NASA。
Satellite control center.
A group of people stood in front of a horseshoe-shaped console. Among them were NASA engineers, officials from the White House and Congress, as well as professionals from famous North America aerospace companies such as Space-X and Blue Space.
The atmosphere at the scene was quite depressing. A pair of eyes converged on a single point on the big screen on the console.
Everyone was staring at the same spot, waiting for a result.
Three days ago, China's Skyglow spacecraft, carrying the core module components of the Moon Palace space station, successfully broke through the atmosphere, and entered low-Earth orbit.
Almost all of the world's space agencies were focused on this lunar orbit spacecraft.
If this launch was successful, China would become the first country in the world to launch a space station into lunar orbit. It would also become the only country in the world with proven lunar orbit construction capabilities.
This was obviously not good news for the United States.
If everything went according to plan, they wouldn't be able to launch the first "Lunar Gateway" lunar orbit space station until next year. Even though the success of the Ares program put them at the forefront of the Mars colonization program, losing the Moon was not worth it.
Three days ago, NASA's lunar observation satellite had been focusing on the Earth-Moon transfer orbit, waiting for the spacecraft that had left the geosynchronous orbit for a long time to appear again.
If everything went according to plan, today would be the day that Skyglow would arrive in lunar orbit …
Director Carson stared at the big screen on the console. He stood there with his hands behind his back for a long time. He looked at his watch impatiently and spoke.
"They haven't appeared yet?"
Standing next to Director Carson, Satellite Control Center Director Bill opened the folder in his hand and quickly reported to him.
"According to our calculations, they will arrive in lunar orbit in about ten minutes … Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that they didn't use the traditional Earth-Moon transfer orbit."
Bill glanced at Director Carson and continued.
"… If this is the case, we need more accurate lunar altitude data in order to accurately observe their spacecraft."
Director Carson pursed his lips.
"… You can call the China National Space Administration, maybe they'll tell you."
The voice of the director of the satellite control center, Bill, was slightly sluggish, and the smile on his face was a little awkward. The president stood not far from Director Carson and looked at his watch impatiently.
"… We can't wait here forever. Maybe you can give me a more accurate time next time."
Director Carson: "Don't worry, Mr. President. Whether the situation is optimistic or not, we'll see the results in two hours …"
If it was possible, he certainly hoped that the damned sky shuttle would never appear. It would be best if it was like a comet that had gone out of control, disappearing forever at the end of the Earth-Moon system …
NASA needed an opponent that could keep up with them, not someone that was half a step ahead of them. No matter which field they were in, they had to do their best. This wasn't just a form of glory, it was also a form of damned political correctness.
However, Carson also knew that his expectations couldn't even be considered extravagant.
Skyglow had already successfully landed on the Moon, so there was no reason that it couldn't even do something as simple as delivering a satellite.
Sure enough, as if to confirm his guess, when the hour hand pointed to the right time, there was a sudden commotion in front of the control panel.
A NASA engineer standing at the bottom of the screen suddenly pointed somewhere on the screen and shouted uncontrollably.
"It's Skyglow! I see it! "
Director Carson looked in the direction the engineer was pointing, and his pupils instantly contracted.
It's here!
It's Skyglow!
…
In the sky above the Moon, the cold silence was broken by the faint arcs of light.
A bright silver sky shuttle, like a silver shuttle from deep space, smoothly completed the orbit switch and slowly entered the 127-minute orbit.
All the operations were done in one go, without the slightest bit of sloppiness.
Nie Yun, who was sitting in the driver's seat, stared at the bumpy surface of the moon. He had a smile on his face, and his mind was full of thoughts.
I'm back here again …
The last time I was here was two or three months ago.
No matter how many times he looked at this beautiful scene, he couldn't help but be fascinated.
His only regret was that this time, he couldn't stand on the dusty land either.
However, he believed that one day in the future, traveling to the Moon would be as easy as taking a flight across the ocean.
By that time, the small wish in his heart wouldn't be a wish at all.
Nie Yun reached out his hand and pressed on his helmet. He spoke in a clear voice.
"This is Skyglow, we have successfully entered orbit."
After a short pause, a noisy voice came from the communication channel.
"This is the ground command center. I'm glad to hear that your flight mission is halfway complete … Please head to the designated airspace immediately and prepare for the next stage."
"Roger that!"
Nie Yun reached out and pressed on the control panel. He switched the flight mode from orbital change mode to automatic cruise mode. He then skillfully opened the cabin pressure measurement system.
Nie Yan was sitting in the co-pilot seat. She confirmed the data between the plane and the Moon on the rangefinder and spoke in a casual tone.
"Orbital altitude is normal, approaching the target area … Maybe we can speed up a bit. If everything goes well, we might be able to make it to the Starlight test flight."
Nie Yun smiled and said, "Don't even think about it, the test pilots have already been decided. It's two guys from the aerospace department."
Nie Yan sighed regretfully. "Is that so? That's a shame. "
Apparently, Starlight had a dual-wing design and four of the five engines could be used to control the direction of the jet. This new type of aircraft would be able to complete the flight from the surface to the orbit in a safer way with lower working medium consumption.
This kind of aircraft would definitely be more fun to fly than Skyglow.
Nie Yun: "There's nothing to be sorry about, we still have other test missions. I'm sure you'll be interested."
Nie Yan: "What kind of test missions?"
Nie Yun smiled and said, "Your old job, flying transport aircraft … Shuttling between the Earth-Moon orbit and geosynchronous orbit."
A while ago, he heard that Star Sky Technology was considering using Skyglow's propulsion system to develop an interplanetary ion thruster that could quickly shuttle between the Earth and the Moon.
If this research was successful, it wouldn't be long before Skyglow retired from the stage of history.
At the very least, it would be retired from civilian launch missions.
Nie Yan rolled her eyes and said, "I'd rather fly Skyglow. I applied for this mission because I was tired of flying transport aircraft."
Nie Yun joked in a relaxed tone, "Isn't it because you can fly higher?"
Nie Yan: "Both … We're here!"
As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the target area.
The flight path gradually deviated from the 127-minute orbit and entered an elliptical orbit.
This was the best location for the Moon satellite. Due to the gravitational forces of the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, the core module in this orbit could maintain stable operation for up to 36 months without the help of a propulsion system.
With the help of a propulsion system, only a small amount of working fluid and energy would be needed to maintain the space station in this peaceful orbit for decades …
After confirming the orbital parameters, Nie Yun took a deep breath and placed his hand on the side of his helmet. He spoke in a steady and firm voice.
"This is Skyglow, we have arrived at the space station's delivery orbit."
Shortly after, the ground command center gave an order.
"… Activate the cargo compartment!"
"Roger that." Nie Yan, who was in the co-pilot seat, looked at Nie Yan. He reached out and opened the cargo compartment's safety lock. He then pressed the red button that popped up.
"Opening the cargo compartment!"
A light muffled sound floated up from the soles of their feet. The silver-white cylindrical spacecraft was thrown into deep space by Skyglow …
Looking at the green words [Separation Successful] that popped up on the screen, Nie Yun said in an excited voice.
"Cargo compartment successfully activated!
"Moon Palace has successfully entered orbit!"
"We did it!"
(It's a new month, I'm looking for tickets ~ ~ ~ Oh, I'm so excited, I'm going skydiving tomorrow. I heard it's 13000 feet, but I don't know if I can fly that high. Anyway, this is for the materials! I bought insurance, wish me luck!)
。 m.
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