One hundred fifteen. Fire.

Crossing Over: Riding the Tide

“I think so too. This cooperation with the young fellow does not involve any defense secrets. They will manufacture the communications satellites themselves, and once production is complete, transport them back to the mainland, where we will launch them into their designated orbits. The entire process will remain under our control, so there should be no problems. On the contrary, we may even be able to obtain some of the technology we want from the young fellow’s satellites. His laboratory is already quite famous around the world. This cooperation is enormously advantageous to us, so we must go through with it! As for the cost, we cannot calculate it according to our own expenses. If the Americans’ cost of launching a satellite is such-and-such, giving him a ten percent discount should be acceptable, shouldn’t it?” Judging by his manner of speaking, this man was probably from Guangdong. Had he not joined the military and instead gone into business, he would certainly have been a formidable operator.

“I think this business is worth pursuing. According to the reports from our people, the satellite communications system this young fellow is developing is enormous. It will require the launch of nearly seventy satellites. If we launch all of them, you probably will not have to worry about funding for the next few years, and I will be able to lighten my own burden considerably.” The second-generation leader gave the final approval.

In early November, Weihua and Rong Zhijian received word that the mainland’s aerospace authorities had agreed to the cooperation. The launch fee they offered was also quite reasonable, so Jessie, who was in Shenzhen, personally went to Beijing to negotiate the details with the officials in charge of the mainland’s aerospace program.

In mid-November 1982, Weihua flew from Hong Kong to the United States. At the beginning of February 1983, the American branch of the Changbai Technology Laboratory filed a series of patent applications concerning digital mobile communications. The laboratory also applied for patents covering a large-capacity rechargeable battery and a high-efficiency solar cell.

In mid-February, Excellence Private Investment Company announced the establishment of Iridium Corporation. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company would undertake the construction of the world’s first satellite mobile communications system. For a time, the entire world watched the movements of Excellence Private Investment Company, because the investment amounted to as much as five billion dollars and involved an entirely new field of technology.

The high-efficiency solar cells developed by the Changbai Laboratory were precisely the patented technology NASA wanted to obtain. NASA had already sent representatives to discuss transferring the patents, but the laboratory’s director rejected them outright. How could Weihua possibly transfer the patents? Collecting licensing fees was far more profitable.

All the necessary technical conditions were now in place, and trial production of the Iridium satellites could begin. The communications satellite known as Iridium had long since been designed for Weihua by Sophia. The laboratory’s patent applications were merely intended to provide a plausible source for the satellite technology.

The communications satellite consisted of several sections. The first was the power system, which used high-efficiency solar cells. The second was the signal-receiving system. The third was the satellite’s true core. On the surface, it appeared to be the control core, but in reality it was a simplified auxiliary device provided to Weihua by Sophia. Every function—including signal reception, recognition, automatic transmission, conversion, and more—was completed by this auxiliary device. Weihua had also taken into consideration the possibility of connecting the system to the future Internet.

The fourth section was the outer shell. Made of high-strength alloy and polished to an extraordinary shine, it would be visible to the naked eye from the ground after being launched into space.

In April 1983, the first Iridium satellite was completed at the American branch of the Changbai Technology Laboratory. At the end of May, it was successfully launched from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and reached its designated orbit without incident.

Over the following year and a half, China’s Jiuquan and Xichang Satellite Launch Centers successfully launched rockets time and again, sending more than sixty communications satellites belonging to Iridium Corporation into their designated orbits. By November 1984, all the satellites required by the Iridium system were in position, and the Iridium communications system began full-scale operation.

During its first month, it had only a little over two thousand users. In the second month, that number rose to more than ten thousand. By the third month, the number of users worldwide had reached one hundred thousand. By the beginning of the 1990s, Iridium Corporation had more than one hundred million users, making it the world’s largest satellite telephone company at the time.

The factories manufacturing the satellite phones used by the Iridium communications system were established in Silicon Valley in the United States, Hong Kong in Asia, and Switzerland in Europe. Construction of the three production lines began in June 1983, and the first Iridium satellite phone was produced in August 1984. All the control chips used in the phones were manufactured on Professor Yu’s production line in Hong Kong.

Although Weihua’s technology was already highly advanced, the phone was still quite large, roughly comparable in size to the analog mobile phones commonly nicknamed “bricks.” The Iridium phone did, however, have a much longer standby time. Without making any calls, it could remain on standby for more than fifteen days—something those other “bricks” could never achieve. Before Weihua’s transmigration, of course, such performance had been commonplace. Even this single feature made countless people yearn to own an Iridium satellite phone.

Thanks to the efforts of the Rong family’s public-relations team, Iridium satellite phones achieved worldwide calling capability by June 1985. But that is a story for later.

Once the first Iridium satellite had been completed, Weihua returned to his usual carefree state. The Iridium system’s central control base was located in Hong Kong. Construction there had already begun when the laboratory started manufacturing the Iridium satellites. The site was a very good piece of land near the coast, found with the Rong family’s assistance.

The subsequent satellites would continue to be manufactured by the laboratory. Weihua planned to have specially assigned personnel transport the auxiliary control cores from Hong Kong to the American laboratory. He did not yet have enough auxiliary devices, but once sufficient energy was available, Sophia would be able to provide him with as many as he needed.

In May 1983, Weihua returned to Hong Kong. Outside Kai Tak Airport, Rong Zhijian arrived with several people and Jessie to receive him.

Weihua first embraced Jessie, then smiled at Rong Zhijian and said, “How could I trouble you to come and receive me personally? I really don’t deserve such an honor!”

“Of course you do! You’re my biggest investor—and my God of Wealth! I can already see it: your Iridium system is definitely going to make a fortune. You know that the Li family is in the communications business, and they have made a tremendous amount of money. I don’t think our project is any worse than theirs, so I believe our future business will be no less successful. You are a God of Wealth, so naturally I have to treat you well. That’s why I came to receive you. Also, in a few days, the mainland will be launching our satellites, and they have invited us to watch. Are you going? I’m definitely going!”

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