The elevator continued to rise on the mobile launch platform, and the three of them were getting further and further away from the ground. Zhang Heng looked up at the distant sky, where the red sun was rising from the coastline.
Light and darkness intertwined perfectly at this moment, like a frozen film.
"I hope we can still see such a beautiful scene," Collins whispered.
Although the amazing height of the Saturn V gave them the illusion that they would never reach the top, the elevator finally stopped in front of the covered bridge.
NASA's staff opened the elevator door for them and nodded at them. At the same time, the engineers completed the final pre-launch inspection. The three of them walked across the connecting bridge between the rocket and the launch platform and entered the narrow command module.
Zhang Heng tried his best not to touch the complicated instruments and cables around him. At the same time, he found his seat, and the command module's hatch slowly closed behind him.
At this point, only the three of them were left in the spacecraft.
Armstrong and Collins were both veterans of NASA, and they had already carried out space missions before this. Hence, they behaved very calmly. However, compared to Armstrong's expressionless face, Collins was a little nervous.
After all, a series of events had just happened at NASA. A mysterious infectious disease, and a crazy reduction in personnel in the training camp … all of these seemed to confirm the widespread rumor that "God doesn't want humans to land on the moon."
Even with Collins' mental fortitude, it was difficult for him to completely ignore these disturbances.
However, when the mission began, he quickly composed himself and focused on the spaceflight.
Just like Apollo 11, NASA arranged for Armstrong to be the commander, and Collins to be the command/service module pilot. As for Zhang Heng, he replaced Buzz Aldrin as the lunar module pilot.
Collins was also the only person who did not land on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission because he needed to stay in the command/service module when the lunar module separated from the command/service module. If Armstrong and Zhang Heng couldn't return from the moon, Collins would have to pilot the command module back to Earth himself.
In terms of safety, he was the highest among the three, but the price he had to pay was that he couldn't visit the moon even though he was already at the "doorstep" of the moon. However, in terms of mission order, he was still higher than Zhang Heng, the lunar module pilot.
After the contact during the quarantine period, Zhang Heng, Armstrong, and Collins had become a lot more familiar with each other. Because Armstrong and Collins returned to the team later, the three did not have the opportunity to train together. This made NASA's senior executives very worried about the tacit understanding between the three.
But now, they had no better solution. All they could do was create an environment for the three to familiarize themselves with each other during the quarantine period. Zhang Heng also made sure of one thing.
That was that what happened in the parallel quest would not be carried into the normal quest. Armstrong had no memory of the time they spent together in the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory 14 years ago.
This could be seen from the expression on Armstrong's face when the two met again. The way Armstrong looked at Zhang Heng was like he was looking at a stranger.
Zhang Heng was a little disappointed, even though he knew that this was the most likely situation. After 14 years, his appearance hadn't changed at all, and there was no sign of aging on his body. This was not normal in anyone's eyes, and it was hard to find a credible reason for this.
Zhang Heng more or less learned about what happened after the two separated from each other from the internet and books of his later life.
Armstrong married Janet Elizabeth Hillen in 1956, whom he met in college. The two had three children together. His daughter, Karen, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor, losing her ability to speak and walk. Karen passed away on Armstrong and Janet's wedding anniversary.
This incident was a huge blow to him, which was why when Zhang Heng met him for the second time, he felt that Armstrong had become even quieter. Armstrong had never shown grief in front of anyone.
Later, he applied to be an astronaut for NASA. In addition to his love of flying, he also had a sense of escape. Perhaps only high-intensity training and work could temporarily make him forget the pain of losing his daughter. Other than that, Armstrong's marriage path was not smooth.
In 1989, Janet left a note for Armstrong at the dining table, asking him to end their 38-year marriage. In Armstrong's own words,
"Our marriage is like a failed flight, silently collapsing … If possible, I also want to say that I love my wife, and I am sorry …"
But at the moment, Armstrong, who was sitting in the command/service module, wasn't thinking about these things. He had focused all his energy on this mission. This was why NASA regarded Armstrong as a stable and reliable leader.
In a sense, although Armstrong and Zhang Heng lived in different times, they had a lot in common, and they could see each other's shadows in each other.
Back in the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, the two of them had a tacit understanding of each other. Fourteen years later, when they returned to the Apollo Training Camp dungeon, even though Armstrong couldn't remember what happened, the subtle tacit understanding between the two of them hadn't completely disappeared.
Armstrong could sense this as well. Although it was only the first time he met Zhang Heng, he felt like old friends reuniting after a long separation. Zhang Heng seemed to know a lot about his family situation and his early life.
…
Far away in Houston, the ground control center issued the command for the final two minutes of ignition. By then, all the workers on the ground had already evacuated to a safe area.
Today alone, more than a million people had come to watch Apollo 11's liftoff. In addition, dozens of cameras were broadcasting the whole process live. Zhang Heng used the last few seconds to check his seatbelt again to make sure that nothing was wrong.
At this time, the countdown reached the last 15 seconds, and the internal guidance was activated. With nine seconds left, the engine began to ignite. The five F1 rocket engines of the first-stage rocket were operating at full speed, burning about 12000 kilograms of aviation fuel per second, which was equivalent to the combined consumption of 1500 jet fighters.
Red flames spewed from the base of the rocket, stirring up a huge cloud of dust around it, generating a powerful thrust that pushed the spacecraft off the ground.
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