensive research accumulated over time has provided Xiao Yu with invaluable data.

Particularly, the collision phenomena on Jupiter imparted crucial insights to Xiao Yu.

Building on this foundation, and with the immense computational power of photon computers, Xiao Yu finally made a significant technological breakthrough today.

In the controlled nuclear fusion laboratory at Base No. 2, a colossal glass chamber, crisscrossed with an array of intricate wiring, was designed to generate a specific magnetic field. Suspended mid-air at the center of the chamber was a blindingly bright point of light, radiating an overwhelming amount of heat and light, making it impossible to gaze upon directly.

Nuclear fusion was occurring within, where deuterium and tritium were fusing into helium. In this process, a portion of the mass was being converted into energy.

Xiao Yu allocated 10% of his computational power to monitor the fusion process, rapidly calculating various parameters.

As he scrutinized the experimental data, an indescribable excitement surged within him. He had waited far too long for this moment.

Interstellar travel using chemical fuels is impractical due to their low energy efficiency. To travel from the Solar System to the Tianyuan Four Star System, Xiao Yu estimated that a ship of over a kilometer in size, with more than 90% of its space filled with fuel, would barely suffice.

Controlled nuclear fusion is the key to unlocking the door to interstellar travel. Without it, relying solely on chemical fuels, Xiao Yu would be forever confined within the Solar System, unable to escape.

"Alright, the construction of the new generation fusion-powered spacecraft begins!"

Xiao Yu embarked on a new endeavor. He intended to build a spacecraft of epoch-making significance, employing the latest technologies in its propulsion system, structural materials, and control systems.

Every previous construction effort had been in service of this goal.

The massive blast furnaces for smelting specialized steel continuously poured out dark red molten steel. Once condensed, these would become steel ingots ready for processing. However, before condensation, Xiao Yu added an additional step.

This step involved exposing the molten steel to about five minutes of radiation from "No. 1."

Through experimentation, Xiao Yu discovered that when metals are in a high-temperature liquid state, exposure to radiation from "No. 1" at minimal intensity could achieve maximum performance enhancement. Hence, the unfortunate "No. 1" was brought here by Xiao Yu to serve as a laborer, providing its life force.

This five-minute radiation exposure was sufficient to enhance the performance of this specialized steel by more than threefold.

During the smelting process, Xiao Yu also incorporated the corpses of those black insects in a specific proportion. This further improved the thermal insulation and radiation resistance of the steel.

Xiao Yu spared no effort in creating the highest quality materials. These materials, after processing in the equipment manufacturing room, would become components of this great, epoch-defining spacecraft.

In the main base's vast assembly workshop, parts from at least hundreds of equipment manufacturing rooms were gathered. At least hundreds of robots were busily assembling the precise components, a task that took a full six months to complete.

The result was a disc-shaped spacecraft, about 20 meters in diameter and five meters in height, equipped with a fusion engine and controlled by the latest photon computer. Constructed from the finest steel Xiao Yu could produce, this spacecraft represented the pinnacle of Xiao Yu's technological capabilities.

To build this spacecraft, the radiation intensity of "No. 1" had been reduced to 30% of its maximum, with 70% of its radiation consumed. Nearly 200 tons of the black insect corpses had been used, accounting for 30% of the current reserves.

Despite the immense expenditure, Xiao Yu deemed it all worthwhile. Even if "No. 1"'s radiation ran out, he could capture more from Jupiter, and he had no concerns about the black insect corpses. In recent times, Xiao Yu had discovered this species in at least a thousand larger lakes on Titan, with an estimated total reserve of millions of tons, enough to build a large fleet.

Today was the day for the spacecraft's test flight.

Xiao Yu halted most construction activities, dedicating at least 40% of his computational power to this event—a computing power equivalent to all the supercomputers on Earth combined.

"Everything must go flawlessly," Xiao Yu silently vowed. "You carry my hope for interstellar travel. I shall name you Hope."

The Hope spacecraft, weighing approximately 3,000 tons, was classified by Xiao Yu as a "Village-class" spacecraft. If a spacecraft of over 10,000 tons were to be built in the future, it would be classified as "Town-class," and so on, with increasing tonnage categories ranging from "County-class" to "City-class," "Province-class," and "Nation-class."

Under Xiao Yu's vigilant supervision, the Village-class Hope emitted a pale blue flame from its base, slowly lifting off the ground.

Indeed, the Hope did not require a rocket to reach interstellar space, as its powerful and efficient propulsion system provided sufficient and sustained thrust, while advanced materials technology ensured that it remained intact despite not adhering to aerodynamics, even at high speeds under planetary gravity and atmospheric drag.

Ten seconds later, Hope had ascended 3,000 meters. The intense friction caused its hull to glow faintly red, with an estimated temperature exceeding 800°C. Yet Xiao Yu remained unfazed. The spacecraft's hull, made of specialized steel infused with black insect corpses, could easily withstand such temperatures.

The spacecraft accelerated, and within a minute, Hope had reached an altitude of 100 kilometers, entering Titan's orbit, yet it continued to accelerate.

By this time, communication between Xiao Yu and Hope relied entirely on the twelve War God satellites previously launched.

Xiao Yu maneuvered the Hope out of Titan's orbit, then performed a sharp deceleration, bringing its speed from 3 kilometers per second to nearly stationary.

"Overload resistance test... passed."

On Earth, the gravitational acceleration is 9.8 meters per second squared. This means that on a spacecraft accelerating at 9.8 meters per second squared, a person would experience gravity equivalent to that on Earth due to inertia.

If the spacecraft accelerates at 19.6 meters per second squared, the person would experience twice Earth's gravity.

This is called overload. A specially trained elite pilot can endure ten times this overload, meaning the human body's limit is an acceleration of 98 meters per second squared. Exceeding this would cause irreparable damage or even death.

A spacecraft's structure also has an overload limit. Large aircraft can typically withstand about 20 times overload; beyond this, the structure would be torn apart by inertial forces and atmospheric drag.

Before Earth's destruction, human-built spacecraft could withstand around 30 to 40 times overload, with a maximum acceleration of 400 meters per second squared; exceeding this would also result in the spacecraft being torn apart by inertial forces.

Xiao Yu had just tested his spacecraft. The results showed that it could withstand up to 230 times overload! In other words, Xiao Yu's spacecraft could endure an acceleration of 2,200 meters per second squared!

This meant that Hope could go from a standstill to a speed of 2 kilometers per second in just one second, or decelerate from 2 kilometers per second to a complete stop instantly.

This indicated extraordinary maneuverability. With such remarkable agility, combined with Xiao Yu's formidable computational speed, even if tens of thousands of people fired tens of thousands of guns at Hope simultaneously, Xiao Yu could pilot Hope to evade all the bullets within seconds.

After the overload resistance test, Xiao Yu proceeded with another test.

"Conventional fuel capacity, maximum operational speed test."

In space travel, fuel is consumed only during acceleration, deceleration, and course corrections. Routine flight relies on inertia and doesn't consume fuel.

The fastest human-made spacecraft powered by chemical or nuclear fission fuels was Voyager 1, which reached a speed of 18 kilometers per second relative to the Sun. Why couldn't it go faster? The limitation was fuel.

Xiao Yu had reached speeds of 60 kilometers per second before arriving at Titan, thanks to additional fuel supplies.

Now, Xiao Yu was testing how fast the Hope could travel with its conventional fuel capacity.

Hope's rear thrusters emitted powerful blue flames, accelerating at a terrifying speed, faster and faster.

"Conventional fuel capacity, maximum speed... 300 kilometers per second! The Hope's conventional fuel can support at least six such accelerations and decelerations! If we ignore deceleration and consider the engine's maximum power, continuous acceleration until the fuel runs out could reach a speed of 1,000 kilometers per second!"

This data left Xiao Yu astounded.