This star is going to the moon

Chapter 254 Elon Musk's eldest son participates in the Pride Parade, while basketball star Kobe Bryant arrives by helicopter.
American space launch center.

Elon Musk and the project manager of the Crew Dragon spacecraft carefully reviewed the checklist and signed it after confirming that there were no problems.

Looking at the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft standing on the launch pad, the supervisor said happily, "Boss, we've won this time! NASA's Commercial Crew Program order is ours!"

"No matter what tricks Boeing used, if their spacecraft has problems, they won't get any orders!"

The supervisor's happiness is understandable, because when SpaceX and Boeing competed for this project, SpaceX's plan was clearly better and more feasible, but the project and funding went to Boeing instead.

NASA initially intended the Space Fork to be a backup.

Fortunately, SpaceX is quite capable, and they have indeed developed the Crew Dragon spacecraft based on the Cargo Dragon spacecraft, and everything is proceeding according to plan.

On the contrary, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft has been plagued with problems. Not only did it fail to make its maiden flight on time, but it also encountered major problems after its maiden flight, which further delayed the Starliner's manned mission.

The opponent's plans are delayed step by step, while your own plans proceed on schedule. How can you not win?

When Ma Yilong heard his supervisor say this, he smiled confidently and said, "This escape test of the 'Crew Dragon' spacecraft will definitely go smoothly, so we can carry out the manned mission smoothly by the middle of the year."

"Based on my understanding of Boeing, and the incompetent people in the Starliner project, I have a feeling that the Starliner will face a lot of trouble, and it might not even be able to complete its second test flight next year, by which time we will have already completed at least two manned missions!"

"We're far ahead!"

"The same goes for the 'Zhou Tian Xing Dou Da Zhen' that Lao Zhong collaborated on with Lu Yun. Their time is still behind, while our 'Star Chain' is far ahead!"

Upon hearing this, the supervisor gave a thumbs up: "Boss, you're right, you are the world's number one in the commercial space industry!"

"And all the decisions you made were absolutely correct. The blond businessman in that white house is currently being impeached. If you hadn't chosen to jump ship earlier, Space Fork might have been implicated..."

Listening to his supervisor's words, Ma Yilong thought of the recent major events in the Federation.

The two parties have indeed been competing, but it is rare for it to go so far as to impeach.

Fortunately, just as the supervisor said, Ma Yilong had already jumped out of the car.

He initially joined in the fun when he saw the blond businessman rise to power, but he didn't stay in the think tank for long before the other party caused a lot of trouble.

When Ma Yilong saw things were going badly, he ran away, and now he's starting to flirt with the Donkey Party again.

Based on the current situation, the next election will definitely be won by the Donald Party.

Most importantly, he belongs to the tech industry, and most people in the tech industry are pro-Donalds.

So recently he's been putting a lot of things in the company that donkeys support, and even his eldest son went to participate in the Pride Parade, which made him, as the father, more visible.

However, his favorite thing was his big rocket, so he didn't pay much attention to his son.

What could possibly happen by participating in a march?

There are protests every day in the US.

Just treat it as a trip.

In fact, Elon Musk's eldest son was having a lot of fun. While he was preparing for the escape test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, his eldest son was participating in a parade in New York.

Large numbers of people marched through the streets waving rainbow flags and various signs, chanting various slogans.

"Men can show their upper bodies in public, and we women also demand the right to do so!" "Support!"

"No, I demand that we be allowed to go out completely naked!"

"Respect minorities!"

"Black Lives Matter!"

"I support gender transition! I want to change my sex! I want to be a woman!"

"A generous crab! My gender is a generous crab!"

"Support the legalization of hemp leaves!"

Ma Yilong's eldest son was also excitedly shouting slogans in the team. Next to him, a woman with lip, tongue, nose, and eyebrow piercings, and wearing smoky makeup, sporting a purple mohawk... well, she was probably a woman, said:
"Hey, darling, you're so beautiful! You're more beautiful than any Hollywood star! You should be a woman!"

………………

"Fantastic! We did it!"

Watching the Falcon 9 first-stage rocket explode into a fireball in mid-air under control, Ma Yilong cheered.

He wasn't cheering for the rocket explosion, but rather for the point of light on top of the fireball.

That's the Crew Dragon spacecraft that successfully escaped after activating its thrusters!
The live broadcast provided an even clearer view, with ground cameras capturing the moment the Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully escaped its test.

(Virtual rendering showing two escape methods: push escape and escape tower escape)
After Lu Yun and others finished inspecting the "Wanhu" rocket and the "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Da Zhen" satellite in the fairing at the Dongfeng launch site and confirmed that there were no problems, they had some free time and began to watch the live broadcast of the escape test of the "Manned Dragon" spacecraft.

In fact, Lu Yun had not planned to come, but because it was the first batch of satellites launched for the "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Da Zhen" (a powerful satellite constellation), which was of great significance, the authorities still invited him.

"This push-style escape looks cool, but the system is too complicated."

"Actually, it's not too difficult for current aerospace technology. SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft both use this escape technology."

"Push-type escape is not just about looking cool. Because it is integrated into the spacecraft, its overall escape system is less massive, saving a lot of payload weight. In contrast, escape tower escape has a separate escape system, so it is much more massive and takes up a lot of payload weight. Its only advantage is that the technology is relatively simple."

"Indeed, so most escape methods are still escape towers. Our new generation of manned spacecraft that carried out the lunar landing mission and the Orion spacecraft that returned to the moon both used escape towers, mainly because the technology is mature enough."

"Forget about escape methods. In any case, future manned spacecraft will all be space shuttles like the 'Wooden Kite,' so there won't be any need for escape methods."

"But speaking of the 'Wooden Kite,' it seems to lack an escape plan, just like the Space Shuttle, right? What if it ends up like the Space Shuttle..."

"Hey, the previous space shuttle accidents were because the technology wasn't advanced enough at the time. Things are different now. Besides, the 'Wooden Kite' is smaller and stronger than the space shuttle, so it should be fine."

"I feel that accidents are still unavoidable. Cars, trains, and airplanes have more advanced technology, but accidents still happen..."

"Airplanes are already the mode of transportation with the lowest accident rate, but if an accident really happens, there's nothing anyone can do..."

………………

American, California.

"Mr. Kobi, the helicopter is ready."

(End of this chapter)