Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 87 NASA finally takes the lead (610)
"Mr. President, the Cape Canaveral launch site will be carrying out the Pioneer 10 launch on the 5th of next month.

James Webb has invited you to attend the ceremony. Do you have any plans to go?"

Lyndon Johnson came to Kennedy's office to ask for instructions.

Kennedy's pen tip moved across the surface of the documents on his desk. Sunlight slanted in through the Oval Office window, leaving marks on his tie.

Lyndon Johnson could smell the lingering odor of cigar smoke wafting from the filing cabinet.

For this White House, they had just experienced a devastating defeat with the Soviet Union.

That was the famous Bay of Pigs incident.

I won’t go into too much detail here.

In short, it was considered a major mistake, attributed to the White House's short-sightedness and lack of execution in Latin America, leading to widespread criticism from both home and abroad.

It was precisely because of the failure at the Bay of Pigs that the failure of NASA's Freedom 5 launch in May was not worth mentioning.

Compared to the Bay of Pigs, Liberty 7 is somewhat more impressive.

Kennedy's eyes lit up after reading the report, and his distinctive Boston accent echoed throughout the office: "Can NASA guarantee that it will be able to take pictures of the lunar surface?"

Lyndon Johnson's response was cautious: "They think it's okay."

Kennedy thought for a moment and said, "I will go to Cape Canaveral in person to watch the ceremony, and if the launch is successful, I will celebrate for them.

If we can bring back photos from the moon, I guarantee that NASA's budget will double next year, just as James Webb hopes.

Also, before we succeed, have the White House press secretary keep a low profile when giving interviews, and then we'll publicize it big time after it's successful."

Kennedy was equally cautious.

The main reason is that NASA has too many failure cases.

September 10th, 2025

Cape Canaveral, Florida

The viewing platform three kilometers away from the launch tower was filled with the smell of tobacco.

Kennedy's gesture of holding the cigarette with three fingers raised looked like some kind of prayer ritual in the glaring sunlight.

"Thirty Seconds"

The countdown on the radio shook the morning dew off the palm leaves.

The White House bureaucrats gathered here.

There were no reporters, only a team of photographers led by the White House press secretary to record it all.

If successful, these precious photos will be provided to the media to promote a great victory for the White House.

Lyndon Johnson felt the vibration on the handrail of the viewing platform, where a sound transmission tube was buried directly to the control room.

The entire Cape Canaveral launch site has been inspected from top to bottom by an IA.

The aftermath of the Freedom 7 insider incident is far from over.

Lyndon Johnson saw beads of sweat on Administrator Webb's forehead rolling across the NASA badge - the veteran bureaucrat had specially changed into NASA's newly developed silver space suit today.

"Randolph, are you sure?" James Webb stood next to Kennedy, while Lin Ran stood next to Lyndon Johnson.

After working together for half a year, Lin Ran understood Lyndon Johnson's style very well, and Lyndon also understood him.

Lin Ran said firmly, "Of course, we have made sufficient preparations. This time, there is only the possibility of success, not failure. Mathematicians pursue rigor, the perfect fit between theory and reality."

"The trajectory is exactly as predicted!" Cheers suddenly erupted in the control room, blasting through the loudspeakers.

Robert Seamans, the new director of the launch center, watched as the green dot on the monitor screen perfectly overlapped with the prediction line drawn in red ink by Lin Ran in his memory. Even though he had witnessed the other party's miracle countless times, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"Professor Lin's mathematical foundation is truly profound."

Watching the scene at the launch site, the messenger from the launch center walked up to Lin Ran and said a few words. Lin Ran stood in the middle and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Pioneer 5 probe has successfully entered its planned orbit and is expected to reach the moon at : p.m. tomorrow.

When Pioneer reaches the moon, NASA will immediately notify the White House and Congress."

There was polite applause.

A day later, Kennedy, who had returned to the White House, was reported to him by White House Chief of Staff Kenneth O'Donnell after dinner:

"Mr. President, the Pioneer probe has successfully landed. We can now announce this good news to the outside world."

Kenneth O'Donnell usually works in the West Wing of the White House, and Lin Ran also has an office in the West Wing. He then returns to his home at night.

Today was an unexpected situation. In order to wait for news from NASA and notify the president as soon as NASA received the news, Kenneth O'Donnell waited in the White House all night.

Kennedy nodded and said, "Okay, let Pierre Salinger hold a press conference and let him announce the good news.

What about the other photos? Are there any photos? "

He values ​​this more.

Over the years, the Soviet Union was the first to launch a satellite, the first to land a probe on the moon, and the first to take a photo of the back of the moon.

America has been in a passive position of catching up.

If the Pioneer probe can successfully send back photos of the moon, NASA will finally be ahead.

"There are photos, but they are not the lunar surface photos they hoped for. The camera lens was pointed at the lunar sky, and the mechanical device responsible for correcting the position malfunctioned during the hard landing.

Therefore, only pictures of the lunar sky were sent back.”

Kennedy said excitedly: "That's enough!
The first photograph ever taken from the moon was a great victory for America."

As long as you add enough adjectives, you can always find the first one.

Just like Pioneer 5, even though it deviated from the moon by 6 kilometers, it was still the first human spacecraft to deviate by kilometers.

However, taking photos on the moon does have some value.

"Tomorrow morning, I want to see America's great victory in the space race on the front page of every media outlet.

If the newspapers don’t report it, they shouldn’t come to the White House for press conferences in the future,” Kennedy added.

Tonight, from Washington to Chicago, from New York to San Francisco, wherever there are newspaper offices, the lights are on.

After receiving the White House press releases and photos, everyone rushed to grab the front page of the next day.

All the newspapers that have already been produced need to be adjusted.

"The successful landing of the Pioneer probe marked a major breakthrough in algorithm optimization. The application of gravitational perturbation models, launch angle prediction, and IBM computers enabled NASA to achieve its goal without modifying hardware. This success laid the foundation for subsequent lunar landing programs and demonstrated the unlimited potential of scientific computing in aerospace."

The White House press release was more serious, and Time magazine urgently produced a special issue on the space race to catch up with the trend the next day.

The cover featured a misaligned portrait of Lin Ran and Korolev looking at each other.

(End of this chapter)