This star is going to the moon

Chapter 502 The American: "Something's not right! Something's very wrong!"

"3, 2, 1, ignition!"

"take off!"

"Departure time..."

Accompanied by billowing steam, the "Wanhu" rocket soared into the sky, trailing a long plume of flame.

The "Wanhu" rocket has been in operation for four years since its maiden flight in 2018. During this time, it has easily achieved its goal of 100 launches and is rapidly moving toward its goal of 200th launch.

Of these more than one hundred launches, only the second stage rocket malfunctioned once, but the mission was still barely accomplished.

That time, the rocket's orbital altitude was insufficient, forcing the satellite to consume fuel and climb to its own altitude, which resulted in the satellite's designed service life being halved.

On another occasion, the payload transport mission was completed, but the landing legs of the first-stage rocket malfunctioned during landing, causing the first-stage rocket to crash onto the recovery ship.

Fortunately, there was no explosion, but unfortunately the first-stage rocket, which had been recovered 12 times, was scrapped prematurely.

Apart from those two instances, the "Wanhu" rockets have all successfully completed their missions and been recovered, whether it was the official improved version or the basic version from Blue Star Aerospace Company.

It can be said that the "Wanhu" rocket is a fully mature "old rocket", so everyone is very familiar with the procedures in all aspects.

If the payload of this mission hadn't been the relay satellite carrying humanity's first sample return from the far side of the moon, far fewer people would have been watching.

The audience gathered outside the launch site and in the live broadcast room are all giving "Queqiao-2" face.

[It feels like a dream; we're actually going to collect lunar soil from the far side of the moon—this is a first for humankind!]

[This shows you don't pay much attention to space exploration. I felt the country was going to focus on the far side of the moon when Chang'e 4 landed on it in early 2019. After all, Chang'e 5 successfully collected lunar samples from the near side, and Chang'e 4 had already landed on the far side. There was also a backup lunar sample lander, Chang'e 6, so sampling on the far side was definitely going to be arranged.]

Indeed, that's what I guessed back then. Following the principle of not wasting resources, the space agency wouldn't allow Chang'e 6 to collect another positive sample. I just didn't expect our manned lunar landing program to be so fast; I thought it would be at least 30 years from now.

[Actually, it's pretty much the same. Many aerospace experts initially estimated a manned lunar landing around 2030, but plans can't keep up with changes.]

[That's true, I didn't expect it either, mainly because I didn't expect there to be such an incredibly powerful person as Lu Yun.]

[Our country's aerospace technology has developed rapidly in recent years, so it is only natural that the manned lunar landing mission was launched ahead of schedule.]

I'm really looking forward to the manned moon landing in 2024, the dream of landing on the moon that has lasted for thousands of years...

[2024 is still a long way off, let's focus on Queqiao-2 today and Chang'e-6 in May...]

As a preparatory mission for Chang'e 6's lunar far-side sampling, Queqiao-2 has garnered attention not only from Chinese space enthusiasts but also from space enthusiasts worldwide.

Among them, American space enthusiasts are the most concerned.

After all, when it comes to the amount of lunar soil, the Americans definitely have the most.

Their last manned lunar mission brought back several hundred kilograms of lunar samples, including large chunks of lunar rock. But no matter how much lunar soil they collected, it was all from the near side of the moon, while Chang'e 6 aims to collect and bring back the first sample of lunar soil from the far side of the moon.

Most importantly, the far side of the moon is really mysterious, and there are far more meteorites impacting the far side than the near side. Who knows, we might find some good stuff there?
Therefore, every step that China and Laos take in space exploration is aimed at increasing the success rate of Chang'e 6's sample return mission, and they are paying close attention to it.

They chatted like any other Chinese netizens, and even talked about manned lunar landings. Then, as they talked, they realized something was off.

Guys, have you noticed something? Both the Chinese and we are preparing for a manned lunar landing, but the progress of our preparations is different.

[Of course it's different, because we're faster. The SLS rocket, used for manned lunar landings, was moved to the launch pad a few days ago for a wet rehearsal. Didn't you know?]

[That's not what I meant. I meant the overall preparation progress. Look at what China is doing right now. They are conducting resource exploration before a manned lunar landing, trying to find the most suitable landing site. For this purpose, they have already sent several lunar rovers, and new orbital satellites are also about to be launched. These satellites can not only conduct exploration in orbit, but also serve as a future uninterrupted lunar navigation and communication system.]

[Yes, yes, I noticed that too. The recently launched Queqiao-2 satellite is said to be relaying communications for Chang'e-6, which is about to fly to the far side of the moon. Actually, it will later change orbit to the lunar south pole for further communication relay, where Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 will form an unmanned research station. If all goes well, they will also land manned missions on the lunar south pole in 2024. Queqiao-2 can also serve as a preliminary relay! But what have we done to prepare for returning to the moon?]

[Hmm, it seems... nothing was done?]

Yes, it seems we haven't made any other preparations besides the Artemis program and the return-to-the-moon plan.

[I remember there were several lunar landers, weren't there?]

That's a NASA commercial project, done in collaboration with various small aerospace companies and foreign companies or universities. The progress is very slow, and it might not even meet the two- or four-year timeline.

The Peregrine lunar lander was supposed to be the first to launch, but it was propelled by the Vulcan-Centaur rocket, whose maiden flight has now been postponed. Consequently, the Peregrine lander's launch has also been delayed.

[Actually, I heard that the progress of the "Peregrine" rocket wasn't ideal either, so after the rocket was delayed, its company "happily" announced a delay as well.]

I have some information; it seems there's a chance the Vulcan-Centaur rocket might have its maiden flight in the second half of 2020 or 2023.

[The second half of 2023 or 2024? That's too extreme. If any more problems arise, it will be postponed to 2024 immediately.]

There's nothing we can do about it; new rockets are just that unreliable.

The Peregrine lander is probably doomed too.

But without the initial exploration, wouldn't the Artemis program's return to the moon be just like the Apollo manned lunar landing program decades ago?

[It's different this time. The lunar lander is much larger, a full 50 meters tall. Elon Musk said it can carry 100 tons of cargo to the moon. We can transport all the exploration equipment up there in one go, more than the Chinese team did in so many trips.]

[But you also said that new rockets are unstable. Elon Musk's Super Falcon rocket hasn't even had a single test flight yet. Are you sure its maiden flight will be successful?]

[Uh, Elon Musk's Super Falcon rocket can't succeed on the first try; it has to destroy several rockets to succeed...]

Guys, something's wrong, something really wrong!

【What should we do? 】

(End of this chapter)