Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 77 Success is an Accident
"...after entering orbit, the spacecraft began to lose control. The spacecraft began to roll to the left at a rate of approximately 1 degree per second. The ASCS was unable to correct this, and the roll rate subsequently increased to approximately 10 degrees per second."

After Lin Ran finished reading, he said, "As I said at the hearing in Washington, NASA has serious problems with quality control, risk assessment, and overall project management.

This is just a reaffirmation of past problems.”

After Lin Ran finished reading, there was an uproar in the audience. Both American and overseas reporters had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

On the one hand, you were able to predict the failure of this launch. On the other hand, since you knew it would fail, why didn’t you remind NASA in advance and postpone the launch?

The hands of the reporters in the audience were raised high, and each reporter had countless questions in his mind.

The faces of NASA’s top executives were all dark.

James Webber and Lin Ran looked at each other, and he stood in the middle of the podium and said:
"Next, President John F. Kennedy will give a speech!"

That's right, Kennedy arrived at the Cape Canaveral launch site early in the morning.

Regardless of whether the launch is successful, he will stand up and speak to the media.

A successful launch is one set of rhetoric, and a failed launch is another set of rhetoric.

After Lin Ran finalized the plan, he discussed the entire plan with James Webb and the White House in advance.

Another key factor that led to the spacecraft crash was that, at Lin Ran's reminder, James Webb obtained a key piece of evidence from NASA.

This crucial evidence ultimately led to the formation of the Lin Ran Plan.

In addition, Lin Ran also unearthed a historical truth and verified his own guess.

"Good morning, friends from the press.

We were supposed to mourn the loss of the American astronaut today with heavy hearts, but fortunately, our new Special Assistant for Space Affairs, Professor Randolph Lin, recognized the risk in advance and prevented this accident from happening."

Alan Shepard sat in the audience with a solemn expression and clenched fists.

Because Freedom 7 has two systems and the autopilot system fails, he can still save Freedom 7's life through manual operation.

It doesn't mean that you will definitely die.

Alan Shepard was both scared and upset. He was scared because the White House had actually predicted that Freedom 7 would have an accident, but he was upset because his first chance to enter space was gone.

I don’t know when the next time will be.

"I know people are wondering how we knew Freedom 7 would fail and why we allowed it to go ahead if we knew it would fail.

The former is because I trust the judgment of professionals. Professor Lin is undoubtedly a master in the field of aerospace and is no less than a master in the field of mathematics. In addition, it is impossible that Professor Lin caused the failure of the Freedom 7 launch.

He was accompanied throughout the on-site tour by Kurt Debs, director of launch operations at the Cape Canaveral launch site.

Professor Lin did not have any physical contact with the rocket or the aircraft.

The latter is because we know that someone within NASA has been obstructing the smooth launch of Freedom 7. He does not want to see NASA launch successfully, even if it costs the lives of astronauts and brings shame to America.

Shocking news comes one after another.

First, James Webb and Lin Ran staged a prediction drama, and then Kennedy came out and said that someone inside NASA was playing tricks.

The discussion in the audience became increasingly heated, and even an American reporter couldn't hold it in any longer and interrupted:

"Mr. President! Who is it? Who is so vicious?" The Washington Post reporter stood up and shouted loudly, "And do you have any evidence?"

"Of course, gentlemen, I certainly have evidence! In 1959, NASA recruited 110 test pilots from the Navy and Marine Corps, hoping to select test pilots from among them for the space program.

Among these 110 test pilots, 7 astronauts were eventually born and officially joined the Mercury Project.

Among them was our own Colonel Alan Shepard.

In other words, Alan Shepard was the astronaut carefully selected from 110 pilots to carry out this manned space mission.

However, NASA concealed the huge physical risk he faced: he was a patient with Meniere's disease.

This is a very rare condition whose symptoms include sudden dizziness, tinnitus, hearing loss, and swelling in the ears.

Such a serious disease was clearly detected during the NASA physical examination, but it was deliberately concealed.

This is the medical examination report we found from the NASA Medical Center before it was redacted, which clearly states the doctor's opinion:

Alan Shepard suffered from Meniere's disease and was not recommended to perform space missions.

But in the end, Alan Shepard's physical examination report showed that he was healthy.

You can think about it, if Colonel Alan Shepard really went into space, when Freedom 7 malfunctioned, would he really be able to complete the operations in the simulated environment under the influence of Meniere's disease and successfully return to Earth?

I'm afraid the chances are pitifully small."

Kennedy stood on the stage waving the medical report in his hand.

"Wow!" The reporters in the audience were shocked.

NASA has failed too many times in the past. Combined with Kennedy's revelations, people began to wonder whether there was a conspiracy behind NASA's past failures.

In history, even when Freedom 7 malfunctioned, Alan Shepard successfully completed the manned space mission with his own operations.

But Lin Ran felt very strange when reading this history. It was very strange. Shepard had completed the mission, but he was not allowed to take part in the subsequent manned orbital mission in 62. Instead, John Glenn was assigned to the mission.

In 1963, Gordon Cooper was selected to fly the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, with Shepard on standby as a backup astronaut.

Shortly before the launch, Cooper, upset that technicians had tampered with his spacesuit without his permission, flew an F-106 fighter jet low over the NASA building at Cape Canaveral.

The supervisor therefore planned to stop Cooper's mission and let Shepard perform it instead, but ultimately decided to let Cooper continue to complete it.

Even though Cooper disobeyed orders, NASA still insisted on letting him carry out the mission, even though Shepard had performed the mission perfectly in 1961.

He was finally diagnosed with Meniere's disease in 1963.

No matter how Lin Ran reads it, he doesn't understand why NASA would operate this way.

Coming to this time and space, combined with James Webb's plan to transform NASA, history and present situation intersected at this moment, and Lin Ran grasped that ray of inspiration.

Freedom 7 was a mission that was deliberately chosen by someone inside NASA who wanted to make the mission fail. Alan Shepard was chosen on purpose.

Alan Shepard was not diagnosed with Meniere's disease in 1963, but earlier, as it had been known during internal physical examinations at NASA.

So the success of Freedom 7 was an accident; it should have failed.

The original medical examination report found by James Webb with the cooperation of an IA verified Lin Ran's guess.

(End of this chapter)