Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 76 Making History

On May 5, at the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, NASA prepared to launch its first manned space mission, the Freedom 5 space capsule.

From America's perspective, this is also a milestone moment in America's space history.

Although we are one step behind the Soviet Union, being second in the world is also an honor.

However, on the eve of the launch, an unexpected decision by NASA Administrator James Webb completely changed the original history.

"I'm sorry, I'm upset. NASA has had so many failures in the past, and I'm afraid this launch will fail again.

In the past, rocket launch failures were always caused by problems with the rocket itself, but this time we have human astronauts, so to be conservative, my suggestion is to replace the astronauts with gorillas." James Webb said.

James Webb frowned, looking like he was thinking seriously.

The NASA executives present looked at each other in surprise. The launch is tomorrow, and now you tell us to replace the gorilla?
Gagarin was sent into space a month ago. Aren’t we anxious?

Doesn't it need a successful manned space mission to boost morale?

More importantly, if you want to change the gorilla now, where can you find a gorilla in one day?

There's no zoo in this godforsaken place called Cape Canaveral in Florida.

There was no heated clash of opinions at the meeting, as no one agreed with Weber's opinion.

They strongly advocated for the launch to proceed as planned, arguing that a delay would damage America's international reputation and that Weber's concerns were completely unfounded.

At this moment, Kennedy's voice rang out in the room over the phone:

"I fully support James Webb's opinion, and the decision is his."

It was not until James Webb had the military staff put the gorilla in a car and push it into the conference room that everyone realized that James Webb had planned this in advance.

Everyone knew a long time ago that the NASA administrator had been replaced, and the White House also sent a special assistant for space affairs. There will definitely be major personnel changes within the agency.

As a result, it has been two months and there has been no movement from James Webb and Lin Ran.

They thought Washington was very satisfied with NASA's work, but they didn't expect that it was waiting for them here.

Everyone was nervous. What if they really failed? Wouldn’t that mean they would be hit in the face?

The risk control efforts of so many people at NASA cannot match James Webb's intuition.

Soon the results of the meeting room spread throughout NASA. This decision came like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone, especially Shepard.

As the first astronaut to be launched into space, Alan Shepard underwent months of rigorous training, filled with anticipation and pride.

However, a few hours before the launch, he was summoned to Webb's office. Webb explained solemnly, "Alan, I know this is hard for you to accept, but the rocket has potential risks, and I can't put our astronauts at risk. We decided to use gorillas to test safety."

Shepard had actually heard about it a long time ago, but when he heard James Webb tell him in person, he still felt mixed emotions.

He completely couldn't understand Weber's sudden decision.

As an astronaut, his sense of honor and mission made it difficult for him to accept it.

His dream—to become the first American in space—seems to have been snatched away by a gorilla.

He tried to suppress his emotions and responded calmly: "Director, I believe I can complete the task. I am ready."

However, Webb firmly stated that caution must be exercised this time, and if the Gorilla launch is successful, Shepard will soon get another opportunity.

After leaving the office, Shepard returned to his room alone, his heart swirling with emotion. He felt angry, disappointed, and even a little humiliated. On the day of the launch, various media outlets were summoned to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, including European newspapers.

Everyone heard about NASA's temporary decision while having breakfast in the morning. When the pre-launch press conference was held, there was an uproar at the scene and reporters raised questions.

"We have to ensure the safety of the rocket, which is our responsibility for future missions," Webb explained at a press conference. "The Gorilla launch will provide critical data."

Lin Ran came out at the right time. There was a transparent glass box on the table. He took out the prepared letter from his suit jacket pocket:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you will witness me as I place this letter into this transparent box.

This letter explains why we should replace human astronauts with gorillas.

After the launch, everyone will open this letter together."

After saying that, Lin Ran stuffed the letter into the box, and the discussion at the scene became louder.

Those who can come here are all experienced reporters, and they have never seen such a scene.

NASA engineers were even more panicked, not knowing what the new director and special assistant for space affairs were up to.

Throughout the morning, the atmosphere at the launch site was tense, solemn and eerie.

Shepard stood in the observation area, watching the Redstone rocket carrying the gorilla.

He hoped the launch would be successful to prove the rocket was safe and that he could get another chance as soon as possible; at the same time, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

At 9:34, the rocket ignited and took off with a deafening roar. It successfully reached an altitude of 187 kilometers, and then the automatic control system began to malfunction.

Just 2 minutes and 15 seconds into the planned orbit, the spacecraft began to roll uncontrollably to the left.

"Oh no! The spacecraft is rolling to the left at a rate of about 1 degree per second, and the ASCS cannot correct this problem!"

"The roll rate is increasing."

"The speed has increased to 10 degrees per second, and the ASCS is completely out of control!"

"There must be a component failure in the control system!"

"It's over!"

The ground control center was in chaos. They watched from the real-time monitoring as the Freedom 7 spacecraft lost control, burned up when re-entering the atmosphere, and then crashed in the atmosphere.

If the spacecraft cannot maintain the correct attitude to fly back into the atmosphere, the heat shield will not be able to protect the spacecraft, and the spacecraft will burn or disintegrate under the high temperature.

Robert Gilruth in the control center was already numb.

There really was a problem with the spacecraft.

After hearing the news, James Webb loudly announced:

"Just now, NASA's control center sent a message that the Freedom 7 spacecraft failed to launch and unfortunately burned up during re-entry into the atmosphere.

You should be able to find photos of it disintegrating in mid-air from space enthusiasts later.

Or you can wait for official NASA photos to be provided to you."

James Webb went on to say: "Our timely discovery prevented an accident and saved the lives of the astronauts.

Now, Professor Lin will explain the whole story of this incident to you all. It is also time to open the letter we prepared earlier."

(End of this chapter)