This star is going to the moon

Chapter 514 "Aerospace Compass" Lu Yun's Poisonous Prediction!

"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect the world line to change so much. The Americans are really planning to make the first flight of the SLS in early June."

While others were questioning the capabilities of the American SLS rocket, only Lu Yun lamented that the drama of his previous life was over.

Because of his existence in this life, his family's aerospace technology developed rapidly, and within 22 years, it posed a huge threat to the other side of the ocean.

Unlike the previous life, which required waiting for two to five years.

The threat in this life is even greater than in the previous one.

So the other side is really getting anxious.

There were clearly still problems, yet they insisted on launching it anyway, which had a bit of the "barbaric" feel of the last space race.

Back when the US and Russia were engaged in the space race, information wasn't as "transparent" as it is now. You can't just wait for it to be made public or read analyses from space enthusiasts online. Back then, you had to send spies, and even sacrifice some spies, to get information.

Therefore, both sides are working desperately to catch up on the schedule, and often the spacecraft will be launched even if there are minor problems.

Then... gamble on the probability.

Just like the N-1 lunar rocket launched by the old bear, even though it was known to have problems and the technology was not mature, it was still launched.

If it succeeds even once, we'll definitely go to the moon with problems in mind and a sense of luck.

Unfortunately, all four test flights either crashed or exploded, and none of them were successful.

Even hoping to take a chance and send people to the moon is not an option.

The US has also encountered many problems; its manned lunar landing was fraught with various dangers and chances.

The Apollo 1 spacecraft made a huge mistake right from the start: it failed to test the items that should have been tested, and it also failed to discover the inferior manufacturing defects that should have been found during the tests, which directly led to the death of three astronauts.

There was also the Apollo 13 manned lunar landing mission.

The mission was not going well from the start; during the launch phase, one of the J-2 engines on the second stage of the Saturn V rocket unexpectedly shut down prematurely.

Fortunately, the Saturn V rocket had enough redundancy. The remaining four engines of the second stage burned for an extra 34 seconds, and the third stage burned for an extra 9 seconds before sending the spacecraft into the correct orbit.

Then the mission "seemed" to return to its normal pace.

So much so that the ground control center declared, "The spacecraft is in good condition; we're so bored we're practically yawning."

But a few minutes later, oxygen tank number 2 on the spaceship exploded, giving them something to talk about.

At first, warning lights flashed inside the cabin, indicating that two of the three fuel cells had failed. The astronauts immediately reported a major problem to the ground, and they also discovered that the spacecraft was "releasing something into space."

The ground command center told them that the "thing" was none other than their lifeline—oxygen!
astronaut:"……"

Further investigation revealed that the explosion of oxygen tank No. 2 also damaged tank No. 1, causing the fuel cell to cease operation and thus seriously threatening the supply of electricity and water.

astronaut:"……"

At this point, the lunar landing mission was out of the question; their task became how to return safely to Earth.

Fortunately, after a series of bizarre maneuvers, they returned to Earth safely.

These were all major problems that caused the missions to fail. Other missions also had some minor issues, but none of them affected the success of the manned lunar landing mission.

This is why the US no longer uses the Apollo 5 rocket and Apollo spacecraft to launch another manned lunar landing mission; the original space mission was too reckless.

Human life is more valuable now than it was back then; we can't afford to mess around like this anymore.

Of course, the main reason is that information spreads too fast nowadays, and there are all sorts of "anonymous insiders" who are looking to make money. If something happens, the whole world will know very quickly, and the pressure from public opinion is too great.

However, with the rapid development of China's aerospace technology and its manned lunar landing missions, the pressure from public opinion in the United States has also increased.

After all, they have been propagating the idea that the Chinese are evil and technologically backward for many years. But now that they have actually caught up, doesn't that mean they are standing still or even regressing?
Americans can't stand this!
Must speed up!

At the same time, the higher-ups couldn't stand this either. How could they maintain public support if they didn't do something ruthless that would make the "Federal World Number One"?
Lu Yun felt that this was probably the case.

However, this means that many of the wonders of the previous life will probably be gone.

In the previous life, the SLS didn't even have a maiden flight in early June; in this life, the fourth wet rehearsal was brought forward to May.

Just like this time in this life, that wet rehearsal also resulted in a fuel leak, causing the countdown to be interrupted.

NASA initially stated that further inspections and repairs were needed, and the first flight could be scheduled for August 29th at the earliest.

If this cannot be achieved, the launch will be postponed to September 2nd or 5th.

Anyway, it won't be postponed any further.

On the evening of August 16, NASA kept its promise and transported the SLS rocket to the launch pad, with its maiden flight scheduled for August 29.

The American public and space enthusiasts around the world are quite excited.

It's just like when Zhang Yimou announced that a certain movie would be filmed in one continuous shot.

Unfortunately, on the morning of launch day, everyone was ready.

The audience at the scene raised their phones to capture the takeoff, and the viewers in the live broadcast room were ready to shout "666".

Even Lu Yun, who had already failed and become a nobody at the time, was eager to see what a spectacular scene its successful maiden flight would be.

NASA stated that a technical malfunction was discovered during ground checks of the SLS rocket, and decided to postpone the launch minutes before the launch window opened.

The rocket was almost fully fueled, but a problem with the exhaust from one of the engines prevented it from reaching the appropriate temperature range for launch, so the launch was called off.

However, it's alright, since a postponement to early September had already been planned. After inspection and maintenance on the launch pad, NASA decided to proceed with the maiden flight on September 3.

However, on the morning of September 3, NASA announced on its website that the SLS rocket, scheduled to launch that day, had detected a liquid hydrogen leak during testing.

Because the liquid hydrogen leak detected that day could not be resolved, the launch of the new generation lunar rocket, originally scheduled for that afternoon, was postponed again.

The audience members who gathered at the scene that day were left bewildered.

No, whether it can be launched or not is a hassle for everyone to come over every time.

NASA says it's possible; the launch has been postponed to September 27th, but it will definitely be possible!

On the 21st, NASA announced that they had detected another liquid hydrogen leak from the SLS rocket, and that the leak had "the same characteristics" as the previous incident that affected the three-day launch plan.

Due to the leak, NASA temporarily suspended the filling of the rocket with liquid hydrogen to troubleshoot the problem.

Everyone's numb.

So what have you been repairing these past few days?
NASA was at a loss, and then their savior appeared out of nowhere!

According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Ian is expected to hit Florida, home of the Kennedy Space Center, during the last week of September, local time, on September 24.

Then NASA sadly announced that, due to concerns about the tropical storm, it had decided to abandon the planned launch attempt on the 27th.

At the time, it was determined that if the storm did not return to the assembly building and did not pass directly over the launch site, NASA could attempt another launch on October 2nd.

However, if they return to the final assembly building, the maiden flight will have to be postponed until November at the earliest.

So NASA decisively pushed the rocket back to the assembly building to avoid the storm.

This is for the safety of the rocket!
And they guessed right.

The storm passed the launch site, and they were right to tow the rocket back to the assembly building; this successfully protected a vital national asset!
Everyone can now praise them.

Everyone: "..." On October 1, after the storm, the NASA team conducted an initial inspection to assess the potential impact of Hurricane Ian.

According to the inspection results, the SLS rocket's flight hardware was not damaged, the facilities were in good condition, and only a few places had minor water ingress.

NASA announced that it has decided to launch the SLS rocket between November 12th and 27th.

On November 11th, NASA confirmed the maiden flight date of the SLS rocket as the 16th. Ticket holders can prepare to come and watch; this time, it's definitely going to launch.

audience:"……"

Some people still decided to go, while others decided to watch the live stream at home and gave their tickets to friends who needed them.

then……

really.

The SLS rocket, whose launch was delayed until the 16th, was once again found to have liquid hydrogen leaking from the core stage liquid hydrogen replenishment valve by NASA's on-site team!
Audience: "Buhou!"

NASA responded, "Don't panic, it's not a big problem!"

Although there was still a leak this time, it was very slow and the amount was very small, within the safety threshold, and would not affect the launch!
The rocket will definitely launch today!
NASA was determined to act quickly, knowing that this matter could not be delayed any longer, nor could it be postponed due to even the slightest leak.

Since it's within the safety threshold, let's launch!

Fortunately, it was launched that day and did not explode into a fireball in the air.

However, as everyone knows, NASA not only has internal problems, but they are also very big ones.

The idea of ​​returning to the moon in two or four years is completely unreliable.

Sure enough, it was gradually postponed to 2025, 2026, 2027...

More and more people are calling for the complete cancellation of the SLS rocket and the handover of the manned lunar mission to Elon Musk, to his 9-meter diameter reusable rocket!
Meanwhile, China's manned lunar landing timetable is being pushed forward more and more. First, it was said to be before 1930, then it was said to be around 1929, but it could also be pushed forward to 1928...

Unfortunately, Lu Yun died in 2002 in his previous life and did not witness the grand occasion of that day, nor did he know whether the Chinese or the Americans were the first to conduct a manned lunar landing in the new century.

However, in this life, he personally participated in the manned lunar landing program, and he is 100% certain that China will be the first country to conduct a manned lunar landing in the new century.

Even if the timeline changes, and NASA is going to launch the SLS rocket for the first time in June, it might not be as exciting as it was in the previous life, but...

There's no rule saying there can't be new fun in this life!
So Lu Yun rolled his eyes and posted a Weibo.

Wishing the SLS rocket a successful maiden flight!

This Weibo post left netizens completely confused.

What's going on? Are we really going to have a historic reconciliation with the Americans?

[No way, could the heavy Hollywood support for "The Ladder 2" really be a sign of reconciliation?]

Could it be that we actually found alien technology on the far side of the moon and shared it with the Americans?

[Actually, for the sake of world peace and stable development, a genuine reconciliation would be fine, but I'm a little unwilling to accept this kind of reconciliation!]

[Lu Yun is a bellwether in the aerospace industry; there must be a deeper meaning behind his words!]

[Could it be that this is simply a wish from an aerospace worker for great advancements in global aerospace technology?]

That makes sense. Appropriate competition can actually be beneficial, promoting the development of aerospace technology.

[Yes, Lu Yun is a person of considerable vision.]

[Oh, it's just routine operation. Our Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 lunar probes successfully collected samples, and Tianwen-1 successfully landed on Mars. NASA's official account also posted congratulatory messages online. Our aerospace authorities also post congratulatory messages when they have major successful projects.]

Indeed, while the other side doesn't allow technological cooperation in space between the two countries, they didn't say anything about not being allowed to offer congratulations.

[Actually, space workers from both countries very much hope for mutually beneficial cooperation, so it's not surprising that they congratulated each other.]

I wonder if the government will issue an official statement?

The government wouldn't release information on such trivial matters; sending blessings to colleagues is indeed standard practice.

Even many internal but not confidential messages are passed around among colleagues and then become known to more colleagues.

For example, if the other side is really anxious, they might order the SLS to make its maiden flight before the heavy Long March 10.

However, Lu Yun didn't wish for success before, but he did this time. Perhaps something really is going on?

Lu Yun's reply: "Just wait and see what happens."

He may not understand the future after the timeline changes, but he understands Americans, NASA, and Boeing.

The Americans are determined to get the SLS making its maiden flight as soon as possible; there's bound to be a good show to watch then.

However, before that, people are more concerned about the completion of the UAE's luxury space airport at the end of May, which will be officially operational as soon as the space shuttle arrives.

The UAE invited space professionals and journalists from around the world to come and see the "Desert Star" spaceport, showcasing its luxurious features to the world through their cameras.

The UAE is not a country that has been "blocked" by the US, and it is very generous with its travel expenses, so the colleagues and journalists all went happily.

Then they spread the word about them all over the world.

And to be fair, the "Desert Star" space airport is indeed luxurious; it's the kind of place that should match the high-end nature of space tourism.

Bluestar Aerospace's coastal space airport is rather simple.

As for the Dongfeng Space Airport, which is officially designated by the Lao and Chinese governments, it is practically a "bare shell".

Many wealthy individuals who find it inconvenient to travel to China and Laos to take the "Lingji Yidong" shuttle for space tourism are also very accommodating, expressing their intention to place orders and buy tickets to travel to space from the "Desert Star" space airport.

Now we're just waiting for the space shuttle to arrive.

However, the space shuttle belonging to the UAE is still undergoing testing and will not be available until July.

So this event caused quite a stir for a few days, but once June arrived, everyone's attention shifted back to the US and the SLS rocket launch site.

NASA: "The date is set, the maiden flight will be on June 5th. All are welcome to come and watch!"

The audience instantly became excited and started buying tickets!
Even the current federal president, Dennis, has taken an interest and said he wants to go and watch it in person.

This is a political achievement!

Just as he asked his assistant to postpone his schedule for the day and add watching the launch to his itinerary, NASA quickly sent out a new message.

"Well, we found a small problem during our factory testing, so we made a slight adjustment to the maiden flight date. We've decided to postpone it by one day until the 6th."

"Viewers who wish to attend the launch in person should note that the date should be changed."

People understand this; it's a space program, so a little delay is normal.

After all, the SLS rocket has been delayed for so many years.

It's only been delayed by one day, which is just a technical adjustment.

Sure enough, on the 4th, the SLS rocket was pushed out and headed to the launch pad, confirming the launch for the 6th.

On the 6th, the audience arrived at the scene with great joy, and the President's motorcade also set off.

But during rocket fueling, the engineers discovered something was wrong...

(End of this chapter)