Chapter 114: The Plan for Collaboration Once More

In Wei Hua’s original world, in 1997 and 1998, the American company Iridium launched dozens of artificial satellites designed for global mobile phone communication. These satellites were called Iridium satellites. The Iridium Mobile Communication System was a global satellite mobile communication network designed by Motorola on behalf of Iridium. By using satellite handheld phones, users could make and receive calls from anywhere on Earth through the satellites. However, in March 2000, Iridium declared bankruptcy.

There were several reasons for Iridium’s failure. First, although the Iridium system was technologically advanced, leading among current satellite communication systems, the satellites communicated directly with each other via inter-satellite links, allowing users to communicate without relying on ground networks. Yet this very feature resulted in high system risk, excessive costs, and maintenance expenses that far exceeded those of terrestrial networks. The annual maintenance cost for the entire satellite system was several hundred million dollars. Second, from a market perspective, Motorola launched the Iridium project without thorough market analysis. By the time most cities, suburban rural areas, transportation corridors, and tourist destinations were covered by ground networks, and international roaming for mobile phones became possible, the market for satellite mobile phones was steadily shrinking, with the user base diminishing accordingly. Ground mobile phone networks held significant advantages in cost and handset portability. Thus, a solution feasible ten years ago lost its foundation after a decade. The user base that once existed could no longer support operational needs. Without a market, there was no revenue, and the company lost control over its own fate. Additionally, the global communications market was far from fully open, making it difficult for Iridium to expand internationally.

But for Wei Hua at this moment, the first problem was easily solvable—it was purely a technical issue. With Sophia’s technological support and the strength of his laboratory, it would be resolved quickly. The second issue, the market problem, was even easier to address. Mobile communications were just beginning, and the market for a convenient, fast, and globally covering satellite communication system would undoubtedly be enormous. Wei Hua soon produced a proposal—essentially a revised version of the original Iridium plan translated into Chinese—and handed it over to Rong Zhijian. After reading it, Rong was genuinely interested and quickly came to Wei Hua’s home to discuss specific investment plans. The original Iridium investment was $2.3 billion, but the actual cost had exceeded $5 billion. Wei Hua’s plan was to invest $5 billion to build their own Iridium communication system.

Soon, Wei Hua and Rong Zhijian reached an agreement. The Rong family invested $400 million for an 8% stake, while the remaining funds were to be provided by the Excellence Private Investment Company. Regarding patents owned by Wei Hua’s laboratory, patent usage fees would be paid, but Wei Hua set these fees very low. The reason for involving the Rong family was to leverage their network to obtain the necessary licenses for satellite communication operations in various countries. Satellites themselves were beyond any nation’s jurisdiction in space, but satellite phone sales had to occur on the ground, requiring permits. Fortunately, most countries had yet to establish their own mobile communication networks, so obtaining operational and sales licenses should not be difficult.

With Sophia’s help, the Iridium system’s technology was optimized and upgraded. Based on Wei Hua’s requirements, Sophia redesigned the satellites around an intelligent assistant core, creating communication satellites that were more powerful, had longer lifespans, and required virtually no maintenance. To Sophia, this was easy to achieve. The last problem was how to launch the satellites into space. Wei Hua turned his attention domestically. Although China’s space technology in the late 1960s was not inferior to that of the United States or the Soviet Union, it had stagnated due to lack of funding. Wei Hua believed that if he commissioned them to launch his satellites, it would be a welcome opportunity for them and feasible to accomplish. He then brought He Xiaoya to discuss the matter:

“I know you have good connections back home, so can you help me inquire whether it’s possible? I want to build a satellite communication system requiring the launch of several dozen satellites. I want to see if the domestic team can help launch these satellites into orbit. I will design the communication satellites myself, so they only need to provide the rockets to place the satellites into orbit. Of course, I will pay for the launches. This is a huge project. I plan to launch 70 satellites. If they can’t do it domestically, I’ll have to turn to NASA or the Soviet space agency.”

“All right! I’ll report this back home, but I can’t say when we’ll get a reply,” He Xiaoya replied.

“That’s fine! Just make sure the message gets up there,” Wei Hua said.

“The kid’s setting his sights on our rockets again—he’s quite bold. First, he took our vehicles and ordinary soldiers; now he wants our rockets and senior intellectuals. Do you all agree or disagree?” the second-generation leader asked.

“Agree! Why not? Although we launched a satellite just last September, overall our funding has been insufficient these years, and our space technology hasn’t advanced much. The Americans have already sent space shuttles into orbit, but how many satellites have we launched? The gap between us and the U.S. is too large now. Back in the 1950s and ’60s, the Americans weren’t far ahead in space technology. If we don’t catch up, we’ll fall even further behind. This kid’s plan will provide us with funds, so we won’t need to rely solely on state allocations. The country needs money everywhere for infrastructure. If we can be self-reliant, wouldn’t that be better?” an older general who appeared to be involved in rocketry said.

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