This star is going to the moon

Chapter 333 The spacecraft designer is about to travel to space in the spacecraft he designed!
On August 23rd, a record-breaking good thing happened to Xiao Rizi.

That is, their beloved Prime Minister, Shinzo, has accumulated 2799 consecutive days in office, surpassing former Prime Minister Sato to become the longest-serving prime minister.

Upon seeing this news, the citizens wished their beloved prime minister continued good health.

Meanwhile, the information that the Chinese are paying attention to is that Lu Yun has released a new preview of the test flight of the Wooden Kite.

[Lu Yun: On August 25th, the Muyuan spacecraft conducted its second manned test flight.]

Normally, space enthusiasts and people who want to join in the fun would be very excited to see this information, but this time they are a little confused.

Why was the trailer released so rushed this time, only two days in advance?

[I need to buy tickets right away! I want to see the Muyuan spacecraft take off from the space airport runway before school starts!]

Indeed, previous announcements were usually made about five days in advance, but this time it was only two days. I couldn't easily take time off work. Luckily, I had previously watched an unmanned test flight. Whether or not to watch a manned test flight is debatable.

Is it true that manned test flights differ from unmanned test flights? Unmanned test flights have longer notice periods but shorter intervals between flights, while manned test flights have shorter notice periods but longer intervals between flights because they require more detailed checks.

[Seriously? The teasers before the first manned test flight were usually quite long, this one was just a bit short.]

[I noticed that too. Anyway, I can understand why they need to do more maintenance and repairs before carrying passengers twice. The first time they carried passengers, they did maintenance for a month, and this time it took about twenty days. But I didn't understand the advance notice...]

Then they quickly understood, because Blue Star Aerospace announced the crew for this mission on the 24th.

The captain this time is Zhao Chuandong, a professional astronaut who retired from the national team and was recruited by Lu Yun to Blue Star Aerospace.

He participated in training related to the Shenzhou V to Shenzhou X manned space missions while on the national team, but ultimately did not carry out the actual spaceflight mission.

This manned test flight involved not only a professional astronaut, but also five passengers who were "pretending to be commercial passengers to conduct ordinary person tests for future formal space tourism."

Yes, that's right.

One of them is Ye Jianfei, a highly respected figure. He is not only the dean of the School of Astronautics at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has made outstanding contributions to the national lunar exploration program and also has a teacher-student relationship with Lu Yun.

He is 75 years old this year, and this will make him the oldest person in China to enter space.

This was also a promise Lu Yun had made previously.

The other four "test passengers" are quite interesting; they are Lu Yun, An Fangfei, Yu Xingchen, and Shu Chang.

Needless to say, Lu Yun and An Fangfei are close friends. Yu Xingchen is Lu Yun's good friend and also the vice president of Lanxing Aerospace. Shu Chang is An Fangfei's best friend, and the two have known each other for almost twenty years.

Therefore, the release of this list immediately caused a sensation in the country.

[Holy crap, Lu Yun is really going to space?!]

[Yes, Lu Yun has stated publicly on multiple occasions that he wants to go to space himself, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon!]

[Isn't the most impressive thing that he went to space in a spacecraft he designed and built himself? That's so romantic!]

Yes, in the past, scientists designed spacecraft to send astronauts into space. No one who designed and manufactured a spacecraft ever went into space in one of their own creations, even though they were called "the people closest to space." In a way, it's quite a pity.

[My idol is truly extraordinary; he was born to break records, and this is no exception. Not only is he going, but he's also taking his girlfriend to space!]

These words immediately served as a wake-up call for many people and gave a refreshing perspective to many fans.

Yes, for space enthusiasts, everything else is important, but for entertainment fans, this is the key. Leaving aside the usual celebrity dating gossip, even those who constantly show off their affection are mostly confined to the ground. But Lu Yun and An Fangfei are going to space this time!

It's not even the traditional "going to the sky," but going into space!
This is amazing! It's driving those celebrity fans absolutely crazy!

Friends, what day is August 25th? It's An Fangfei's birthday! Lu Yun is going to celebrate An Fangfei's birthday in space. I think that's the most romantic thing ever!

[Ah, I'm dead! This is so romantic, I'm totally swooning!]

[Not only that, An Fangfei also took her best friend to space. It seems Shu Chang and she are truly best friends.]

"Of course, they've known each other for almost twenty years, longer than An Fangfei and Lu Yun have known each other."

It's a pity Yao Beina passed away; otherwise, the two would have known each other for almost thirty years.

Because someone mentioned something sad, the celebrity fan group became slightly depressed, while the space enthusiast group continued to have fun.

After all, this kind of situation hasn't been seen for many years...

No, it's not that I've never seen it before!
[Lu Yun is truly daring; this is only his second time conducting a manned mission, and he's already gone in himself. Would other space company bosses dare to do that?]

[Let alone whether other aerospace company owners dare to do it, even if they did, they wouldn't have the opportunity. Their companies either don't have manned spacecraft, or are still conducting unmanned tests due to various problems. Currently, only Elon Musk's "Crew Dragon" and Lu Yun's "Wooden Kite" are qualified for manned missions. Lu Yun has already set an example; even if Musk dared, he'd have to wait at least five months!]

Indeed, the requirements for riding the "Crew Dragon" are very stringent. Not only do they require professional astronauts who have undergone at least several years of training, but even ordinary people need five months of training to ride it. Unlike the "Wooden Kite," which reportedly only requires a few days of training for ordinary people, it truly deserves its status as a groundbreaking manned spacecraft.

[Lu Yun's audacity wasn't just limited to him going alone; he also took the company's vice president with him. What if something went wrong... wouldn't Blue Star Aerospace be finished?]

[Pshaw, don't talk nonsense. Lu Yun must be 120% confident to do that, after all, he even invited his girlfriend.]

Indeed, Lu Yun's aerospace equipment has maintained a 100% success rate to date, with no accidents whatsoever.

I definitely wouldn't dare, because aerospace is somewhat mystical, so it's best not to make any definitive statements.

Among the numerous online discussions, the one with the highest density and popularity is actually Lu Yun's alma mater, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Students at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics discovered that two students from their school were going to space as "non-astronauts".

Lu Yun goes without saying; almost everyone, whether they graduated from or not, knows him.

Because they are really too famous.

And the other person...

[Holy crap, is our dean going to space too? He's 75 years old!]

[Calm down, the world's oldest astronaut is 77 years and 103 days old, our director is only two years younger.]

[This is different. Grandpa Glenn was a professional astronaut, and the first American to go into space, so his physical condition is definitely excellent. Ye Yuan, on the other hand, is a scientist, so his physical condition is probably worse.]

Physical condition is not strongly correlated with occupation, and the "Wooden Kite" offers a much more comfortable travel environment. If Glenn could travel to space on the Space Shuttle at the age of 77, then Ye Yuan could travel to space on the Space Shuttle at the age of 75.

[Don't worry, since the list has been released, it means that Blue Star Aerospace checked Academician Ye's health and confirmed that there were no problems before allowing him to fly.]

Soon, Bluestar Aerospace officially released "official photos" of the six people wearing "Bluestar" spacesuits, giving the impression that "they are astronauts".

This elicited another round of exclamations!
(End of this chapter)