ccnovels #238 - Chapter 238: Crisis! Act in time, the letter of appointment from Yanjing!
#238 - Chapter 238: Crisis! Act in time, the letter of appointment from Yanjing!
Control and Communication Center.
Even without the command center questioning, they already knew something was wrong.
It wasn't just that launchpad 130 had lost its tracking signal.
But rather…
Ground control had lost contact with the rocket!
"Quick, check it!"
The old man, over sixty, had a face ashen with gray: "They're about to jettison the fairing!"
Once the rocket stopped receiving commands, it meant the launch had failed.
This time, it wasn't just one rocket.
But six!
The consequences of a failed launch were extremely serious!
A man led his team, busying themselves in front of different instruments, cold sweat streaming down.
Time was of the essence.
Only a few minutes remained before the fairing had to be jettisoned.
"Get out of the way!"
The man dripping with cold sweat was the very one who had stopped him from entering an hour ago: "We will work hard to solve the problem here, besides… you're not responsible for this aspect, what's the point of inspecting?"
Why did he stop Lin Shun from inspecting?
Frankly speaking.
He thought Lin Shun was showing off.
Aerospace was a massive systems engineering project, and each scientist was only proficient in one area or aspect.
You're a satellite researcher, what do you know about ground control?
Inspecting?
Wasn't it just to show off in front of everyone?
"Did I say I was inspecting?!" Lin Shun roared.
He didn't understand communication and control.
But there was someone who did!
"Is this the time to argue?"
Amidst the cold shouts.
Chen Hao ran towards that large pile of instruments.
"Yes!"
To everyone's surprise, Chief Engineer Lin became meek and submissive: "Chief Chen, please find a solution quickly!"
"Who is this?" The head of the Control and Communication Center hurried forward.
Chen Hao didn't have time to respond.
"Chief Designer of China Aerospace Equipment, Chen Hao!" Lin Shun introduced in a deep voice.
What?!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
No one had ever heard of this position.
In fact, even Chen Hao himself didn't know, but he didn't have time to participate in the conversation.
Chief Designer of Aerospace Equipment?
Literally.
"Aerospace", meaning aviation.
Including fighter jets, bombers, helicopters, civilian airliners, etc.
"Space", meaning astronautics.
Including space shuttles, rockets, satellites, space stations, etc.
The aerospace field was extremely vast and wide-ranging, and even the world's best scientists could only be involved in a small part of it.
One person.
How could they possibly be proficient in all areas of aerospace?
But!
Lin Shun's identity wasn't low.
In this kind of situation, he couldn't possibly be lying, right?
"Wireless transmitter is normal!"
"Satellite communication module is fine…"
Chen Hao kept running between the various instruments.
Six satellites lost contact at the same time.
It shouldn't be a problem with the satellites themselves, it's impossible for all the satellites to have problems, and they would have been checked multiple times before leaving the factory.
The problem must be from the ground!
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
He went straight to one of the instruments, quickly checked it on the console, then bent down to pull open the equipment box, almost half his body inside.
"Chief Chen! Be careful of electric shock!" Lin Shun exclaimed in alarm.
"It's okay…"
*Pop!*
A cable was pulled out by him.
Sparks flew.
"Quick! Get me a repeater connector!" Chen Hao shouted.
"Repeater connector!"
Lin Shun's forehead was also covered in sweat, he shouted to the people in the Control and Communication Center: "Is there a spare?"
"Yes!"
A young man came back to his senses, found a new repeater connector, and ran towards Lin Shun.
"Not for me, for Chief Chen!" Lin Shun shouted.
"Yes…"
The young man turned around and ran towards Chen Hao.
Replace!
Connect!
Chen Hao completed it in one go at the fastest speed.
"We have it… we have a signal!"
"Launchpad 1022 tracking is normal! Radar tracking is normal!"
"Telemetry signal is normal!"
All personnel returned to their positions.
After discovering that the signal had returned to normal, some people excitedly shouted and yelled, and a few people… actually cried!
They were tears of joy!
Just now, they were really close to being scared to death.
Six rockets!
Six satellites!
Once all of them had problems, not only would they be severely punished, but as aerospace personnel, wouldn't it be the greatest shame of their lives?
The key problem was in the hardware equipment.
What did that mean?
The pre-launch checks weren't thorough enough!
"Jettison the fairing!"
The voice came from the command center, transmitted here through the intercom.
Within the few remaining minutes, Chen Hao found the cause with amazing expertise.
Without delaying the next step!
"First stage shutdown!"
"First and second stage separation! Second stage ignition!"
At this moment.
The Control and Communication Center didn't have time to do anything else, they pricked up their ears to listen to the feedback from the command center.
It must succeed!
"Second stage shutdown!"
"Vehicle-satellite separation!"
Each message fed back by the command center meant that they were one step closer to success.
"Solar panel deployment is normal!"
"Flight attitude is normal!"
One good news after another came.
At this time, the head of the Control and Communication Center, looking at the data on the screen, picked up the intercom: "The control system is normal!"
20,000 kilometers from the Earth's surface.
The Beidou satellite sent into its intended orbit unfolded its huge solar panels.
Compared to the Beidou designed by the country before, the solar panel area was greatly increased.
Also!
Using the new materials provided by Chen Hao, the absorption and conversion efficiency of the solar panels had increased by at least 50%!
The area increased.
The efficiency increased.
The converted electrical energy, in addition to providing power for the satellite itself, also had a large surplus.
*Beep!*
A peculiar ring-shaped device flickered with faint blue arcs.
The pulse cannon was charging!
This was the terrifying aspect of the redesigned Beidou!
It was not only a communication satellite, but also a satellite killer.
One shot.
Could destroy all electronic equipment within a certain distance—for example, other countries' satellites!
…
"The first batch of six Beidou satellites has arrived in its intended orbit!"
"Launch successful!"
The excited voice came from the command center.
"Success!"
Control and Communication Center.
Hearing the message from the command center, everyone excitedly shouted and yelled.
"Chief Chen!"
The man who had previously prevented the inspection walked straight to Chen Hao.
Deeply bent his waist.
Bowing.
"Thank you for your help in this emergency!"
He didn't straighten up, but maintained his bowing posture, his face full of guilt: "I… request organizational punishment!"
He thought Lin Shun was showing off.
He thought that the other party, who worked on satellites, couldn't possibly understand control and communication technology.
Lin Shun didn't understand.
But Chen Hao, who was with Lin Shun, did!
Almost!
A terrible mistake was made!
"Did you succeed?"
Chen Hao's plain gaze swept over everyone present: "Everyone seems to have forgotten that our launch mission is 35 satellites—so, whether it's cheering for success or requesting punishment, it's too early."
That's right!
The crowd came to their senses.
Today, they had to complete the Beidou network in one go, launching a total of 35 Long March 3 rockets.
Sending 35 Beidou satellites into their intended orbits.
Where was that?
At this moment.
A new rocket was being transported to the launch tower.
The second round of launches was being prepared!
"I'm not part of any organization, it's not up to me to decide whether you request punishment or not, let's wait until the network is completed," Chen Hao said indifferently.
"Chief Chen!"
Lin Shun stepped forward: "You can decide!"
"Decide what?" Chen Hao was puzzled.
"Actually… you are the 'organization'."
While speaking.
Lin Shun took out a sealed document: "You said you were going to inspect as soon as you arrived, and I ran around with you all day, I forgot about this—the higher-ups asked me to accompany you to participate in the launch, and also asked me to bring this."
Opening the document.
It was a letter of appointment.