Aerospace ground command center.
A few people were standing next to each other.
Among them were Director Li, head of the State Administration for National Defense, Hou Guang, director of the Institute of Aerospace Research at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, Academician Yuan Huanmin, chief engineer of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and Lu Zhou, who had just arrived here from Beijing…
As well as the president.
This was an important moment concerning the aerospace industry and even the future of China. Almost all the high-level members of the Lunar Orbit Committee were here.
People looked at the large floor-to-ceiling screens in the control room. They were full of expectations, like they were in a hospital delivery room.
However, a baby wasn’t the thing that was conceived.
Instead, it was something special.
“It doesn’t matter if it fails, we can still try again.”
Lu Zhou shook his head slightly.
“We won’t fail.”
The entire country was waiting for a result; the entire world had their focus turned here.
Lu Zhou was willing to bet that media outlets such as BBC and CNN had already written two press releases. One of them corresponded to a successful result, while the other corresponded to a failure.
Which press release would appear in the headlines tomorrow depended entirely on their results today.
The president heard Lu Zhou’s confident words and smiled.
“It’d be best if we succeed now. I’m just giving you some assurance. Aerospace is a new industry. It will benefit our future. We can take it slow and steady. We can afford to have some mistakes.
“But speaking of which, is it really feasible to build a city on the moon?”
When Lu Zhou heard this, he instantly knew what the president meant.
Obviously, the National Day celebration show had resonated with him.
Lu Zhou thought seriously for a while.
After a few seconds, he spoke.
“There is a demand for it. From a technical point of view, there are many difficulties. But it isn’t completely impossible.”
In fact, the moon was not the perfect candidate for a human colony. This was due to its low gravity, large temperature difference, and having no protection from the atmosphere and magnetic field. However, at least for now, it was the most likely place humans could hope to colonize.
Its existence was like the Terceira Island in the Atlantic Ocean. Even though it was small and not rich in resources, it had become a crucial place for Europe during the Renaissance.
After the breakthrough of controllable fusion technology, human civilization had entered the second half of aerospace development. They had obtained a ticket to the distant world. However, if human civilization wanted to go to more distant places, they needed a springboard.
Obviously, the moon had the potential to be a launching point.
The moon was like a natural “harbor”.
If they could overcome the harsh lunar environment, they could go further in space.
Lu Zhou’s answer seemed to have satisfied the president. The president spoke with his arms behind his back.
“I’m happy to hear that… Speaking of which, when does it begin?”
Lu Zhou looked at the time on his watch and spoke.
“It’s about to begin!”
The hour hand reached 0.
The staff members in the command room started to work in an orderly manner.
All units quickly completed the final inspection of the equipment. After receiving confirmation from the moon, the commander of the ground command center issued a “begin loading” instruction.
The experimental cargo cabin on the moon more than 300,000 kilometers away, shaped like a bullet, should be installed on the launch orbit by the staff members of the lunar scientific research station.
The entire cargo had a total weight of six tons. It was filled with lunar soil rocks collected from the moon, space crops, seeds harvested from the planting unit, Dr-111 active substances, and other biological research samples.
If this cargo were brought back to Earth using traditional methods, it would cost at least 200,000 yuan per kilogram.
By using superconducting magnets instead of chemical thrusters, the cargo could be accurately launched directly from the lunar surface to the lunar transfer orbit. After that, the Magpie Bridge moving back and forth along the orbit would collect the cargo. The cost per kilogram of goods was less than 2,000 yuan per kilogram.
This sounded ridiculous, but it was just engineering and science.
If this project was a success, dysprosium and terbium, which were worth more than 1,000 yuan per kilogram, as well as rare minerals such as scandium, which was worth more than 10,000 yuan per kilogram, could be brought back from the moon.
The success of this project would undoubtedly be a huge milestone in aerospace.
All of the preparations had been completed.
Everything was on the line!
The green light on the large landing screen turned on for the first time. Everyone standing in the command room involuntarily clenched their fists, waiting for the sound of the countdown.
“Ten.”
“Nine.”
“Eight.”
“…”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Zero.”
“Launch!”
The sonorous and powerful sound was like firing a gun.
Immediately afterward, the lunar surface 300,000 kilometers away began to shake. Astronauts standing near the launch orbit could feel the ground trembling.
The accumulated electric energy was released in an instant. It gathered into a solid-like plasma in the vacuum titanium alloy pipe, pushing the silver “bullet” forward with a tremendous force.
It traveled through the track in less than a minute!
The cargo suddenly shot from the surface of the moon to the sky. It was like a bullet ejected from the muzzle, rushing toward the vast starry sky, leaving moon dust behind.
The camera in the command center switched to the Moon Palace.
The silver-white bullet was represented by a green dot shining on a map. It curved in space, pointing itself toward the lunar transfer orbit…
Half of the work was done!
Everyone in the command center did not relax yet.
The first half of the launch mission was mainly in charge of the Moon Palace. The navigation guidance for merging, docking, and final return would be entirely done by ground command.
Their battle had only just begun!
“The cargo compartment control system is connected, begin checking instrument operations…”
“Instrument parameters are all normal! Accessing the active navigation system!”
“The navigation system has been successfully activated! The cargo speed is 2.77km/s, it is approaching the Magpie Bridge 3 cargo spacecraft with a relative distance of 507 kilometers. Contact expected in 183 seconds!”
On the radar screen, two arcs outlined by a light yellow curve intersected together. The two flashing green dots were moving slowly along the two arcs.
The closer they got, the faster the heartbeats of the command room staff members.
Many young scientific researchers repeatedly took deep breaths in an attempt to control their heart rate. Even some of the more experienced engineers were nervous.
It was impossible to not be nervous.
They only had one chance!
This would determine their success or failure!
Shooting the cargo into the sky with a cannon was the easy part. The hard part was picking up the cargo. Otherwise, regardless of how fast they could shoot the cargo, the project would be a failure.
When the two flashing green dots began to get closer, almost everyone subconsciously held their breath.
A few seconds felt like an eternity.
The two flashing green dots on the screen merged effortlessly.
Everything happened so naturally.
Nothing unexpected happened.
It was almost…
Too easy?
Suddenly, deafening cheers blasted through the command room.
“Wooo!”
“We did it!”
“Oh my god… Finally… We did it!”
Applause.
Cheers.
Excitement and joy filled everyone’s heart.
Director Li clenched his fists excitedly.
Academician Yuan Huanmin had tears in his eyes; his dry lips trembled as he tried to speak.
Countless engineers from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, as well as researchers from the Institute of Aerospace Research at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, spontaneously screamed excitedly.
Even the president standing next to Lu Zhou couldn’t help but shout, “Good job!”
The efforts of several years or even decades had all become meaningful.
They had just conquered the moon!
Bathed in the thunderous cheers, Lu Zhou stood motionless in the center of the command room. The ecstasy that was flowing through his veins made him speechless…
Lu Zhou faintly heard the Magpie Bridge communication channel where they declared victory through his headset.
“This is Magpie Bridge 3 cargo spacecraft, the package has been successfully recovered.”
“We will bring back the gifts from the moon in three days.”
“Good job, guys!”
Actually, this victory announcement was a bit redundant for Lu Zhou.
The second the green dots merged, there was no doubt that this was a success.
Lu Zhou couldn’t describe the emotion in his heart.
How long has it been?
From the successful entry of the first aerospaceplane into orbit to the first manned moon landing, to the Moon Palace and the Lunar Hadron Collider, and now the mass driver…
All of their hard work and efforts were all connected at this moment.
This mission chain was finally complete.
[Control of Earth and Moon mission chain]
[Complete!]
