Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

In particular, the construction of the near-Earth orbit space station requires launching numerous spacecraft such as the core module, node module, airlock module, and experimental module. With the Long March 5 rocket, a large truck with full carrying capacity, the task can be accomplished much more efficiently.

"If all goes well, the first core module of the Dongguo Space Station will be able to take off soon."

Lu Zhenhuan looked at Song Xingye with a gratified expression, "From that time on, we no longer had to beg those Westerners to let us be subservient to them at their International Space Station."

In the future, we can have our own space station and our own space laboratory, without having to depend on others... However, besides the space station, it will need someone to guard it.

At this point, Dean Lu changed the subject, revealing the real purpose of the conversation.

"NASA will soon issue a document to select outstanding researchers from various departments to serve as reserve aerospace engineers for the space station. If they perform exceptionally well, they may even have the opportunity to be selected as interplanetary crew members for the Xihe program."

Song Xingye scratched his head. "What is the Xihe Project? I've never heard of it."

"You don't need to know this for now. Let's talk about it after you're selected as an aerospace engineer. Simply put, it can also be called a payload specialist. This batch of payload specialists is mainly selected from aerospace engineers, researchers, and university experts, and they are mainly responsible for space station maintenance, equipment assembly, and space experiments."

As he spoke, Lu Zhenhuan smiled and looked at Song Xingye, "Our East China Institute has 10 spots, and I've reserved one for you. You're a talent worth nurturing, this is a rare opportunity, go and participate in the selection."

Song Xingye scratched his chin. "Can I do it?"

"How will you know if you don't try? But don't get your hopes up too high. The NASA Manned Spaceflight Office has issued a total of 1500 slots for the Tiangong Project, so your competition is fierce..."

Dean Lu snorted as he spoke:

"Although you were the first to emerge from the Star Project, those summer camps weren't that difficult. They were just a bunch of recent PhD graduates competing against each other."

"But the 1500 people in the Tiangong project are senior engineers and scientists from various universities, research institutions, the Space Force, and aerospace groups. Many of them have at least a dozen years of research experience."

"You're still a newcomer, so the main purpose is for you to broaden your horizons. If you get selected, it will bring honor to our East China Institute. If you don't, it's not a big deal; young people will have plenty of opportunities in the future..."

And so, on Lu Zhenhuan's recommendation, Song Xingye unwittingly signed up for the Tiangong Project astronaut selection.

This is quite a challenge for him.

Or rather, it was a novel experience.

After all, in his previous life he never had the chance to come into contact with astronauts, let alone go into space himself.

According to the introduction of the Tiangong Project, this talent selection is mainly for three positions in preparation for the future Eastern Space Station.

Commander, pilot, and payload specialist.

The commander and pilots, of course, are to be trained from the existing professional astronaut pool, and they often need to be in good physical condition and have extensive space experience.

The standards for payload specialists are relatively low. They are generally responsible for scientific experiments and emergency repairs in space. They are usually required to have an engineering background, possess extensive professional knowledge, be experts in a particular field, and have at least a master's degree.

In addition, the Tiangong program also includes targeted selection and training for positions such as space medical officer, extravehicular activity specialist, and logistics administrator.

However, in general, the configuration of commander + spacecraft pilot + scientist should still be followed, with one responsible for decision-making, one responsible for driving, and one responsible for completing the mission objectives.

Following the instructions of the space agency, Song Xingye logged onto a website for the Tiangong project's astronaut selection process. After clicking on the homepage, he was given an access password.

After entering the website, you will first need to fill out a long questionnaire.

NASA requires each candidate for payload specialist to provide fairly detailed information about their education, awards, and current employment during junior high, high school, and university.

In addition, you need to fill in whether you have flight experience, scientific research awards, etc.

They asked about almost everyone's life story in great detail.

Song Xingye spent more than two hours typing away at the computer just to answer the questionnaire. Only after checking that everything was correct did he click the submit button.

About half a month later, he received news that the space agency had approved his application.

Immediately afterwards, Song Xingye rushed to Jingzhou to participate in the first round of in-person interviews.

There were over a hundred people interviewed that day, including some of his old acquaintances. Xu Zhe and Cao Que even applied for the space station payload expert selection.

The meeting was very cordial, and Cao Que put his arm around the two men's shoulders and said:

"That's great! Maybe in a while, one of the 'pseudo' payload experts from our Starry Sky Summer Camp will emerge as a genuine payload expert."

Xu Zhe was a little nervous. He had already felt that the selection process was very intense, and now that he saw his old rival Song Xingye had also come, his momentum unconsciously dropped a bit.

I feel like I have no hope left...

After exchanging pleasantries, Song Xingye entered the interview room. This round of interviews mainly involved answering questions.

Just like taking the driving test, a group of candidates sit in front of a designated computer with hundreds of multiple-choice questions, which can be answered with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Very simple.

However, the test questions for payload specialists are much more complex than those for Subject 1, covering a wide range of topics including history, English, aviation, mathematics, and mechanical understanding.

It can be said that there is nothing that is not tested, such as astronomy and geography.

When Song Xingye did the first few questions, he felt they were quite easy because he could answer them fluently.

However, some questions are quite difficult because they do not test knowledge reserves and scientific experience, but rather assess cognitive abilities.

For example, sustained attention, analysis of three-dimensional views, and coordination of visual motion, etc.

Song Xingye gradually realized that these questions were slowly wearing down the candidates' energy until they reached their physical limits.

He didn't know how he got through the last few dozen questions. In short, when he finished, he was dizzy and lightheaded. Some people even fainted on the spot.

Song Xingye waited another week and finally received the long-awaited email and good news from the Dongguo Space Agency: he had successfully entered the next round of selection!

At this point, after continuous screening and elimination, there are approximately 200 people left out of the initial 1500 candidates.

Song Xingye returned to Jingzhou. Xu Zhe was still among the remaining two hundred men, but the unlucky Cao Que had already packed his bags and left.

In the lobby of the space agency, Song Xingye also saw some other faces, including a blond, blue-eyed Russian man at the interview.

He found it strange.

Xu Zhe, who was standing nearby, chimed in and said that these Russians weren't participating in the Tiangong Project, but rather in the even more mysterious Xihe Project.

Xu Zhe stayed in the hospital and seemed to know a lot of inside information. He said that the Xihe Project was jointly carried out by the Eastern Kingdom and the R Kingdom, but he had no idea what it was about.

Song Xingye responded with an "oh," quickly putting aside his confusion and focusing on the second round of offline selection.

The assessment mainly focuses on the candidates' psychological and cognitive evaluation, rather than their overall abilities.

The focus is on each person's social and communication skills, as well as their ability to solve problems in practical work.

Candidates will be randomly selected from topics, mainly focusing on various unexpected situations that may be encountered while working in space.

Each person was given 3 minutes to think. Song Xingye was the last to go on stage. By the time he finished answering and left, it was already dark outside.

Over the next few days, he waited anxiously for the review panel's response.

The response took a considerable amount of time to arrive.

Song Xingye finally received the email from the space agency at the end of the year.

NASA congratulated him on passing the selection process again and asked him to travel to Gyeongju after the New Year for a medical examination.

Therefore, Song Xingye spent a rather bland and even cautious Spring Festival in 2012.

They were worried that overeating during the Lunar New Year would cause problems during their post-holiday medical check-up.

After the Spring Festival, Song Xingye arrived in Jingzhou, where Xu Zhe, who had also passed the selection, was also present.

They underwent another medical examination together at the designated hospital.

Unlike the physical examinations at top-tier hospitals, these doctors were clearly professional aerospace doctors. From cardiology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dentistry, psychiatry to radiology and ultrasound, each item was overseen by two to three senior doctors.

Only about 50 candidates remained for the physical examination, while the number of doctors was twice that of them.

With the addition of nurses and such, this was the first time in Song Xingye's life that he had enjoyed such special treatment.

It was as if the entire hospital was at their service.

Song Xingye spent the whole day following instructions, moving from one room to another, meeting all sorts of experts, being asked all sorts of questions, and his family medical history was almost traced back to his great-grandfather's generation. Finally, the busy day came to an end.

The medical examination results came out within three days, and he was lucky enough to pass this hurdle once again.

Unfortunately, Xu Zhe was not selected.

He had never faltered in previous selections, but ultimately failed due to a minor health issue.

Or rather, it can't be called a minor ailment at all, because it has no symptoms and doesn't even need to be taken seriously. Even during a physical examination at a top-tier hospital, no one would pay attention to it.

Even if left untreated, this minor problem will go unnoticed for decades to come.

However, this minor flaw was keenly spotted by the aerospace doctors, who assessed it as unsuitable for space missions.

Xu Zhe ultimately left with regret.

In the final round of interviews, there were 25 candidates remaining.

The space agency will eventually retain 10 people to train as reserve payload experts for the Tiangong project. If all goes well, they will all have the opportunity to go to the Dongguo Space Station to carry out scientific missions. It's just a matter of who goes first and who goes later.

All the necessary assessments have been completed. The candidates who made it to the final round are all outstanding, almost neck and neck, in terms of knowledge reserves, adaptability, and interpersonal skills.

Therefore, this round of assessment focuses on each person's personality traits.

The judging panel, composed of several space agency leaders, aerospace doctors, and psychological experts, sat in the conference room, creating an extremely relaxed, even comfortable, atmosphere for one-on-one communication with each candidate.

They raised several questions, all of which were tests of humanity, such as how to handle a situation where there is a conflict of opinion with a team member in space.

Or, if an accident occurs on the space station and the return capsule can only carry one person, who will be given the chance to escape?

There is no standard answer. In Song Xingye's view, this is like the traditional train track barrier problem: which side's people should be saved?

He answered the judges' questions calmly and confidently, and then left the meeting room.

With all the assessments now concluded, Song Xingye didn't know how he had performed, only that he had given it his all. Now, everything was up to fate.

In March, he finally received another email from NASA.

From that day on, he officially became a member of the Jingzhou Astronaut Team.

……

[Countdown begins!]

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...

Suzhou Satellite Launch Center.

Song Xingye sat on the management console, listening to the voice of Commander 01 coming from the loudspeaker in the control center.

It was 7:00 AM, and the countdown on the huge display screen had finally come to an end.

About three kilometers away, a huge lighthouse illuminates the launch pad in a bright white light, and the Great Wall 5 rocket standing on the launch pad shines brightly. Inside the fairing are Dongguo Aerospace's new generation manned spacecraft test vehicle and flexible inflatable return capsule test module.

They had been transported to Suzhou before the Lunar New Year and had undergone repeated rehearsals and drills on the Gobi Desert in Northwest China, finally getting their debut.

If this mission goes smoothly, the progress of the Dongguo Space Station will be put on the fast track.

Song Xingye gazed at the sky. As a newcomer to the astronaut corps, he had been invited to watch the launch.

After watching the launch, he will focus on preparing for his Russian language exam.

Ten reserve payload specialists will be chartered to Moscow, R country, to participate in intensive training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, making full preparations for their space mission.

Fluent Russian is the first requirement.

Song Xingye wasn't too worried about this. He thought he spoke Russian quite well, and the only thing he needed to work on was memorizing some technical terms.

Before us, after the countdown reached zero, the Great Wall 5 rocket entered the launch phase.

The main engine was successfully ignited, followed by a burst of intense white light. The two boosters and the core stage rocket were ignited, and the rocket body, weighing over a thousand tons, soared into the sky above the Suzhou launch site.

Even though they were several kilometers apart, the sound of the rocket taking off was still deafening.

Song Xingye felt his body trembling in the fierce sound waves.

The launch pad had already been submerged by thousands of tons of cooling water, which was then quickly evaporated by the high-temperature combustion gases into plumes of steam that shot into the sky. The steam reflected the flames and emitted a rainbow-like glow.

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