"This is Skyglow …"
"… Something unexpected has happened on our side."
Nie Yun hesitated for a bit and reported the situation to the ground command.
"Professor Lu is with us."
The ground command went silent for a few seconds.
After a while, Hou Guang spoke.
"Okay, I understand."
Oh, I understand?
That's it?
Just as Nie Yun was hesitating whether he should ask how to deal with it, Hou Guang continued.
"Continue to fly, the flight plan remains the same … But please make sure that Professor Lu is safe."
Changing the flight plan at this time would increase the mission risk.
Nie Yun also knew this in his heart, so he could only nod.
"Understood."
After Nie Yun ended the call, he took a deep breath and looked at Lu Zhou, who was putting the coffee cups into the bin. He then reminded Lu Zhou.
"The altitude is approaching the critical value, we're about to switch to flight mode."
According to the pressure and temperature change curve, when the altitude reached 20 kilometers above sea level, the density of the outside atmosphere would rapidly decrease to a relatively low value. At this point, the wings could no longer provide ascending power. They had to rely on engine thrust to resist gravity. The space shuttle would fly upward at a higher angle.
At this point, the passengers wouldn't be able to walk freely in the spacecraft.
"I know."
Lu Zhou didn't need Nie Yun's reminder at all. He walked next to the passenger seat and opened the metal door connected to the bulkhead wall. He then struggled to pull out the bulky cabin spacesuit.
Nie Yun looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "Spacesuit … Do you know how to wear it?"
Lu Zhou skillfully connected the various pipelines and life support systems on the cabin. He looked back at Nie Yun and raised his eyebrows.
"Of course, I've practiced countless times at home."
Nie Yun: "…"
Nie Yan: "…"
MPP …
So this is all planned out!
Although the acceleration of this space vehicle, which was similar to an aerospaceplane, was not high, and strictly speaking, it only needed the protection of a spacesuit during the return phase, considering that this was the first flight, even if they were fully prepared, there were still many uncertainties.
For the sake of safety, everything had to be done in strict accordance with the procedures. This bulky in-cabin spacesuit could only be taken off after entering orbit.
Standing next to the passenger seat, Lu Zhou looked at himself in the mirror.
Compared to the extravehicular spacesuit with its own power system and portable life support system, the intravehicular spacesuit was barely considered light, but it wasn't much better. As for the cost, it was naturally cheaper than the extravehicular spacesuit, probably around 10 million.
Speaking of which, this seemed to be the most expensive piece of clothing he had ever worn.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhou suddenly had an idea.
Should I take a selfie?
But after thinking about it, he finally gave up on this idea.
After all, it was really difficult to use the phone while wearing this thing. As expected, it was better to forget about it.
After reaching an altitude of 20 kilometers, the power output of Skyglow's engine gradually increased, and the nose of the spacecraft began to rise sharply. It began to follow a trajectory almost tangent to Earth, speeding toward outer space …
…
It's a long journey from the Earth's surface to space.
Strictly speaking, the altitude from 100 kilometers (the upper limit of each country's territorial airspace) to 2000 kilometers was considered as low-Earth orbit. The altitude of this test flight was based on the International Space Station's 419 kilometers. The total flight time was about two hours, and it was expected to stay in low-Earth orbit for 24 hours before returning to the Earth's surface.
This altitude was considered normal for manned spaceflight. Generally, manned spaceflight activities in low-Earth orbit were completed in the area below 400 kilometers. Lu Zhou didn't plan on flying Skyglow too far.
The five engines were running at full power, and Skyglow was like a retrograde meteor as it continued to ascend. The three people sitting in the cabin could clearly feel the increase in gravity. However, the increase was so slight that they almost couldn't feel it after getting used to it.
As Lu Zhou looked out the window at the planet gradually disappearing into the distance, his pupils dilated, and he was shocked. The azure sea and the thick clouds converged into one, and the lights of tens of thousands of houses were like stars in a cold night, connecting with the morning sun at the edge of the horizon.
It took a while for him to digest the shock in his heart before he sighed softly.
He spoke emotionally, "Only by standing here can you feel the fact that the Earth is round."
Nie Yun: "Can't you see a globe?"
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "After all, that's a conclusion made by someone else. It's different from seeing it with my own eyes."
Nie Yan was also looking at the blue planet. The shock in her heart was completely different from the two men's. Compared to the rational side, what she saw was more based on beauty, or rather, sensibility.
After a long time, she looked at the planet outside the porthole and let out a sigh of relief.
"It's so beautiful."
Nie Yun, who was sitting next to her, nodded.
"Yeah … It's so beautiful."
After the spacecraft broke through the 100-kilometer limit, it entered the mesosphere and entered the thermosphere. About 60 kilometers away, it would reach the lowest altitude of orbit around the Earth, which was 160 kilometers.
Even though they hadn't left the exosphere yet, the air resistance was almost negligible.
The arc of light behind Skyglow began to weaken. It went from a shiny dagger to a flickering candle. Finally, Lu Zhou heard the "successful orbit entry" sound, and the controllable fusion engine on Skyglow shut down. After the power unit was shut down, the cabin circuit was switched to a lithium-sulfur battery power system.
Even though Lu Zhou couldn't hear it with his ears, he could feel the cheers from the ground command center, the national anthem, and the pride in the hearts of the people at the launch site.
"We're finally in orbit … Jesus, this thing is easy to put on, but it's so troublesome to take it off."
Especially in a weightless environment …
Lu Zhou finally unlocked the passenger seat and connected it to the cabin life support system. He took off his spacesuit and slowly floated up from his seat. He floated next to the space shuttle porthole.
Lu Zhou looked at the blue Earth and held his breath. He then took out his phone and took a photo.
The second he pressed the shutter, a light blue window appeared in his field of vision.
[Secondary mission: Overlook the Earth.
[Description: Exploring science requires not only excellent vision, but also the courage to sacrifice yourself for science!
[Requirements: Manually operate the camera to take photos of the Earth from an altitude of 100-2000 kilometers. (User is required to complete the mission)
[Reward: 50,000 experience points, one lucky draw ticket. (Reward after the first stage is completed)]
This mission is really …
It's like I'm going to sacrifice myself for science.
Lu Zhou looked at the mission description and shook his head. He then put his phone back in his pocket.
However, even though the mission description wasn't very good, the mission reward was quite good.
It's just that …
The people at the ground command center were probably in a mess.
How should I explain it when I go back?
I can't just say that I wanted to go up and see the scenery, so I hitched a ride, right? Even though the scenery up there is pretty good.
Emmmm …
Lu Zhou thought for a moment before he shook his head and threw this idea out of his head.
Whatever, who cares.
I don't have the obligation to explain this to anyone.
You want a reason?
I'll deal with this myself.
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