Chapter 31: Discovery of an Asteroid

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Commander, Xiaotian has successfully gathered resources from Earth. Should we use all of them to build the star destroyer cannon?”

Zhao Yu pondered for a moment and asked, “Can the star destroyer cannon be installed on a U-shaped spaceship?”

“It’s possible, but if we do, it will be difficult to install other weapons. Also, I wouldn’t advise placing the star destroyer cannon on a battleship.”

“Why not?” Zhao Yu inquired.

“The star destroyer cannon is powerful and fast, but it has two significant drawbacks. First, it takes a long time to charge before firing. Second, it can only target stationary objects, making it difficult to lock onto other spacecraft.”

Zhao Yu nodded slightly and asked, “What other weapons can be fitted onto a U-shaped spaceship?”

“Laser cannon, plasma cannon, and kinetic cannon…”

“The laser cannon has an incredibly fast attack speed, reaching light speed. However, due to the diffraction principle, its power decreases with distance. Unless we increase the power output, the maximum range is only 10 million kilometers, which is limited in a cosmic environment…”

The shortest distance between the Moon and Mars is over 50 million kilometers. Attacking a long-distance target with a laser cannon is impossible.

“Additionally, the laser cannon’s caliber restricts its attack range. At best, it can only create a small hole on an enemy spacecraft.”

However, as a defensive weapon, the laser cannon was highly effective, turning its original disadvantages into advantages, such as increasing power as it gets closer and traveling at light speed.

Zhao Yu’s moon base defense systems were primarily based on laser cannons.

Uncle Da paused for a moment and continued, “Plasma cannons use lasers to heat deuterium to a high temperature of one million degrees, ionizing it. Then, it is launched using electromagnetic technology. Its range, however, isn’t as good as that of the laser cannon.”

“When it comes to attack capabilities, kinetic cannons have the edge over the previous two weapons. In a cosmic environment, the range of kinetic cannons is virtually unlimited. However, their power isn’t very strong, which is both a disadvantage and an advantage.”

“Currently, our kinetic cannons are available in two models: railguns and coilguns. The railgun-fired projectiles have frictional contact with the track, and their power also decreases with distance. However, they have a high firing rate, and the projectiles are light, providing an advantage when fighting a spaceship in space.”

“The coil gun has slightly more power than the railgun and is also a standard weapon on battleships.”

As Uncle Da explained, he projected a 3D image showcasing the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon.

Among the four weapons, the laser cannon was the most powerful. It could fire at close range, giving enemies little chance to dodge. However, its firing rate was limited, and intervals were needed between each shot. It also took up a lot of space. In the same area, ten railguns could be installed instead of a single laser cannon.

In terms of targeting electronic devices, plasma cannons had the upper hand.

The other two kinetic cannons were more versatile. A railgun could fire a hundred shots in a second, but its power was limited. Its ammunition was small and light, making it primarily useful for destroying enemy battleships.

Uncle Da thought for a moment before adding, “Regarding fighting other spaceships in space, I have only been able to simulate scenarios based on available data. We still don’t know how things will play out in actual combat!”

Due to his lack of combat experience, he couldn’t determine which data was most important in space battles. The main challenge was the absence of a physical battleship to use for combat simulations. Camouflage, stealth,

Zhao Yu looked at the system’s first alert about the alien fleet arriving in two months and ten days. By aliens, the system definitely didn’t mean Earth, because when the title system appeared. The system already mentioned that Earth was his home planet. This fleet that was arriving must be from another civilisation that he didn’t know about.

Zhao Yu believed that if the enemy had similar technology to theirs, even a fleet of 1000 ships wouldn’t be enough to break through their defenses. The only way the enemy could win was if they received help from another planet. Thus, they needed to improve their offensive capabilities by building more types of space battleships.

“Let’s build two more star destroyer cannons, and rely mainly on shipborne laser guns, shipborne plasma guns, and shipborne kinetic guns…”

In the Extraterrestrial Civilization Exploration Association, members were more interested in exploring the mysteries of the universe than in exchanging insults.

One day, a member discovered a small asteroid in the vast, dark expanse of space and quickly began tracking it.

“The estimated diameter of the asteroid is 50 kilometers…”

“Initiating trajectory calculation…”

“Calculation failed; the speed is too fast…”

After some thought, the member decided to upload the data to the Great Xia Space Agency.

“I hope this asteroid won’t be captured by the orbit of any of the eight major planets. That way, it can be named after me…”

At the Great Xia Space Agency, everyone had been busy with various tasks over the last three days, such as helping Chief Engineer Yang come up with creative insults, communicating with colleagues from different departments, and sharing information with the Earth Alliance Defense Agency.

Sun Ming Yuan was working when he received an email from the Extraterrestrial Civilization Exploration Association, a private organization that the space agency maintained contact with. He was aware that at least half of the unknown signals in the universe came from amateur enthusiasts, so he casually opened the email without much surprise.

“What? An asteroid? Its diameter is 50 kilometers…”

After considering the situation, Sun Ming Yuan quickly used the advanced equipment at the Great Xia Space Agency to calculate the asteroid’s trajectory.

“Calculating orbit trajectory…”

“There is a 0.01% chance of it hitting Earth…”

“This is serious!”

Although the chance of the asteroid hitting Earth was only one in ten thousand, it still posed a significant risk. Sun Ming Yuan immediately reported the details of the asteroid to the appropriate authorities.