Encountering a fire in space was definitely one of the last things any astronaut wanted to experience.
After the Apollo I accident, NASA also redesigned and optimized the interior of the spacecraft. They replaced the flammable materials in the cabin with materials that automatically extinguished the fire, wrapped the piping system and wires with insulating materials, fixed the wiring problems, and changed the atmospheric pressure in the cabin from pure oxygen to a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. The nylon spacesuit was changed to a glass-coated spacesuit. At the same time, they also strengthened the astronaut's fire handling training.
Flames in a spacecraft were very different from those on Earth. Without gravity, in a state of free fall, the hot air produced by the combustion of flames would not rise. Instead, it would wrap around the flames, forming a low-oxygen, high-temperature layer around it.
Because of the lack of oxygen, the spread of flames was very slow. It would become a ball of light and burn at a lower temperature than on Earth.
Generally speaking, after a fire, the spacecraft would first sound an alarm. After that, the astronaut would need to put on a breathing mask, determine the fire point as quickly as possible, and cut off the nearby power supply. At the same time, other people would use fire extinguishers to extinguish the fire. If the fire could not be controlled, the astronaut would need to leave the cabin, retreat to another cabin, lock the door, and turn off the air circulation fan of the fire module.
Later on, the Apollo 13 service module exploded on the second day after launch. However, the seven astronauts on the spacecraft were calm in the face of danger. All of them safely moved to the lunar module and cooperated with the ground control center. They gave up the moon landing plan and drove the spacecraft to the far side of the moon. Using the slingshot effect, they successfully returned to Earth, creating the greatest miracle in the history of human spaceflight.
Of course, this was all for later.
NASA's fire handling training was carried out in a closed environment that simulated an aircraft. Of course, real fire was not used. Instead, a red alarm light was used instead. Participants were required to follow the steps of the fire fighting process, so in theory, there was no danger.
According to the order of roll call, this time it was the middle-aged man's turn to take the lead. He glanced at the high school student beside him, and the two walked into the simulator.
The simulator had two parts, corresponding to the service module and the lunar module. The two went straight to the innermost service module, which was also where the first part of the training began.
However, when the alarm sounded, they did not follow the instructions in the manual to remove the breathing mask on the side. The high school student quickly took off his shirt, revealing a row of water bags tied to his body.
The water bags were not filled with clean water, but pale yellow gasoline, which he had stolen from the warehouse.
He turned on the gasoline and poured it on the cotton bag beside him that was used to simulate flammable materials. "Now you can tell us how to cover the smell of this thing, lock the hatch, and ignite it remotely."
The middle-aged man did not answer. He waited until the high school student finished pouring out the gasoline before he quietly retreated to the hatch. At the same time, he took out a match and rubbed it. Then, he spoke again. "I've told you before that in my last solo competitive dungeon, I met two players who were childhood friends in the real world. In order to fight for the last spot, one of them had no choice but to kill the other. It was a very difficult decision, very difficult …" The middle-aged man paused. "What I didn't tell you was that I was the one who did it."
"What?" An ominous premonition rose in the high school student's heart. He looked back and saw that the middle-aged man was already standing at the connection between the service module and the lunar module.
At the same time, the latter threw the match in his hand, and the match landed accurately on a bag of cotton bags that were doused with gasoline. The fire quickly ignited, and the high school student didn't have time to think about it. He ran out desperately, but the middle-aged man had already closed the door of the service module.
The simulated fire alarm in the service module was still ringing wildly, but it sounded a little ironic when the fire was getting bigger and bigger.
The high school student used all his strength to pry the door open little by little. Just when he was about to see hope, he was splashed with a bucket of cold water. Through the gap, he saw the middle-aged man on the other side take out the lighter and aim it at the lower part of the hatch.
Just like the previous door lock, the heated part quickly melted, but this time, the middle-aged man quickly put away the lighter. The melted part came into contact with the ground, and after it cooled down, it quickly fixed and connected with the surroundings.
The middle-aged man retracted his hand, and this time, the high school student couldn't open the hatch anymore.
"Sorry, I didn't tell you the truth before. I can't cover up the smell of gasoline and complete the remote ignition. I don't have that kind of device on me."
"Are you crazy?! What good will it do you to kill me? Are you going to fight those two people alone? " The high school student was sweating profusely. With the gasoline in the water bag, the fire was burning fast, and the tongue of flame was already licking his back. The look on his face became more and more frightened, and he even began to beg the middle-aged man to open the door.
However, the middle-aged man was unmoved. "Who said I have to fight those two people?" The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows. "I do have an ally, but unfortunately, that person isn't you. By the way, you can shout for help, but these two simulators are very well sealed. The people outside won't be able to hear what's going on inside."
"How are you going to explain it to NASA if you kill me?! Do you still want to go to the moon? Or are you just doing this to help someone else? You're not that kind of person. "The high school student choked on the thick smoke, and tears began to flow out of his eyes.
The middle-aged man took a few more steps back, away from the spreading flames. "You were the one who brought the gasoline into the simulator. I haven't left anyone's sight since I woke up in the morning. You were the only one who disappeared for such a long time after lunch, so everyone thought you were the one who started the fire. As for the reason, I don't know … Maybe the recent intensive training has made you overly nervous, or maybe the successive accidents of the candidates have caused you to be under more stress than you can bear. I just went to the lunar module for the second part of the evacuation training. When I found out, it was already too late, and you even closed the hatch in the middle."
"Do you think NASA won't suspect you?"
"I don't care. As long as there's no absolute evidence, they still need us to go to the moon for them." The middle-aged man covered his mouth and nose with one hand to prevent himself from inhaling the toxic smoke. At the same time, he looked at the watch on his wrist, calculating how much time the high school student had left. When there was no more sound from inside, and the smoke in the lunar module was getting thicker and thicker, the middle-aged man ran to the door, pushed it open, and put on a panicked expression. "Oh no, fire!"
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