This star is going to the moon

Chapter 505 Ma Yilong: "Federal Spaceflight, you still have to look to me!" But... the eldest son becomes the eldest daughter!

Regardless of how much cheers were held in China for the successful high-altitude escape test of the lunar spacecraft with maximum dynamic pressure, its success certainly put a lot of pressure on the SLS rocket wet rehearsal team across the ocean.

In the current new space race, it's truly a case of one's own delays being terrible, but the success of one's adversaries being even more worrying!
On April 8th, while the new movie "Fantastic Beasts: The Mystery of Dumbledore" was being shown in China, Americans were also discussing the mystery surrounding the timing of the third wet rehearsal for the SLS rocket.

Yesterday, after replacing the faulty valve regulator on the mobile launch pad, technicians also inspected all the valves on the SLS rocket.

The result was the discovery that a valve inside the temporary cryogenic upper stage of the SLS rocket was also faulty.

This malfunction could not be resolved on-site at the launch platform; the rocket had to be transported back to the vertical assembly building and disassembled for repair.

But if repairs are done this way, the timeframe becomes unpredictable.

"Tell me, what should we do?"

The supervisor asked, "You said before that there wouldn't be any major problems, which is why we decided to hold the third wet rehearsal on the 15th."

"And now, you're saying you want to postpone it again?"

"You should know that China's lunar spacecraft has already conducted the final high-altitude escape test, and the testing progress of the heavy-lift Long March 10 rocket is also going smoothly. If there are no unexpected events, they can make their maiden flight in July."

"Our original plan was to successfully conduct a wet rehearsal this month, and then have the maiden flight at the beginning of next month, two months earlier than the Chinese!"

"But now the wet rehearsal has been postponed twice, and the third one will be postponed again. So how can we still make our first lunar rocket flight earlier than China?"

"..."

The staff present fell silent, because the question was really difficult to answer.

But in the end, I still have to answer, because that's their job.

After brainstorming, they finally decided to... change the wet rehearsal plan!

In order not to waste more time, the valve malfunction inside the temporary cryogenic upper stage rocket was ignored, and the upper stage fueling test was canceled directly, in order to complete the other tests involved in the "wet rehearsal".

As long as other projects can be completed, the rocket can be pushed back to the vertical assembly building and replaced with a new temporary cryogenic upper stage rocket.

Because some components of the second SLS rocket have already been delivered, including the upper stage.

Replacing it with a new one is faster than repairing it, because the repair time is uncertain, and if the problem gets worse the more you try to repair it... then you're in big trouble.

If the upper stage rocket is replaced directly, the SLS can still make its maiden flight in May.

It's only the end of May.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief once they realized the problem had been resolved.

"Then it's settled. The wet rehearsal on April 15th must be a success!"

As soon as the news was announced, space enthusiasts flocked to the scene.

Are we starting again?

It seems the problem with the exhaust valve wasn't serious; it was fixed so quickly.

[Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen this time. We absolutely have to succeed!]

The Sino-Lao spacecraft successfully conducted a high-altitude escape test with maximum dynamic pressure, indicating that it has caught up with the progress.

Indeed, China's Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket is scheduled for its maiden flight in July, so integrated training of all systems must begin no later than June.

Looking at it this way, the SLS schedule is really tight. If there are any more problems this time, then it's probably really in jeopardy.

[Hearing you say that, are you really that certain that the Long March 10 heavy-duty train project will proceed smoothly?]

Of course, you don't even know who the chief designer of the heavy-duty Long March 10 was.

[The God of the Road, forever a god!]

Soon, it was April 15th, and NASA began the third wet rehearsal of the SLS.

Outsiders are unaware that this is a "scaled-down" wet rehearsal.

This start went much more smoothly, with the SLS core stage beginning to inject liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. For rockets using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel, liquid hydrogen, with its extremely low density, enormous volume, extremely low temperature, high volatility, and highest risk factor, is the most difficult component to handle.

This is also a major challenge in the development of hydrogen-oxygen engines.

Then, humanity realized why this was the difficult point.

Liquid hydrogen has begun to leak from the bottom of the SLS rocket launch pad, which is an extremely dangerous sign!

Because a large amount of liquid hydrogen will quickly turn into gas when it enters the air, and this stuff will combine with oxygen, which is ubiquitous in the air, to form a natural super "bomb"!
If danger were to occur, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Therefore, NASA had to suspend the third test.

However, NASA says this is just a pause, as technicians are investigating the problem, and testing will continue if it can be resolved.

Audience in the live broadcast room: "..."

Clearly, the audience didn't believe it.

A problem can happen once or twice, but not a third time.

The SLS wet rehearsal had problems three times, so there must be many problems here now; it's already a systemic issue.

After dragging on for over an hour without resolving the issue, the SLS wet rehearsal was postponed again. The date for the fourth wet rehearsal will be announced in a few days.

Even Ma Yilong couldn't stand it anymore, and he posted a picture on his Twitter account.

That was a CG rendering of the 9-meter diameter "Super Falcon" rocket and the 8.4-meter core stage diameter SLS rocket that he was developing being pushed out of the vertical assembly building.

And the Super Falcon rocket is in front.

(picture)
He also captioned the post: "A new era needs new rockets! The bigger and more powerful Super Falcon rocket could make its maiden flight this year!"

Clearly, he meant to forget about that crappy SLS rocket; it's problematic and disposable. Instead, let's look at my big rocket!

The Federal Space Agency can't rely on those old space agencies; we need to rely on my new space agency!
The addition of Elon Musk has given a much-needed boost to space enthusiasts who have been put through a lot of trouble by NASA lately!
Wow, is it really going to be its maiden flight this year?

[Fine, fine, I think this crappy SLS should be canceled. After so many years of delays, they're finally going to have its maiden flight, and then they pull this stunt. This isn't a small problem; it's clearly a major systemic issue!]

[That's right, space development should strive for higher, faster, and stronger, just like the Olympics. Old rockets that are purely for maintaining jobs should be shut down immediately; otherwise, they're just a pure waste of taxpayers' money!]

[The SLS rocket costs $20 billion per launch, which is really outrageous. The fact that they're still clinging to this price clearly shows that its manufacturer, Boeing, played a significant role.]

[$20 billion? $40 billion! The cost of a single SLS rocket launch has skyrocketed!]

[Wang Defa? No wonder they insisted on using it. Just how much money did Boeing and Commissioner Smith embezzle with it?]

We want the Super Falcon! Not the SLS!

When will the Super Falcon make its maiden flight this year? Will it be before July?

Oh my god, I can't wait to see the fully recovered super rocket...

This was exactly the effect Ma Yilong wanted, but when he tried to interact with netizens, someone reminded him: "Forget about your big rocket, your backyard is on fire!"

“I saw that your eldest son Xavier went to court to apply for a name change; he wants to change his name to Vivian.”

"The key is that he not only wants to change his name to a woman's, but his current appearance is also... oh my god, you'd better see for yourself!"

Then the person sent over a video.

Ma Yilong was stunned when he saw this, because he didn't see his son, but only a "young girl" with long flowing hair.

However, the girl does look like his eldest son, who has been living in New York for several years.

There's nothing wrong with a man having long hair, but the way he walks and his demeanor are...

"Wang Defa?!"

(End of this chapter)